Marilyn's Last Words: Her Secret Tapes and Mysterious Death
Smith (Vendetta: The Kennedys) insists that Marilyn Monroe's 1962 death was murder and goes to great lengths to prove it. Many prominent figures in the investigation believed she was killed, though few went on record. From the forensic evidence suggesting she was drugged via enema to the massive discrepancies in the official reports, Smith meticulously builds his case. He sifts through thousands of documents, interviews and never-before-revealed confidential tapes Monroe made days before her death. Two suspects emerge: Robert and John F. Kennedy, and the CIA. Monroe had affairs with RFK and JFK, and Smith believes those liaisons led to her death. Learning she was prepared to "blow the whole damn thing wide open" (though it's unclear whether Monroe meant the affairs or the CIA/Mafia attempt to assassinate Castro), RFK came calling. Many believe he was the last official to see her alive. What's less known is that her house was bugged by the FBI and CIA. Smith contends the CIA, angered by the Bay of Pigs debacle, struck back against the Kennedys via Monroe. Smith's research is intriguing, but his reasoning specious. If the CIA wanted to implicate the Kennedys in murder, why make it look like suicide? And why is the family off the hook? This book's evident desire to exonerate them colors its thesis. Photos.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.