Mass Murderers Books

I read about 20 pages of this tripe and had to stop - I was laughing too hard to read. In 20 pages, I encountered THREE illiterative names! Lisa Langly, Brad Booker and William White. Talk about lazy uninspried writing! If an author can't take the time to come up with good names, how on earth does she expect readers to wade through the rest of the drivel.

I would have rated it a 3 but the plot was excellent - even the characters presentations were excellent - kept you on your toes.

We have Special Agent Brad Booker - has some emotion and identity problems.
His partner, Ethan Manning who always is there to help Brad.
William White - the psychotic killer who feels no guilt and is hard to find.
Lisa Langley - who escaped, through Brad's intervention, the "Grave Diggers" plans for her.
Liam Langley - who warned Brad that he was not good enough for his daughter. He was still torn up about losing his wife and not in good contact with his daughter.
Gioni Kerr - Doctor Langley's assistant and confidant and lover.
Vernon Hanks - who has been missing and wanting Lisa.
Wayne Nettleton - the reporter who is always called by the "Grave Digger" on the location of the burials - that is how he made his reputation.
Curtis Thigs - he was White's cell mate.
The three recent victims eventually all tie in to the killer.
And Yet ---------- this is a [...] that has shown up as Digger was dead.

Great plot - Excellent story lay-out - characters flawed but human if a bit quirky - just don't see the value of the freakin' language that belongs in the barnyard - vulgarity is for the un-intelligent or those who don't know how to express themselves.

Excellent story but don't know if I want to recommend it - don't forget what goes in the mind ends up coming out of the mouth - The PMS is another story.

It's tough to find a hero appealing when his inner monologue is stuck on the topic of how unworthy he is, and how he's to blame for everything from a serial killer's choice of victims ("I dated her and now she's dead!") to the fact that he didn't get adopted as a child. ("The social worker said people only wanted to adopt nice boys!" Was she being insensitive? Or was that her polite way of saying, "You whine so much, dogs howl in nearby cities.")

Characters who wallow in self-loathing are too common in real life to interest me when I'm reading escapist fiction. Romantic suspense is one place where arrogance always trumps shame.

I really enjoyed this book and this author, given this was the second book I've read of Rita Herron's. Her writing is unusual, I like how she bases her stories in small towns where everyone knows everyone's secrets in a way. Her style of writing is my favorite thus far, and I cannot wait to read more of her work.

Brad Booker was an easy attraction and I was able to picture his character with the great details about his dark past (which was sort of weak, and forgivable.) He was dark, mysterious, and all around good-looking--and strong in both body and soul. Though, he didn't know how to make up his mind about the women he had dated, and he couldn't stop second-guessing himself, and wouldn't give himself a happily ever after ending. Though, through the words, I could tell he was a man in pain for what he had become, and grew up around. It's no wonder he was a hard man to get to. He lived a troubled, dangerous life and I see why he didn't want to take care of anyone, or see any glory because of his job. But then again, you should never let your job take over your life.

And then there's Lisa...who was in love with Brad for the longest time. Even when he found her, and stayed with her through the trials of the first grave digger. She was strong also, but she could never get rid of the nightmares of her attack by a man she thought she loved and wanted to be with, and her strength withered away. And then Brad comes to her, asking for her help with this new copycat grave digger and Lisa offers to help, though it's hard to.

The main story with the grave digger was VERY well thought out. I liked the concept, the details of what the women went through before actually being buried alive. Gave me chills just reading it. That's how you know this was a good book when it gives you chills.

Bottom line is: the romance was great, the details were magnificent, and I recommend this to anyone, as well as Herron's other works!

The Gravedigger nearly killed Lisa Langley four years ago. Special Agent Brad Booker had sworn to protect her but he almost didn't succeed. Guilt has haunted him ever since. He doesn't want to destroy the new world Lisa has carved out for herself but a copycat is on the loose and Brad fears Lisa may be a potential victim. Will Brad be able to save Lisa yet again or will his heart get in the way?

There is nothing better than picking up a book to read "just for a minute" and looking up to find you have read over 100 pages! IN A HEARTBEAT is just that kind of book. Rita Herron clearly has mastered the art of writing books that grab the reader by the throat and don't let go.

IN A HEARTBEAT is full of numerous twists and turns. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Rita Herron took me down an entirely different path. She does a fabulous job at balancing the darkness of the Gravedigger's crimes with the heroism of his targets. One can't help but be drawn into the stifling fear the Gravedigger induces in his victims as Ms. Herron creates such vivid sensations and images. Surprisingly, considering the violence of the Gravedigger's crimes, there is little gore.

What a wonderful tale of romantic suspense! IN A HEARTBEAT is an edge of your seat thriller that just begs to be finished in one sitting. Kudos, Ms. Herron, for yet another stunning tale!

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

I found this book interesting. It's worth of the money i spent.

Firstly, it was very strange to see that a Mensa member ruined his life in such a way. It's a fact that the intelligence of a person doesn't guarantee his/her happiness or his/her success. This man could be a great scientist, like Albert Einstein or Nicola Tesla. He could have discovered the cure for cancer or AIDS. However, he succeded in drugs and death.

Furthermore, this book shows the way of living of an undercover agent. Susan, faced a lethal danger being undercover near a dangerous killer. It was very hard to keep (and losing sometimes) balance between being hershelf and being somebody else.
The man's mind will not ever be discovered. It's a great chaos. Susan discovered the attractive, intelligent and interesting side of the killer (fortunately, it was not hard for her partners to ....bring her back to normal).

Finally, i found it very interesting. It doesn't show only facts, evidence and law enforcement. It shows the life and the emotions of all involved in this case.

This book started out interesting, and then became bogged down in an undercover officer wasting her time discovering NOTHING. After an exciting beginning, it was a disappointment in the end.

It seems all the 'danger' the officer was in was in her head, as the alledged killer never threatened her or did ANYTHING even remotely scarey, other than act like a 'geek' (which the police found suspect).

Im my opinion, Susan Goreck's undercover operation of George Trepal was a total waste of time and money, coming up with nothing solid in the end. She seemed to find him suspicious because he was an introverted loner, who happened to hold a PhD in chemistry. All the evidence was circumstantial. All the personal information revealed about George and his wife had nothing to do with the case, and is an embarassment these petty things came out in an 'official' police investigation.

Such a bad piece of undercover work is a disservice to the poor family who suffered these tragedies.

Whether George Trepal really did it or not, the undercover investigation uncovered nothing interesting. The only good news is the book was well written by ghost-writer Jeffrey Good, and the case itself is interesting.

Thank god I live in Illinois, because the Florida police seem to equate computer users with killers!

If George Trepal really did poison his next door neighbors, he will go down in history as one of the sickest minds to ever live. If on the other hand, Trepal didn't do it, he will be remembered as a victim of great injustice.
Either way, the book is superbly written. How one human being could cause such terrible suffering on his fellow human beings will perplex me till the day I die.

George Trepal has been a friend of mine since the mid 1980s, long before he was accused of this crime. What bothers me about this book is also what bothered me about the investigation: that other people with motive, means and opportunities were not thoroughly investigated, and that the victims continued to be poisoned while in the hospital and not within George's so called reach. I do not know if George did the crime, but I do think this book is a reflection of the real crime here, and that is of professionals doing a poor job of examining all of the facts before rushing to judgment. I think an impartial review of the facts does not lead to guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. George may have indeed committed this crime, but I think he was falsely convicted of said. This book could have looked at that aspect better. Djordan@cfl.rr.com

True crime buffs will undoubtedly enjoy this book, particularly if you've seen the television programs devoted to this case. However, some of the authors' attempts to create suspense during Susan Goreck's undercover work seem a bit overblown. All of George Trepal's personality quirks, no matter how minor, are made to seem evil and malevolent. We are repeatedly told that Susan was risking her life throughout her surveillance, when it's abundantly obvious that she was in little (if any) danger from the geeky George.

The authors also place unwarranted emphasis on George and Diana's interest in BDSM sex; their leather goods, sex toys, basement play dungeon, etc. are described in ominous detail. Only the most naive reader will think this has anything to do with Trepal's crimes.

Some more in-depth information about Diana Carr would have been most welcome. Her role in the poisonings has never been fully explored.

To their credit, the authors thoroughly debunk the popular image of Mensa as a lofty, serious organization with high ideals (it's more like a singles club for snooty, socially-dysfunctional geeks).

This collection is great. I owned this book for years and would always go back and forth flipping through the pages, finding new twisted tales.

Another reviewer called it inaccurate, well, maybe, who cares really, I read it for the hair raising tales and pure shock and awe!

If you like serial killer literature, I haven't seen too many better then this book!

And I'm not. There are many murderers listed in this book, in apparently no kind of order, so if you're looking for a specific one, take your time. Most of these are the gory killers, whose sadism and senseless torture of their victims (humans and animals alike) would make me ill if I read it, so I skipped those parts, which left me with not much to read.

I will have to take the word of previous reviewers who noted errors in the stories, since I'm not very familiar with the serial/torture killer type. I did notice that Mr. Everitt mentioned that Charles Whitman wrote a note requesting an autopsy before he went on his shooting spree in the tower at the University of Texas, but the author fails to mention that one was done afterward, and a large tumor was found in his brain. Just so you know.

The segment on the Bender family is fascinating. Luring travelers to their country home for dinner and a night's board, and Wham! Don't sit with your back to a sheet room-divider is the moral I guess. The chapter on Sawney Beane is just as great. Inbred Scottish cannibals living in a cave, where the only entrance is concealed by water due to the tide most of the day. Why isn't this story a movie?

This book is a quick-reference book for the numerous serial killers that have roamed the land since the 1800s. This book starts with those who thought they were werewolves (feasting on children), to those who believed they were cannibals and breeded with each other, to the notorious Speck, Killer Clown and Dahmer. There are a few pages dedicated to each killer, complete with an easy-reference index. Only the most gruesome details are highlighted.

i wish i had seen that guy from swedens review before i bought that book.. i must agree with him.. from the first page i was reading incorrect information.. i will be returning this book for sure. i was all excited to get the book and when i saw incorrect information in first page, i went to the part about dahmer (about whom i have read a lot of books) and the info there was not consistant w/other books on him. i would like to know where they got some of their information for this book. it reminds me of another bad book 'cannibal killers' by moira martingale. if you want to read a really decent, accurate book... read a book by john douglas or robert ressler!!!

I disagree with some of the other reviewers. I too read a lot of true crime books. Robert Scott has written a true crime book about one of America's most dangerous serial killers. Robert "Bob" Spangler was the adopted son of a prominent Iowa state professor. Sadly, all those around him started dying mysteriously. Bob who was married unhappily to Nancy Stahlman and the father of two teenage children wanted out of the marriage but his mistress did not want the troubles of teenage children. Sadly, Bob arranged to make his first wife's death to look like a suicide on December 30, 1978 in Littleton, Colorado (hometown of Columbine high school). He also murdered his children with a gun and made it look like it was entirely his wife's fault. Bob continued to live in the house of death afterwards without much conscience. His second wife who he killed for would also die under the suspicious circumstances of a pill-forced suicide in 1994. His third wife would be pushed down in the Grand Canyon in Arizona during one of Bob's many hiking trips. His adopted father died under mysterious circumstances despite his advanced age after a visit from his son. His motivation was all selfish. He never did anything for anybody else. He was a successful businessman in his own right but his personal life was surrounded by death. Bob could sleep very well in his Littleton house as well as other places. Until the law finally caught up with him, it just seemed like he was getting away with murder. His second and third wives had included him in his estate if they died before him. His father also had a sizable fortune. Bob just didn't want to work no more and he took a very different road. He killed his own children because he couldn't control them anymore as teenagers and showed absolutely no remorse for his crimes which are just unspeakable and horrendous. I can't imagine somebody to be so cold, calculated, and homicidal towards the people including his three wives and two children who he was supposed to love. Imagine, he shot to death his own children for no reason because they would just be trouble with his extra-marital relationship. I can't blame his wives because I think they were madly in love with him and paid dearly with their lives as well one way or another. His children were another story. Maybe they would have brought him to justice for their mother's death. Most people in Bob's situation would have just left the wife and divorce. I guess Bob just couldn't handle losing his money and grip on his life.

As a general rule, I found Robert Scott to be an excellent true crime genre writer; however, with this book I was a little disappointed. While the story was definitely one that should have been written, often the reader is subjected to phrases such as "It is unclear..." and "It is unknown..." Unfortunately, these phrases seem to proceed sentences that would have contained facts very important to the case...and, of course, the reader.

I brought this book and finished it withen a day, although a bit desturbing it is one that you will not be able to put down, i have a few of robert scoots books now & they are all easy reading & very detailed, a must for any book collection

I just finished this book and wish there had been more "meat" in it. Of course, the story, which is very interesting, (what kind of person would kill his own teenage children and two of his wives without a shred of remorse?) practically tells itself. The problem is that the author failed to think about the kinds of questions a reader might have. For example, he spends only one paragraph mentioning that Robert Spangler's father died under very suspicious circumstances when his son, who stood to inherit a large amount of money, visited him. I wanted to know more! The author also tends to include too many quotes from newspapers, police reports, etc., but doesn't seem to provide a lot of fresh information. Text is repetitive (for example, stating the location of an FBI lab not once but twice within a few paragraphs), contains grammatical errors, and there is just too much conjecture (also repetitive) on the part of the author. Why wasn't this book more carefully proofread?
All in all, I wasn't left with that satisfied feeling I get after reading Ann Rule, who just states the facts and does a lot of digging to back up any conclusions she makes.

I have no idea why the main character had the motivation to definately murder 4 people (and possibly 7, but he did not admit to the others) It is an o.k. that would have benefited from interviews with family members of the murdered victims who knew the killer Bob. It also would have benefited from an interview with Bob himself (but I realize this is impossible due to him being deceased. )

with Dial's capture today, 4/5/05, this provides a more satisfying ending for the book. My thoughts and prayers are for the families of all those that Dial hurt.

The amount of information is thinly stretched out in this...thin book! The writing is good but the stories are recycled over and over and not much is discovered. Dial, to me, came off as a big B.S.er. I didn't find his philosophy or effette personality to be remotely interesting. Keep this book in a glass case---read only in the event of an emergency(nothing else to read!)

Dial has been captured, with the warden's wife, too. Dial, a sculptor and painter, was convicted of the 1981 murder of a karate instructor. He had obtained trusty status at the Oklahoma State Reformatory, and he ran an inmate pottery program with Bobbi Parker and had access to the couple's home during the day in staff housing on prison grounds.

Bobbi Parker's mother received a phone call from her the night of the 1994 disappearance traced to Hurst, Texas. "I can't talk now," she said, crying. "I'm OK. Tell the kids I'll see them soon."

A day later, she made a second call, this time from Fort Worth to a friend. It was the last message her family got from her. "Tell the kids I love them and I'll be home soon," she said.

In a jailhouse interview with reporters Tuesday, Dial, 60, said he took Parker at knifepoint when he escaped.

"I was a hostage-taker and will probably live to regret it," Dial said. "But now I don't. Doing a life sentence, at my age, I wouldn't trade it for the past 10 1/2 years."

Dial said their relationship was never romantic and that they lived in separate rooms. He likened Parker's relationship to him as "Stockholm Syndrome," where kidnapping victims become sympathetic to their captors over time, often out of fear of violence.

"She was living under the impression if she ever tried to get away, I would get away and I would make her regret it, particularly toward her family," Dial said. "I didn't mean it, but she didn't know that."

What an amazing story this is now! Even better!

This book was captivating, easy reading, but yet confusing. It almost seems like a few of the "badges" were tainted, and that's why they stopped pressing to find out who paid Dial to kill Hogan. Could the warden's wife really have made "almost identical" calls? Or was it the same, maybe taped, message? There are too many unanswered questions. If Dial is still alive, I am sure of this; He has a copy of this book to add to his collection of his personal accompishments, and, He is an artist that is proud of his work, and he will surface again,with more of his creations, and stories to tell.

Maybe this man who thinks he is above everyone else, who thinks nothing of ruining the lives of all who come in contact with him, will walk away from this apparently successful evasion! I received and read this book in one night, and thought the author did an excellent job at researching this man's past. However, I also feel that he has just scratched the surface. It is true that Dial is a very complex individual, but Mr. Sasser was successful in exposing this man as someone who has a constant need to feel important. If he can't do it with the truth, he makes something up to put himself in the center of attention, and laces it with enough truth to make it believable! His continued evasion is an outrage, and I do not believe that Bobbi Parker went with him willingly. I felt that Mr. Sasser revealed this through the source he quoted. She only met her twice, and saw the integrity with which Bobbi led her life. I would have liked to have read more from people who actually know her. I am proud to say that I have known Bobbi for almost 14yrs, and she IS that special! Thank you Mr. Sasser, for an intriguing look at the world, or should I say illusion that this man has created for himself. To the family of Mr. Hogan, God's speed, and to Bobbi... we all love and miss you very much!

I, like many other people had never heard of the "BTK" serial killer who terrorized Wichita in the 1970's and 80's until news clips started talking about him resurfacing. One of the first things I found amazing in Carlton Smith's book is the fact that an entire generation of people in the town it happened in had not heard of him either.

It was part of this unknowing that helped fuel one of the people the book centers on, which is lawyer Robert Beattie. Beattie's psychological outlook into the case from the clues that had already been collected helped him concoct a plan to bring the BTK killer back out of hiding. Like many serial killers, the BTK had been known for wanting attention, and when Beattie announced he was writing a book about the BTK, the killer quickly resurfaced, taunting police with mailed evidence and letters till the error made with a computer floppy disk led to his capture. From then on, the world knew the BTK as Dennis Rader; a pillar in the community and the last person many thought would be capable of such a thing.

Carlton's novel can be broken down into three sections. One is the start of Beattie's involvement with the case. As the book rolls on, we later go through each grisly murder as Dennis Rader performed it. We are not shown so much the mind of the killer, but we really don't need to be. His actions of murder coupled with his strange fantasy world of bondage through collections of homemade playing cards and his over the top ego all come together to paint a picture of an extremely disturbed individual. We cry for the victims, and we gasp in disbelief at how many times he was almost caught. This leads to the third part of the book, which is the area that dances around the initial shock of the murders that started with the Otero family. It is during this part that shows how many in the law enforcement community were trying so hard to bring justice to the table, but also showed how mishandled evidence and an almost state of denial by some helped hinder the investigations. I was amazed to find that so many mistakes were made, but the biggest perhaps was the continual reluctance to release anything to the public. At the time, they did not want to create a "panic" in Wichita, while at the same time some of the details of the consecutive patterns that were being seen could have helped some residents identify the suspect sooner as well as be more careful about who they opened their door to.

Sad, Frustrating and scary, the trip Carlton takes us on serves up the right justice in the end. The book really takes off when BTK communicates with law enforcement when he resurfaces and although stirring up scary memories in the town of Wichita, renews an aggressive interest by dusting off the case and taking it on to finally capture the BTK killer once and for all.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of all of the BTK victims at this time. The dark side of human nature is always around us, and I just hope that in the days ahead, there are fewer Dennis Raders in the world to ruin the lives of others.

I eagerly awaited thia book and what a dissapointment it is. Obviously it was written for those who know little or nothing abt the case, but want to read a true crime book on the throne or on the subway. There was no new data and the descriptions of the crimes were like reading fiction, especially since the author obviously did not check the details, even though they are on the internet. At one point he says that after the first crimes, Rader went home to his wife and kids, when at that time he had no kids. There are countless others, but out of respect for those involved, I will not specify. Was not worth the wait or the money.

The book was so-so. I was disappointed that it told me absolutely nothing about Dennis Rader as a person. There was nothing in the book about his background from childhood and nothing about his marriage and relationship with his wife. I'm glad I didn't spend a lot of money for the book.

I lived in the area these murders took place and still have a home in Wichita. It is very interesting to me to learn more about the murders and the investigation. I also had friends on the police department that were very involved, but could not know this at the time.

I thought this book was very detailed, but I don't know how accurate the provided details were. It was interesting how the author wrote his book in hopes of getting BTK mad - if BTK thought the author was getting all the glory by publishing a book about BTK, maybe BTK would try and communicate again.

The author's ploy worked, and it helped lead to the capture of BTK.

For people who know nothing about the BTK case, this book would be very good. It may be kind of boring to those who know much about the case, however. It's an interesting true crime story, a quick read, and even if it wasn't the most factual BTK book, I enjoyed it.

About a creepy psycho nurse who takes his anger out on helpless hospital patients by killing them. Very difficult to get through, not due to the writing style but due to the horific nature of Cullen's acts.

it is a shame that the tragic story of the victims and their families is told in such a cheap, sensationalized way. instead of serious journalistic reporting, we are subjected to a story filled with conflicting information, a difficult to follow storyline, and a tedious amount of adjectives. there is no sense of factual reporting, but instead tabloid drama. this story deserves a dignity in telling that this author did not even attempt to achieve.

in all fairness, my opinion is based on reading only half of the book. i just found it unbearable, and a waste of time. i'll wait for a book written in a more professional manner.

Yep...I am a nurse. And at one time I reported a nurse I thought was doing very similar misdeeds (but they never proved it.) So heck yeah I wanted to read this book. While the subject interests me, I have a hard time getting around the writting. The authors paraphrase previous paragraphs frequently..unbelievably redundant. The time lines are all screwy - jumping around is so confusing and they often leave off years in their dates. They had one man dieing in 1996 but said he was widowed in 1997. How did THAT work? And if I heard about Charles size, pallor or stone facial expressions one more time I was going to flip. This book felt like a much shorter book that was stretched to fill pages. That makes no sense since so much happened - so many murders. There was plenty of filling available -the authors just didn't bother. I would skip this one unless you have some personal interest.

I found myself cringing everytime Charles Cullen's name was mentioned in this book because just about every mention of his name is prefaced by a superfluous adjective... (i.e. the killer nurse with the sickly pallor...the homicidal RN, the ghostly death shadow....and the list goes on). At times, I felt like I was reading a badly written hospital thriller. I did, however, appreciate that the victims were personalized and not referred to as a victime number. The book is a bit drawn out and tedious, but overall it's an average to decent true crime read.

"Nurse" as defined by Webster is one who cares for the infirm, one who attempts to cure and alleviate suffering. Forget our traditional view of a nurse when you open the pages of "Death Angel," a grim, cold-chill true story of serial killer, Charles Cullen.

Penned by writer Clifford L. Linedecker and Zach T. Martin, the son of Cullen's first known victim, "Death Angel" is a shocking chronology of lives lost and an intimate portrait of a psychopathic murderer who confessed to killing some 40 hospital patients between 1988 and 2003.

Night time was Cullen's time. He requested after daylight hours assignments to ICU wards in Pennsylvania and New Jersey hospitals where he used the skills he had learned not to heal but to kill. He chose his victims at random, deciding who would live and who would die.

After he was apprehended Cullen insisted that he hadn't wanted people to see him as he was, as who he was, Detective Sergeant Braun asked, " Who are you, Charles?"

"A man, person, who was trusted and had responsibility for a lot of people dying," was the answer. "......I had no right to do this. I had no right! I just couldn't stop! I couldn't stop it!"

What could be more frightening than a man who repeatedly commits such heinous crimes, knows full well what he is doing, but cannot stop? From pictures included, Cullen is slim, a man with pleasant features. He doesn't at all appear to be the monster many claimed he was, yet his acts indicate he was less than human. What could possibly have compelled anyone to kill and kill again and again the most helpless of victims?

Unfortunately, there is not an ending to this story. As late as June, 2005 Cullen's guilty pleas for five murders were accepted. And the victims families continue to plead for legislation to prevent rogue healthcare workers from moving from job to job as Cullen did.

- Gail Cooke

I really enjoyed reading this book. I am from Weimar (where 2 of his murders took place)so i experienced this and know the some of the people in the book. After he was caught we never really heard much about his case or any information on him so this book gave me some sort of closure. It definetly helped me understand everything alot better.

This book is inaccurate and not worth the paper it's printed on. The author was just trying to make a quick buck and didn't bother finding a lot of facts in the process.

I really liked this book. It told me a lot of infomation that you couldn't find in the news during the killing spree. Overall it was a great book!

Wensley Clarkson writes in a plain prose and is far from being a master of the written word. However, I doubt that anybody reads this book with those needs. Clarkson tells a great story of one the more recent serial killers to strike fear in America. Though he may have rehashed media reports on Angel Marturino Resendez and made a book, I enjoyed reading it.

Resendez, who collected a plethora of aliases through his criminal career, started out as a thief. Crossing the border into America via train at a young age, he brought his profits back to his home in Mexico. Yet the sexual assaults of his childhood and during his first prison term left their mark. Resendez emerged from his first prison term a very angry man. Seemingly inspired by "The Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez, he began brutally murdering victims in addition to robbing them. Typified by a crushing blow to the head, Resendez dominated his victims and often sexually assaulted his female victims.

What made Resendez so elusive was his ability to exist on either side of the American-Mexican border. With his multiple aliases, he was elusive even when he was in custody. Had he not surrendered to American authorities, he might still be successfully hiding in Mexico. This twist in the story makes it unique in comparison to other serial or spree killers. It also makes for an entertaining read that I had trouble putting down.

As one of the many forensic investigators involved in the crime scenes and apprehension of Resendiz-Ramirez I find this book is just a rehash of news articles and watered-down at that. Apparently, little or no research went into this book nor does it appear that authorities that were involved in the case(s) attributed to Angel were even considered.

That DeSalvo isn't the strangler, is not hard to swallow. But that senators and police commissioners and mayors conspire to keep it a secret, chokes the reader.

This mystery/suspense novel did not hit its stride for me until I was more than halfway through the book. Up to that point, I found the writing very uneven and mostly mediocre. Nor was there pace or rhythm.

About midway through the book, it did pick up pace, stride, rhythm, voice, suspense, and technique, and thus I enjoyed this last as a suspenseful page-turner. As a matter of fact, the latter part of the book was well worth having to read the first part. If you love susspense and mystery, I recommend the reader do the same.

Author Brian McGrory certainly has had help in holding the reader's attention, in that the Boston Strangler case is one of the most fascinating crime cases. Not only is the orignal solution to the mystery of who the serial killer is, and its investigation, totally absorbing, but the subsequent revelation that the man charged by the media and the State with the crime (notwithstanding the fact that the serial killings ceased when he was behind bars) appears to be not guilty, and that the guilty parties may, in fact, be members of the criminal justice system, is something that people will be talking and thinking about for years to come.

This latest in McGrory's Jack Flynn series is the best to date. The story offers a fresh, fictional look at the puzzling real-life Boston Strangler serial murders when, forty years later, Boston "Record" reporter Flynn is chosen as spokesperson for the perpetrator of a similar series of murders and becomes the traget of someone who wants him out of the way. Is the Strangler back? Was now deceased Albert DiSalvo not really the serial killer he claimed to be? Who doesn't want the truth revealed?

"Strangled" is a fast-paced shuttle between Boston and Vegas that conveys the strikingly different energy of both cities. I loved it.

Forty years ago, someone killed Albert DeSalvo, the self-confessed "Boston Strangler", in prison; case closed. Until now that is. Boston Record reporter Jack Flynn, on the verge of marrying his beloved Maggie Kane, ignores his upcoming nuptials to investigate a new string of homicides that eerily parallel that of the Strangler. The press dubs the new killer the "Phantom Fiend".

Jack begins his investigation by scanning the 1960s record to determine whether he agrees with officialdom that DeSalvo was the original killer. However, not surprisingly at least to Jack who used to work the DC beat (see THE INNOCENT), several Massachusetts' prominent citizens especially those in law enforcement today and in the 60s want him to leave the past buried with DeSalvo. His first police contact FOJ (friend of Jack) Leo Goldsmith tells him for his own good to back off from that approach. Pressure to cease and desist comes especially from supporters of Stu Callahan, the State senior Senator who prosecuted the DeSalvo conviction. Ignoring everyone including his fiancée, Jack receives correspondence from the apparent killer who forces him into a contest in which not playing or failure means women will be STRANGLED.

Though an exciting journalistic investigative thriller, STRANGLED is one of those tales that could have been a classic, but chooses the modern day cat and mouse action over the more fascinating look back at the DeSalvo confession. The story line is fast-paced as Jack knows he cannot ignore the deadly contest even if every politico law enforcement type demands he does as he believes the serial killer must be stopped and he has the insider track though the cost on his personal life might prove expensive. Reader will enjoy this murder mystery, but once done wonder about DeSalvo.

Harriet Klausner

I admit that I was a little skeptical about the idea of fictionalizing the real life horror of the Boston Strangler case. However, after reading Brian McGrory's fine novel, my fears were put to rest. McGrory brings the strangler case back to life by offering enough true & disturbing details about the original crimes to make one wonder; could it happen again?
McGrory also tells his story through a multi-layered hero with flaws and steely eyed determination that would make even James Patterson proud.
Good Job Brian!

Casey Sherman, author of Search for the Strangler: My Hunt for Boston's Most Notorious Killer

While the events which prompted this book are fascinating, the author didn't seem to have the ability to maintain the reader's interest throughout. I could have quit reading after the first 50 pages, skipped the long and tedious middle, and then read the last 20 or so pages and still have gotten the salient points of the story. Instead, I kept plodding along throughout the middle, expecting to read something new to no avail. The author (mistakenly, I think) spilled the whole story at the beginning and just kept repeating the same themes over and over in the middle. In this way it was unsatisfying. However, the portrayals of the two murderers was good, plus the way she took the reader back to the '20s with references to sayings and customs of that particular period.

I enjoy true crime books, and this one is fairly typical in the handling of the case: first they tell you what allegedly happened, then they tell you the story leading up to the murder, and then the trial, and finally the death sentences. Since it's a true story, there's no point in "making you wait" for what you know happens in the end: it says right on the cover that the woman and her accomplice were put to death for murdering the woman's husband. So, no mystery there. The only reason for reading the book is to get the full story, which is fairly interesting, but not terribly fascinating or exciting. The MOST interesting thing, ultimately, for me, is the fact that this incident was the basis for the movies Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. So -- that's why I read it.

This is a must read book for all true crime novel enthusiasts. The time is the 1920's and it proves that there is "nothing new under the sun". Lust, greed, and murder for money has been around for a long time. The only difference is: These people were executed quickly.

Murderess! is the first book about the Ruth Snyder-Judd Gray case, a classic murder from the 1920s that has been wrongly forgotten. I had read about this case in other true crime anthologies, but no one had expanded it to book-length until now. Ruth Snyder (the murder victim was her husband, Albert, killed in 1927) and Judd Gray are a classic example of two people who came together with literally disastrous consequenses. She was a bored housewife and he was a traveling sales rep for a corset company. They met in a restaurant and began an affair that was intense, passionate, and, for her husband, deadly. The New York City press had a field day with this case, dubbing them "The Granite Woman and Her Putty Man." That seems mostly accurate, although even after reading and re-reading this book I cannot apportion blame for the murder or even state whose idea it was originally. This is not the author's fault; these two people were very intertwined and during their affair it's hard to determine where one ended and the other began. They each tried to shift all of the blame onto the other at trial, of course(it didn't work). The press, especially the New York City papers, play a large role in this book, because most of the information is taken from press accounts. I can't really fault the author for this, as the case is so old, and he states that the New York Times published the entire trial transcript! Both Snyder and Gray, their lawyers, and their families played to the media, and this information is very interesting and seems very current. Overall, a superior first true-crime book and well worth reading. Incidentally, this case was the inspiration for James M. Cain's classic crime novels Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice. I hope Mr. Margolin writes more true crime!