Book Review: Hazardous to My Health by Marcia Hill

hazardous to my health cover
Synopsis: This book is Hill's memoir of the kidnapping of her and her two small children by "Claude Hall", the third man to be used in the famous Marlboro Man advertising campaign by Philip Morris. This story is
not about cigarettes or smoking. It's about abduction, rape and extreme abusive violence. It's about fear. It's about one man's powerful influence over the police and politicians in Hawaii, California and Nevada.

It's also about survival. AND SURVIVE SHE DID. For four long years she survived. Now, after decades of silence, she is finally telling her story. Hill recounts the excitement of the nightlife of Waikiki, the visiting with famous personalities, and the abrupt surreal violence behind closed doors. One month she is spending a long week end with Lee Majors and Farrah Fawcett in Nevada; the next month she is fighting to stay alive in Santa Cruz, California. The unexpected, violent ending in the sleepy little village of Playa Zancudo, Costa Rica, will leave the reader stunned  

About the Author: Marcia N Hill was born in a log cabin in Prescott, Az. She moved to Hawaii as a teenager, and raised her children in the islands. Marcia and her children live their lives today filled with enthusiasm, joy and laughter

Review: This is more of a novella than a book- it is only 147 pages and the print leans toward the large side, so it is a VERY quick read (I read it totally in an hour, even going back to reread a couple sections). The synopsis of the book drew me in- as a young child the Marlboro Men were iconic (even Tom Selleck was rumored to be one!), but you never knew much about them. Hill's memoir shows that what you see of a celebrity is not always reality, they can be human (and evil), like anyone else.

I applaud Hill's determination to get her and her children away from Hall, but I couldn't help reading the book and thinking there was more that was not being said or discussed. It may be from reading too many memoirs, but I felt like only a small piece of what was happened was told. I left the book with questions and no answers."Hall" was a shadowy character and not much was told about him, to explain the hold he had over law enforcement. I'm not sure if Hill knew any more (or ever found out more), or if she was stopped from publishing any more info on him by his family.

The book is worth reading, but I'd love to see a more filled out version later.



Disclosure / Disclaimer:  I received this book, free of charge, thru Bostick Communications and the author, for review purposes. No compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to review it.