Serial Killers Books

I'm a great fan of Geary's "documentary" graphic novels, especially his "Treasury of Victorian Murder" series. That being said, this one, about the preeminent unsolved murder spree of the 19th century, is something of a disappointment. For one thing, it's shorter than the others, even though the literature about the "Ripper" murders is huge. For another, he sticks pretty much to the public events -- the actual murders -- and never dips into the vast amount of alternative interpretations and conspiracy theories surrounding them. He could have laid out some of the possibilities without taking sides. And what happened to Aberline and the other principles? The black-and-white crosshatched artwork is first-rate, as always, and there's nothing at all cartoonish about his rendering of individuals.

The title page says it all: "A Journal of the Whitechapel Murders 1888-1889 Adapted by Rick Geary." Don't expect shocking new "revelations" or speculations as to the identity of the Ripper; the text comprises excerpts from the journals of an anonymous Victorian chronicler of the Ripper's crimes. Yet it is precisely the ordinary, "following the day's news" quality of this account that is so chilling---it reminds the reader that the lost lives of these poor women were REAL and that their murders were never solved. Geary's renderings, as always, succeed admirably in fleshing out the journal entries, and his use of maps as backgrounds for many of his panels is ingenious. Reading this book was a fine approximation of taking a Ripper walking tour through Whitechapel.

If I had wanted a picture book, done in a comic book format, this would have been fine. It was not what I was looking for - I expected a more intellectual treatment. Will NOT but Geary again.

Jack the Ripper is a fact based comic. The story is told in the form of excerpts from an unamed Victorian man's journal. He says on this day this occurred on this day this body was found here, etc. The idea is to lay out just the facts and not to try to read into them. Theories on who the killer is etc are presented very briefly as they come up and no one theory is endorsed.

The visuals: The drawings here are done in a style that simulates wood cut prints. This lend itself to descriptive diagrammatic illustrations. It also keeps the gore from being so disturbing. This book isn't dwelling on the gore, but it isn't totally possible to avoid it in this case. The drawings of crime scenes etc here are very accurate, so the illustrations add to the information presented.

This is a good clean and straight forward telling of the Jack the Ripper stories. It lays out the facts and does this clearly and concisely. If you have already read lots about Jack the Ripper then this won't add anything new. It is also pretty expensive for a black and white comic book, since it is only 64 pages. The best use for this book is perhaps for families or school libraries that want a book about Jack the Ripper. It does tell about a slasher who kills prostitutes, but it is a clean treatment considering the subject.

I knew just the basics about Jack the Ripper when I picked this up in a used bookstore. The drawings were so detailed and clarified logistics (maps, diagrams, plans) in a way that text cannot. The text is extremely straightforward and reality-based, giving them an authority that hyperbole would've ruined. I had no intentions of buying this, but I had a hard time putting it down.
Years later, this has turned out to be one of those purchases that I pull out over and over again. It is never far from my bed and sits with two other (soon to be three) volumes in the series. All of them lay out conundrums that leave you chilled and uneasy. You go to bed a little less sure that all is right in the world.

Once I was flipping channels on cable and the image of an alley with a distinct bend to it flashed by. "...looked like an alley from the the Ripper killings..." I thought and changed back. Sure enough, it was a documentary on the Ripper. That's how accurate this books visuals are. I correctly associated a photo I had never seen before with the crimes just from viewing Geary's drawings. His illustrative style is fastidious and engrossing.

True to it's title I do treasure these volumes.
Best of luck and much success to you Rick!

Despite a delay with the postal service I received this book in a reasonable amount of time and it is in great condition.

Douglas may present a clear chronology of events relating to the investigation of Unabomber. However, that is the sole limit of the books's worth. The remainder of the book is a staging ground for Douglas' brand of psycholinguistics, the analysis of a person's patterns of expression and thought in order to provide a psychological profile of the person. Instead of accomplishing that, though, in any meaningful way, Douglas perpetrates a sort of freehand poetic literary criticism on the so-called Manifesto. He completely fails to gain any insight into Unabomber's own statement of policy in "Industrial Society and Its Future". On page fifty-three, Douglas boils down his view by claiming simply that the Unabomber's fixation on wood and nature "...probably served as his rationale for setting the bombs off, his substitute for whatever deeper psychological problems had actually caused him to commit the crimes. A lot of violent terrorist activity is the result of political beliefs, but at the same time, I've never seen a violent terrorist yet who I didn't feel had deep psychological problems and a serious character disorder." Oh, yeh. Lest we forget, Douglas goes on: Unabomber "diabolical" too.

Douglas essentially claims that the Unabomber's activity is irrational and eludes sensible thought. That is Douglas' most egregious fundamental flaw. If he's serious in that claim, then he is less insightful than he himself seems to think he is. On the other hand, Douglas' apparent perspicasity in his craft leads me to think that he has another goal in mind: distributing disinformation to the segment of the citizenry who haven't yet bothered to read, consider, and ponder Unabomber's veritable position. That can be accomplished only by directly encountering "Industrial Society and Its Future", not the perverted and oblique interpretation of it which Douglas works so stridently to champion under a charade of sophisticated psychoanalysis.

Basically, and to his credit, Unabomber provides an analysis of the sociology of technology. His central point is that being human and organization-dependent technology are inherently antagonistic and mutually exclusive entities. This basic tension provides the battleground for a choice: remaining human or allowing everyone to be psychologically, physiologically, and anatomically re-engineered in increments to fit the needs of the aloof and impersonal organizations that determine the course of industrial society; instead of allowing humans to put an upward limit on the intrusion into the psychological sphere that is demanded by the ever-increasing velocity and volume of conveniences that ultimately, and ever more quickly, become indispensable for the functioning of society and any given individual's participation therein. (E.g., ATM, FAX, refridgeration, pharmaceuticals, genetic recombination, etc.)

A careful reading of Unabomber's own words is very much worthwhile. He's talking about us, you and me, not some creature on another world.

And let us not forget what Douglas carelessly sweeps under the rug: Theodore Kaczysnki was arrested in the course of the execution of a speciously expedited search warrant that originated by his brother, David, ratting him out. The government's role in the story should be considered under the optic of a triple treachery: the government policing agencies, fraternal back-stabbing, and Douglas' attempt to obfuscate the truth about Unabomber's quite rational motivations as articulated in "Industrial Society and Its Future". Read Unabomber before you read anything about him.

The book was intersting, but a bit to brief for my liking. The actual story of the Unabomber life took less than 150 pages. The book details each of his bombings and suggests the reasoning behind the target and M.O. Douglas also takes you through his thoughts in the investigation. Many readers feel Douglas is a bit arrogant in his writing. I do not agree with that opinion, nor do I feel this book is written that way.

The rest of the book was not very interesting outside of the inclusion of the full manifesto of the Unabomber. The manifesto contains nothing shocking, but contains what you might expect an outsider hermit radical to say. I'm sure there are better books about the Unabomber than this, so I suggest you try a more detailed account.

I felt like I was reading the notes for a book about the Unabomber, not a real book with a beginning, middle, and end. Usually true crime books make a sequential pass through the crimes (in this case 16 bombings) and end with the arrest, and sometimes the trial of the perp. Not so "Unabomber" where the author seems more interested in proving that his profile of the bomber was correct, rather than describing the hunt for the criminal. The 16 bombings are described in Appendix 1, "An Overview and Chronological Summary," rather than in the text of the book.

A manifesto on criminal profiling certainly wasn't what I expected from "Unabomber," but that's what I got.

Potential purchasers should also note that the book itself is only 150 pages long. Appendices and an advertisement for "Mindhunters" by John Douglas take up the latter 150 pages.

The book proper is padded out with stories that have little to do with the 'alleged' Unabomber, ('alleged' because "Unabomber" was published before Theodore Kaczynski was tried and convicted). These stories are interesting, especially the case of George Metesky, the 'Mad Bomber' of the '40s and '50s, who had a grudge against New York City's Consolidated Edison (Con Ed).

(George Metesky is the only bomber I've felt the faintest amount of sympathy for, maybe because I spent so many years working at an electric utility!)

The author also spends quite a bit of print defending the legitimacy of profiling as a forensic 'art.' His team's profile of Theodore Kaczynski (disgruntled genius with ties to academia) was accurate, although the Unabomber task force neglected it in favor of another profile (blue collar aviation worker). Neither profile was essential to the capture of Kaczynski. His own relatives recognized his style of writing in the Unabomber manifesto that was published by the "New York Times" and "Washington Post," and they turned him in to the FBI.

If you'd like to read the unabomber's manifesto yourself, the full text is included in Appendix 3. It's 96 pages long and very dull.

I had never heard of John Douglas until one day my sister told me about this great book she was reading. She gave me a copy of 'Obession'. Now I am hooked ! What great reading all of his books are, from start to finish. I am now a fan. Looking forward to more books from this author.

Patricia Springer writes a very well-detailed and maybe too detailed with unforgettable pictures of the victims. There were five murdered women, Toni Gibbs, Terry Sims, Ellen Blau, Debra Taylor, and Tina Kimbrew who were all murdered between 1984-1986. The killer, Faryion Edward Wardrip only confessed to the Kimbrew murder. Unfortunately, Texas doesn't have a life without the possibility of parole which might make more juries choose the death penalty. Wardrip served 11 years in prison and 2 on parole with an ankle belt detector knowing where he was 24 hours per day. Faryion was obviously deeply troubled by his depression and his drug induced rages which consumed him. In 1996, DNA technology would be advanced enough to either exonerate or indict him on four more murders. Sadly, there were other victims besides their families. In Taylor's case, the suspicion fell on her husband, Kenneth for years. In the Gibbs case, there was a hung jury after a trial trying to convict Danny Laughlin (he died in 1993 in a car accident). Even until Danny's death, he was seen as involved in her brutal murder. The author shows the brutality of such crimes that none of the victims deserved. They were not only brutally murdered but raped and left for dead in fields where their remains were ravaged by maggots, insects, and other animals finding food. For Taylor's remains, they had to identify her through dental records and the jewelry left on her. His second victim tried to crawl out of an abandoned trolley car where she met her death from the bleeding and exposure. It was January 1985 in Wichita Falls, Texas. The first victim's murder occurred at a friend's house on December 21, 1984. Both victims were nurses. Ellen Blau had moved from Connecticut to Texas for her boyfriend. The relationship didn't last but she was unlike other victims. Blau attended private boarding schools but she managed to maintain a working class lifestyle trying to be independent with the help of her friend, Janie Bell. She also had a job working at a subshop. Wardrip's family also suffered from his crimes as well. He awaits execution in his jail cell. The book is very detailed regarding his crimes which is not for the faint at heart.

ALTHOUGH I ENJOYED THIS BOOK AND FOUND IT VERY INTERESTING, SEVERAL THINGS BOTHERED ME. FIRST OF ALL, ON THE COVER IT STATES: "BEFORE THERE WAS BTK, THERE WAS THE BODY HUNTER". THIS IS INACCURANT SICE BTK STARTED KILLING IN THE 70'S AND THE BODY HUNTER DID NOT START UNTIL THE 1980'S. SECOND OF ALL, I FOUND THE PICTURES IN THE BOOK SHOCKING AND UNNECESSARY. I AGREE WITH THE PREVIOUS GENTLEMAN'S REVIEW. I FOUND THE PICTURES TO BE DISRESPECTIVE OF THOSE KILLED AND THEIR FAMILIES. THE AUTHOR SHOULD BE ASHAMED FOR INCLUDING THOSE IN HER BOOK. I AM NO TRUE CRIME NOVICE, I HAVE OVER A HUNDRED TRUE CRIME BOOKS AND HAVE NEVER SEEN PICTURES LIKE THOSE IN A BOOK. ALSO THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE MURDER WAS A BIT TO DETAILED. I PREFER ANN RULES METHOD OF FOCUSING MORE ON THE VICTIMS LIFE RATHER THAN ON ALL THE GRUESOME DETAILS OF THEIR DEATH. OVERALL THIS BOOK MADE ME VERY SAD FOR THE MANY PEOPLE AFFECTED. I GAVE THIS BOOK 3 STARS SINCE IT DID HOLD MY ATTENTION. HAD IT NOT INCLUDED THE HORRIFIC PICTURES, I MAY HAVE GIVEN A 4 OR A 5.

SHAME ON THE AUTHOR AND SHAME ON THE PUBLISHER FOR BEING SO DISREPECTFUL!!!

The author did a tremendous job of bringing the facts on several Texas murders together into an easy to read format. A need to be read story.

I am originally from Wichita Falls, Texas, where this book takes place and remember well not only the actual murders but the shock when Wardrip was actually caught. It was interesting to read this book to see inside information. And since I'm already pretty familiar with the case, I was pleased to find out some things I hadn't already heard. However, and I guess most people wouldn't notice this kind of stuff, the lack of attention to detail irritated me to no end. Unless you're from the Wichita Falls area, you probably don't know that the funeral home is called Aulds Funeral home and not All's Funeral Home. Or you might not notice some of the geographical errors or misnamed streets. Someone not familiar with this area would probably gloss right over them. But being familiar with the area, it peeved me to no end that Springer couldn't take a little time to get her spellings straight and her roads right. It made me feel as if the book was sloppy and left me wondering what else may be wrong in it.

Between December 12, 1984 and May 6, 1986, there was a string of murders in Wichita Falls and Houston, Texas. Because these murders fell in various jurisdictions, there were not linked to a serial killer but were investigated as individual cases. The story of these murders illustrates one of the worst mistakes of law enforcement in our country. If not for two detectives that refused to give up, these cases would still remain unsolved except for one. This is the story of these crimes and the man who committed them.

On May 6, 1986, Faryion Edward Wardrip murdered Tina Kimbrew. A week later, he telephoned 911 and stated that he was going to kill himself. When officers responded, he told them that he had killed Kimbrew but it had been an accident. She had been his friend. He was traumatized over the loss.

On the way to the jail, the officers asked if he had known Ellen Blau, who was killed on September 20, 1985. He admitted knowing her. Fearing that further questioning before he had a lawyer would jeopardize the case, the cops did not discuss Blau any further. Instead, they noted in their report that he knew Blau and sent a message to the investigators. They failed to act on it.

Four days after his arrest was made public, one of his friends, Thomas Eugene Granger, telephoned the police to explain that Wardrip had a connection to four of the dead women. He had worked at the hospital with Toni Gibbs, murdered on January 19, 1985, and Terry Sims, murdered on December 21, 1984. He lived across the street from where Ellen Blau worked. Then, he moved near where Debra Taylor, murdered on March 24, 1985, was abducted. Her car was abandoned just around the corner from his house. When police did not take action, Granger called them a second time. Still, they maintained that the murders were the work of multiple killers. They ignored the tip.

This book is an excellent read. It seems more like a work of fiction that truth. The writing is lively and moving. You will have trouble putting this one down. Get it and read how a serial killer managed to walk away with parole and begin a new life, even though police had plenty of tips to connect him to a series of murders.

This book has it all. After the first few pages, you feel as if you really know the detailed main characters. Police, Prison, Life and Death. I know this is fiction, but you can tell that it is really based in reality. Scary world we live in! If you want a book that will keep on the edge of your seat to the last page, this is it. A must buy!!

A fast-paced, exciting and realistic look at a cop's view of the world. The main story revolves around the actions of and search for a demented killer, responsible for some grisly murders. But some of the best parts of the book explore the characters of two very different cops, one a middle-aged veteran who's seen it all, the other a female, Vietnamese-American rookie, dealing with prejudice from her fellow cops and opposition from her family over her chosen career. Unwilling partners, they respond to situations ranging from bizarre to comical to deadly. One criticism I would have is that sometimes the reader can becomes lost in the details, jargon, and large number of minor characters, also, some of the violence is very graphic. It is a raw perspective on a cop's world, with gore and humor closely intertwined.

Though Brutal Mercies unfolds slowly, and at times unevenly, it sustains credible depictions of police work, life on the street, and the investigative process. There are no cookie cutter characters here, no formulaic story techniques. Instead, Yantorno, himself a police officer, fuels this tale with authentic dialogue, personalities and incidences. The cops are gritty but dedicated, jaded but focused. Characters taken from society's fringes are covered from varied perspectives, and as a result, evoke reader empathy in unexpected places. Even elements of the mundane, which are seldom captured in crime novels, are executed skillfully, believably, as if one were sitting quietly in the backseat of a patrol car just listening and observing the goings on.

This book embraces the darkest and most disturbing aspects of human nature. Still, it is not without its subtle humor and/or self-deprecating jabs at authority.

If you're a true follower of crime stories, lover of all things investigative, a police procedural junkie, this book should be on your shelf.

The title is somewhat right on this book. Instead of brutal Mercies it should be brutal reading. I tried to read this garbage but I couldn't get through the book. I am sorry I ever purchased this so called novel.

Bought this over priced book because I know the author - could not finish this trash

This dealer responed quickly and had my book shipped almost immediately. Book is in great condition.

I thought this was written very well. I kept wanting to get the chance to read as much as possible, throughly enjoyed reading this book.

I read this book and it does tell you what a evil & dishonest person his mother was but there is very little information about the women that were murdered. I just gave this book away shaking my head and wondering about the victims. I was looking for a lot more information that was not in this book, Eric was evil and a murderer but I did want to know more about these poor women he killed. I want to know about these woman. That information was not in the book. Ages, dates of birth etc. were not written about. I have read many true crime books and this one was one of the worst.

In MAMA'S BOY, Richard T. Pienciak details the story of a serial murderer, Eric Napoletano who, while not unusual in his sociopathic arrogance, is somewhat unique in that he only killed his wives and girlfriends. Their transgressions which Napoletano found intolerable were such things as wanting to have contact with their families, to make their own decisions, and basically failing to be completely subservient to him. Rather than being a cool and intelligent sociopath, Eric is presented as an hysterical and out of control lunatic, who, while possessing a certain amount of craftiness, is not very smart. This description also defines his mother, Carolyn, an unusually nauseating woman with more than her share of creepy insanity. Eric's pathology is the direct result of Carolyn's style of "mothering" which was to spoil Eric, whom she treated as much like an adult equal as her son. In fact, mother and son seem to behave toward each other more like lovers than parent and child. There is however no indication in the book that Carolyn and Eric actually had a sexual relationship. That was reserved for "Uncle Al" Jiovine, a gay man attracted to adolescent boys with whom, astoundingly, Carolyn allowed Eric to live, at age 14, without ever having met him. While it is not explained in the book why Carolyn would do this to her son - maybe because there IS no explanation - she says she wasn't worried about Al because Eric needed a father figure and that she had heard from an acquaintance that Uncle Al was "OK."

MAMA'S BOY includes a highly successful device of, every 40 pages or so, presenting a chapter called "In Her Own Words" in which Pienciak allows Carolyn to comment directly on her life and the murders (in which she of course denies any involvement by Eric or herself)) and then presents, without commentary, her statements. What emerges is an awful person who hates everyone and who takes no responsibility for herself or her son, believing that everything that has happened to them is the result of some
master plot to bring them down. She has learned to be superficially clever in manipulating siuations so as to temporarily derail, for example, the investigations into Eric's murders, or her disciplinary hearings at work. And she has taught Eric well. As an adult he has become just like her, whiny, manipulative, and a liar.

Pienciak moves the story along expertly. His writing is crisp and professional and he doesn't feel the need to tell us what we are supposed to think about the main characters (although it would be hard to come to any conclusion other than that they were rotten people). He avoids the melodrama, grade-school similes, and repetitive filler used by untalented or lazy writers. And even the section on the trial is handled well and presents evidence which is often new to the story, thereby avoiding the always boring "now we quote the trial transcript verbatim" school of true crime writing.
Pienciak presents us with a lot of information about the personalities of the main players, which I believe makes or breaks true crime writing. My only quibble with this book is that I would have liked to see more information about Carolyn Napoletano's upbringing so the reader could better understand the shrew she became. But I'm sure she would not in any case have provided Pienciak with the names of any people from her past who would have talked about her honestly, and as I have noted, Pienciak's device of allowing Carolyn her own chapters gives the reader excellent insight into who she is now.

I have previously read and reviewed another book by Pienciak called DEADLY MASQUERADE. That one was very good. MAMA'S BOY is better, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to true crime lovers.

This book got my attention from the beginning and seemed to move quickly. However, I feel that some information was dragged out (especially toward the end of the book - The Trial).
The researcher obviously put 100% effort into gathering information about Eric, but I wish that he would've obtained more details about Myra, Wanda, and the other women he was involved with. I do hope that law enforcement learns a lesson from this book in that things WILL slip through the cracks and people will get away with things they aren't supposed to if there is no commitment to organization, diligence, and details.

There is only one way for anyone to crawl up inside the mind of another, and that MUST come from the horses mouth, so to speak, and that's all we've tried to do here. .. in his own words and thougts.
The book has not been written yet (!) that knows or understands the mind of David Berkowitz. Like all he does NOW is to project a new image that has respectable Ministries vying his attention> He is frighteing!!! aside from being a great actor. I have sixteen years of him in my mind, and don't know ow to get it out???

the poems written by david berkowitz in prison show a warmth and sensitivity that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that david has had a deep change of heart. they could not have been written by that raving maniac who called himself "son of sam". Jesus said out of the heart the mouth speaks. the writer of these poems is a tender hearted, sensitive man. "son of sam" is dead.

I believe that Berkwoitz is really a born again christian. He may have been baptized before the killings but he was not born again. Being born again is something that happens in your heart. If he really was pretending im sure he would have taken parole but he said he deserves to be in jail for what he has done, isnt that proof enought that he he is sincere?

quote: berkowitz is so smart he can MAKE people believe what he wants them to believe

David Berkabum still doesn't understand WHY he SLAUGHTERED HIS VICTIMS.

You're saying this guy's reformed and yet he still doesn't know why he slaughered his victims. You're saying the space shuttle's safe to fly but you can't understand why the Columbia broke apart? Doesn't repentance involve taking the time to examine your conscience? Taking the time to understand why you made mistakes?

There are also many lies and inconsistances in his testimony.For example, did any of you born agains know that he was a born again christian long before he slaughtered? Yeah that's right, he was baptized in a baptist church in 1974. Attended church services regularly. Was an active member.

I hope not all born again christians consider this slaughter boy their hero...To do so is to advocate what he's done.

I wont buy your book! Are you floating in money now? He didnt fool anyone. The Christian grows over time. Good Try though. :)

I have not read this book but when I came across it at the book store one day I immediately recognized that the author uses the notoriety of the San Francisco Zodiac murders as his selling point. I am very familiar with the San Francisco Zodiac killings and I admit for a second that I thought the murders had been solved until I realized that the picture of the man on the cover looked too young to be the Zodiac from the late 60's. The release of ZODIAC in 2007 may inspire some viewers who are unfamiliar with the case to want to read the books by Robert Graysmith and may also buy this book as well thinking the case has been solved.

THIS BOOK GIVEs INSIGHT TO A SMALL PERSON WHO WAS NOT THE BIGGEST OR BEST OF THE SERIAL KILLERS I HAVE READ ABOUT. THIS PERSON WAS VERY RANDOM AND JUST WANTED TO MAKE HIMSELF A NAME.HE TRIED TO PATTERN HIMSELF AFTER THE ORIGINAL ZODIAC KILLER & DID NOT DO A GOOD JOB AT THIS. APPEARS TO BE A YOUNG PERSON WHO HAD MENTAL ISSUES THAT GOT TOTALLY OUT OF HAND & DESTROYED PERSONS LIVES IN THE PROCESS. A GOOD BOOK BUT NOT THE BEST I HAVE READ!!

Save your time, save your money, don't purchase this book.

Yes, in NYC this guy was called the Zodiac, but this author uses California's infamous Zodiac Killer symbol, etc. on the cover. So much for imagination.

The book itself is a total waste of time, the writing is poor, there are spelling and grammatical mistakes throughout. If I could have given this book a zero star rating I would have.

If you want good true Crime check out books by Graysmith, Keppel, Rule, Bledsoe and Carlton Smith, these names are KNOWN in the True Crime genre, Crowley is not.

I read a lot of true crime books and all I can say is: spend the money and read the book. Crowley really gets into the mind of the killer. Awesome story-telling.

I've read material safety data sheets more engaging than this. Stick with Graysmith or others if you want a good read.

I had a hard time putting this book down. Well written and kept my attention.

I've never read a book by this author before and certainly won't again. WAAYYYY too long - as another reviewer mentioned, too many subplots that were unnecessary and went no where. Lots of errors - look at page 83, half way down. Nell & Beam are in an appartment alone, when....Kane cuts a box. HUH? Well, I won't go on and on - like this lousy book, but there were a lot of errors and it's annoying. I also thought the ending came out of left field - no real indication of who the killer was. Very poor effort.

I read a lot of thriller/crime fiction, and I thought CHILL OF NIGHT was subpar. It's readable, but the plot is standard serial killer stuff, weighed down by a bunch of subplots that have little relevance to the main story.

Put simply, this novel is not tightly written. This novel also has too many characters, leading many of them to be underdeveloped and ultimately uninteresting. I found most of the dialogue kind of flat and repetitious. The ending does have a surprise twist, but I personally found it kind of anti-climactic, and not worth the 450 pages of long build-up.

I was also annoyed by certain continuity errors in this novel that should have been spotted by a capable editor.

Lutz is a capable writer, but I wouldn't waste my time with this particular book. Your typical novel by John Sandford, Robert Parker, Michael Connelly, Sandra Brown, or Lee Child is much, much better than this.

In "Chill of Night", John Lutz once again presents the reader with an ever gripping tale of terror about a serial killer. In his "Night" books, Lutz has chosen to create a series of characters--retired detectives, backup detectives--who are well developed and interesting. In "Chill", retired detective Artemis Beam and his partners hunt down a killer whose purported motive is bringing down the justice system which allows guilty killers to go free. There are no gruesome horrors in these killings, but the tension continues to build as the killer broadens his target base and New York City is terrorized. The eventual discovery of the identify of the Justice Killer is a surprise with a twist, with subtle clues presented along the way which were overlooked by this reader, only realized in hindsight. Set aside some time when you start this book--you won't want to put it down.

Homicide detective Artemis Beam has been retired for four months. He left his job at the NYPD after experiencing two traumatic events--the suicide of his wife of twenty-three years, and a job-related shooting that left him with an injury to his right leg. After the shooting, Beam received a promotion to captain and started collecting his pension. He hates retirement; since leaving the force, he is having trouble sleeping and wanders around feeling alone and useless. His psychoanalyst sister, Cassie, thinks that he should try therapy to help him adjust to this new stage of his life.

However, as so often happens in novels of this type, Beam is seduced out of retirement. Deputy Chief Andy Da Vinci asks him to head up a team to track down the "Justice Killer," a man who executes jurors (mostly forepersons) whose "not guilty" verdicts allowed accused murderers, child molesters, and other suspected felons to go free. The vigilante, who calls himself "Justice," has decided to take the law into his own hands and he has an uncanny way of disappearing after committing his crimes. He leaves no evidence behind except for a capital letter "J." Da Vinci believes that Beam is the perfect man for the job, considering his impressive record of successfully tracking down serial killers throughout his career.

Beam's team consists of Detective Looper, a man in his fifties who is trying to quit smoking, and Nell Corey, a woman coming off a nasty divorce who has a tainted reputation in the police department. Although the detectives conduct endless interviews and tenaciously pursue all possible leads, their investigation goes nowhere. Why is Justice able to kill so easily without being caught? The bodies continue to pile up and the cops are increasingly frustrated.

At almost five hundred pages, "Chill of Night" is a bit long, but length has its virtues. Lutz takes the time to humanize both the killer and his victims. He also delves into the delicate relationship between Beam and Nola, the woman he loves, who blames him for her husband's death. Beam desperately wants to make peace with Nola, but she rebuffs him again and again. In addition, there is an engaging subplot about Nell Corey's attempts to embark on a new romantic relationship.

"Chill of Night" is a workmanlike novel with an ending that will probably not shock alert readers. However, there is plenty of suspense and excitement to keep the audience engrossed and Lutz's smooth prose style, crisp dialogue, and gentle humor make this an entertaining and satisfying police procedural.

I recently bought this book as well as Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire and the Birth of Europe and The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death.. All are fascinating reads. However, unlike the 2 latter books, Return of the Black Death lacks essential footnotes( or even chapter " notes" at the end of the book) needed to support one's "evidence" and conclusions.

There are too many examples to cite them all . But , I shall give one example from a randomly opened page : On page 77, many " facts" are listed and not one is referenced. Erasmus and even Henry VII is quoted....but again, nothing given to refer to as an original or even a secondary source.

I don't know if this was sloppy scholarship or a rush to get the book published. I am a bit disappointed...especially after reading the other 2.

This is an excellent example of a book that would have made a very good magazine or journal article. The authors are convincing in their case that haemmoragic plague, rather than bubonic plague, constituted the Black Death. And, it is possible that scientists could engineer a superbug that could kill millions of billions of people. But all of this could have been said much more efficiently in 30 pages. Especially in the first half of the book, the authors put in huge block quotations from primary sources, in explaining the effects of the plague. In the whole book there are countless examples and long explanations. The pages themselves are fairly small. But there isn't that much to say and, again, it could have been said with much more brevity. The substance of what they say and the bottom-line conclusions are solid and interesting, but blown up with lots of filler, the book does not quite succeed as such.

I'm a life sciencist. I read this book about 6 months ago and looked it up on Amazon today because I wanted to recommend it to my brother. In looking over the reviews, I must disagree with the first reviewer who, if he read the book at all, appears not to have comprehended any of it. The book is utterly fascinating, and the evidence the authors present in support of their hypothesis is convincing. The authors finish their tour de force by explaining how the myth that Yersinnia pestis was the cause of the Black Death came into being. Great myths are difficult to dispel. Hopefully, the painstaking detecive work we can praise and thank the authors for will eventually put paid to the deep-rooted myth that the Black Death was caused by fleas transmitting Yersinnia pestis from rats to humans.

While an interesting perspective on both disease in our current world and the nature of disease itself, their evidence left me unconvinced.

It has been well documented and proven the Y. Pestis, the cause of the Black Plague, is common and almost exclusive to rat populations. For the plague to spread to humans certain conditions need to be met. Yes, world travel and trade increases the risk of spreading the plague and yes, it is very likely that another outbreak could occur as it has done for hundreds of years. The period between 1347 -1355 was not the first or only occurance of this particular plague, it was just the most deadly.

They offered no plausible explanation of the origin of y. pestis nor did they prove that rats are not the carriers of the disease. Black Rats and their particular species of flea have been the identified carriers since the victorian era. It has been widely documented and proven that in this disease, humans are mere collateral. The evidence presented in this book is well documented and interesting, but it fails to prove their point.

Scott and Duncan have quite obviously done their homework! I can't imagine the time (& tedium) it must have taken to sift through all those records, but it was well worth the effort. I believe Scott and Duncan have seriously found the genuine cause of the Black Death. The way they present their information makes it seem as though it were staring us in the face all along. It's hard to believe so many scientists have clung to false assumptions in the face of what seems to be overwhelming evidence (just consider Iceland alone!). I simply won't be able to equate the Black Death with the Bubonic/Pneumonic ever again.

Anyone enjoying the paranormal will enjoy these stories by Maggie Shayne. She makes a world that shines even after dark...

Read Maggie Shayne's Wings in the Night trilogy? Want to hear more about her vampire heroes? Well, this book does offer the opportunity - at least, in part. But it falls far short of the original Wings in the Night stories and of the initial follow-up volume, At Twilight.

In this collection, we have a new novella, Run from Twilight, and another reissue, Twilight Vows. In Run from Twilight, Mary is being targetted by a serial killer. Michael Grey appears from nowhere, it seems, and he claims that he's protecting Mary - but is he the killer? Michael is a vampire who was mortally wounded at the height of Al Capone's `reign' in Chicago, but he was transformed at the point of death by Cuyler Jade of Beyond Twilight. The most melodramatic point of this book is when Michael's wife, Sally, shoots herself in front of him, apparently unable to reconcile herself either to his death or to his `resurrection' as a vampire.

The Michael and Mary story certainly has its moments, and it was intriguing to see that the investigation organisation Mary contacts is run by Maxine, Lou and Stormy, the more likeable characters from Twilight Hunger. Disappointingly, still Shayne hasn't furthered the romantic plot regarding Lou and Maxine. Anyway, I was enjoying Michael and Mary's story until suddenly - WHAM - it was over, at a point where I was expecting at least 20 more pages to finish the romance and the general storyline in a more satisfying manner.

Twilight Vows, the reissue, is set in Ireland - and it's advisable to read this *before* reading Twilight Hunger, given the major spoiler in Hunger which affects this novella. Rachel Sullivan has been fascinated all her life by the legend of the two vampires who once lived in the castle. However, she never expected that one of them, at least, was still alive. So when Donovan O'Roark walks into her pub, she is astounded. Even then, though, she takes him for a descendant of the original Donovan - until, after she follows him to the castle and wangles herself an invitation to stay the night, she discovers the truth: he really is a vampire.

Like most American authors writing Irish characters, Shayne wildly exaggerates Irish speech rhythms and dialect; as an Irish person I felt embarrassed reading it. No-one says `Lord `a mercy'; the expression is `Lord have mercy'. Many of her other faintly-phonetic renderings fall short of the mark. And I wonder who advised her on Irish names? Donovan is never, in Ireland at any rate, used as a first name; it is a surname. And Donovan's surname is properly spelt O'Roarke.

Again, as with Run from Twilight, this novella was over-short. Donovan went from denying that Rachel meant anything to him to realising that he loved her in far too short a time, and we saw nothing about his own feeling about her in years gone by, given that he'd watched over her since her childhood. Shayne did this much better with regard to Eric and Tamsin in Wings in the Night. Again, the story needed another 20 pages or so at the end to finish it properly, too.

Overall, this collection needed at least another 50 pages to be worthwhile. The stories in Wings in the Night worked because they were long enough to cover what needed to be covered; the romances were satisfying, and we also saw more of the characters in later books, which equally helped to round off the stories. These novellas, as well as being too short, gave us far too little of characters from earlier books (nothing at all in Twilight Vows), so that hook wasn't present either.

A very disappointing sequel, just as Shayne's Twilight Hunger, her first novel-length story - was disappointing. I just hope that her latest offering, Embrace the Twilight - another novel-length story, is better!

wmr-uk

The first book I read by this author was Blue Twilight...it had me wanting more. I looked through Amazon to find ANY of her books and was very surprised to see such an extended list.

I have been trying for over a year to find her books, of which there is a series, and have been disappointed several times. But, when Amazon finally was able to offer her books and had them available, I purchased as many as I could.

Two by Twilight is an excellent read. But, anyone who wants to get the whole story must be able to start with the first in the series to find out who belongs and who doesn't.

Please, if you like fiction which will keep you at the edge of your seat, get the Maggie Shayne Twilight series and enjoy!!

This book is good but unnecessary for the progression of the series. These characters don't really reoccur in the rest of the series --with the exception of Donovan in the book Edge of Twilight (and that is just a bit part you don't need to read this book to understand it). These stories are good just for the enjoyment of the vampire series but the only story I liked is the first one. I can't ever seem to get through the second.

I really loved this book because it was very page turning for me. It had everything that I like to read. Mystery, murders, and very passionate. I feel that as I read the book, I can imagine myself living the story. When I read the second story I realized that I started reading with an Irish accent. The first story gave me chills as I read the decriptions of how Micheal was looking at Mary, and the description of how people died. I found that I couldn't put the book down. Even though very short books every page made me imagine more than I probably should have.