For Laci: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Justice -- Written by Sharon Rocha (Book Review).(Book review)

There are probably only a handful of adults in North America who are unfamiliar with the brutal 2002 murders of Laci Peterson and her unborn son, Conner. In For Laci: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Justice, Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, paints a brutally honest, unforgettable portrait of the loss of her beloved daughter. There is clearly a hole in her heart that will never be healed.

Deprived of the companionship and joy and exuberance of her 27-year-old daughter itself would have been an unfathomable loss for Rocha. That Laci and Conner died at the hands of Scott Peterson, Laci's husband, makes the losses almost unbearable.

As I sit at my computer, typing out this review, it is March 28. For Laci was published in December 2005, going on three years since the bodies of Laci and Conner were found separately in San Francisco Bay.

Securing a spot on the New York Times bestseller list not only carries its own cachet, to a certain audience it signals which books are worth reading. A mention there boosts sales big time.

If you read the January 15 Sunday Times' rankings, the book was listed at #11. For Laci then leaped to #1 and held that coveted spot for two weeks.

It was #8 as of February 19. And on March 26, For Laci still held down the #21 position. In a book universe that publishes a couple of gazillion titles each year, this is a tremendous accomplishment.

But, for all that, as of yesterday, not one publication has bothered to review For Laci. What a travesty.