"It was so quiet, one of the killers would later say, you could almost hear the sound of ice rattling in cocktail shakers in the homes way down in the canyon. The canyons above Hollywood and Beverly Hills play tricks with sounds. A noise clearly audible a mile away may be indistinguishable at a few hundred feet. It was hot that night."

It's fair to assume that everyone knows who Charles Manson was. In 1969, the Tate-LaBianca murders left Los Angeles paranoid and wondering how one man can manipulate young seemingly innocent kids to murder several people in cold blood. Because Bugliosi was the prosecutor, he and Gentry are able to delve into the case in so much detail (I mean it: this is probably not for true crime beginners), drawing you in immediately by starting with the night of the murders and slowly building the puzzle one piece at a time.

"Was there some reason why you placed your finger on the bloody button that operated the gate?"
[Police officer:] "So that I could go through the gate."

In addition to the obvious feeling of being horrified about the murders, the second strongest feeling was frustration. The police made mistakes from the beginning. Items at the murder scene were moved, officers were stepping on blood, some idiots babbled to the reporters ("It looked ritualistic"), a 10-year-old boy who found a gun handled it better than the officer who touched it all over the place etc. I know it was the 60s, but how devoid of common sense can a human being be? Makes you think whether they messed up other cases to the extent that they were never solved.

The press was no better: they printed rumors and straight up made up stuff, certain things like the drug aspect were exaggerated, some stories were victim blaming etc.

Manson was a delusional POS, but his followers were no better. Yes, they were indoctrinated and controlled with drugs etc., but they weren't innocent little children, stand-up guys or daddy's little angels. Manson just knew which strings to pull, what his cohorts' weaknesses were, and how to take advantage of their nasty sides. Within two years after he was released from prison the last time, he had his Family and they were ready to graduate to murder.