Love and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain

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Love and Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain, published by Simon & Schuster, is a collaborative investigative journalism book written by Ian Halperin and Max Wallace purporting to show that rock star Kurt Cobain, believed to have committed suicide, was in fact murdered, possibly at the behest of his wife Courtney Love. It is a follow-up to the authors' 1998 bestseller on the same subject, Who Killed Kurt Cobain?. The book is based on 30 hours of revealing audiotaped conversations between Courtney Love's private investigator, Tom Grant, and her entertainment attorney, who both dispute the official finding of suicide and believe Cobain was in fact murdered. The lawyer, who was also godmother to Frances Bean Cobain, says on the tapes that she believes the so-called suicide note was "forged or traced." The authors also interview Cobain's grandfather, who believes Kurt was the victim of foul play and Courtney's father, who also believes he was murdered.

[edit] Reception

Love and Death reached #18 on the New York Times Bestseller list in April of 2004.^{[citation needed]}

Shortly after the book's release, the television show Dateline NBC aired a segment critically examining many of the book's conclusions. ^[1] ^[2] NBC is owned by Vivendi which also owns Universal Music Group. Courtney Love was signed with Universal Music creating an obvious conflict of interest in Dateline NBC's reporting on a book which implicated Love in Kurt Cobain's murder.