Serial Murder Books

Caitlin R. Kiernan, Low Red Moon (Roc, 2003)

When you pick up a book by Caitlin Kiernan, there are some things you know you can expect. Top-shelf writing. Strange houses with dark pasts. Efficient, excellent characterization. Another world, in the layer below (above?) ours, with all manner of wondrous things in it. Leisurely pacing, to allow you to enjoy the experience. And, yes, you get all of them in Low Red Moon.

Deacon Silvey had two careers, one as a psychic helping out the police department, the other, his full-time one, as a drunk. After meeting Chance, the woman who was to become his wife, he left both behind. Now, a police detective calling in an old favor has landed Silvey's name for an unsolved case. Against the protestations of Chance, Deacon goes with the detective to the crime scene and finds the body of a friend of his from the old days. What Deacon sees entangles him in a web that goes far beyond this murder, both in terms of geography and in terms of Deacon's past. Meanwhile, Chance is having bloody visions of her own.

If you're already aware of Kiernan's work, then you know the level of quality you can expect. If you don't, some of the references here might confuse you; Kiernan's work is an ever-growing web around a mythology upon which this novel touches. You might want to start with some of her earlier work. When you get caught up, though, Low Red Moon is a treat. ****

"Low Red Moon" includes some wonderful characters; well-defined, thought out, and at times, very sympathetic. However, the plot is beyond convoluted. I was especially disappointed by the ending. Its head on collision with my memories of H.P Lovecraft drove me to re-watch the awful interpretation of "The Dunwich Horror," produced by Roger Corman in 1970. The ending of "Low Red Moon" was so similar (albeit, minus the Hounds) that I almost threw the book across the room. It's one thing to build on another author's work but an altogether different thing to use the same plot, ideas, and very world of another author. Bitter disappointment from a writer who can actually write.

After reading "Bradbury Weather" in Subterranean magazine, I decided I wanted to have a closer look at Caitlín R. Kiernan's fiction. After some consideration, I picked up Low Red Moon from a local bookstore and read it through. I was enthralled, having a harder and harder time putting it down the farther I got into the work.

First off, the present tense narrative threw me in the beginning. Modern fiction conditions the reader to read in the past tense so when I started reading the book; it was difficult and slow. However, it worked well with the flashback being in past tense. The changes in tense gave the reader a definite indicator when they were in the story. I overcame the tense issue about 50 pages in and was reading at full speed.

Another problem I had, which is entirely with me, was I was trying to define what Narcissa was. At first, taking a hint from the title, I thought she was a werewolf. Then I began to doubt that, thinking that perhaps she was a ghoul. I knew Kiernan had steeped her story in Lovecraftian Mythos and because I knew that, I tried to drop the character into a preconceived hole. Needless to say, the she did not fit in any holes, but she was still an enjoyable and very flawed character.

The story is well told over all. The pacing. I enjoyed Detective Downs, Starling Jane and Scarborough Pentecost. The description was overwrought at times, but it did not slow the story too much. Her world was also well thought out and not fully explained - which is good. I liked how she pioneered her own mythos, not falling into the worn ruts that modern fiction and role-playing games have made.

I do have to say, I found the ending was too sketchy. I understand why the scenes seem to skip was characters fade in and out of consciousness and action. However, I am interested in exactly how Deacon left the tunnel with the baby. I did not expect it to be an easy thing and with leaving it out of the story, it detracted from it.

I would definitely recommend this story to friends interested in fantasy, horror or the Lovecraftian vein (in fact, I already have). Kiernan has a very distinct style, and I look forward to reading future works from her.

In this sequel to Threshold, Deacon and Chance are married and Chance is pregnant. Sadie is Deacon's friend, but neither remember their affair after Chance left Deacon. Even Chance doesn't remember turning back time in the water tunnel to save Elisa, but instead is again freaked out by her psychic premonitions of raining blood.

This story is really about Narcissa Snow, a part goblin child raised by an insane father on the coast of Rhode Island. She is convinced that if she gives the goblins a changeling child, then she will finally be accepted into the goblin community. The child she wishes to give them is Chance's. She travels to Birmingham, committing mutilations and murders along the way. Deacon is caught up in her schemes when Narcissa kills one of Deacon's old friends and the police ask Deacon for his psychic assistance.

The best part of the novel is that the author has cleaned up her language. The narrative is strong and sure. The worst part of the novel is that not for one second can you believe that Deacon loves Chance or that Chance loves Deacon. Why did they get married? Why is Deacon sober? Chance seems to hate Deacon and is always convinced that he is about to fall off the wagon. Deacon feels weak and useless. If you have no sympathy for the main characters and no understanding of their situation, then the author has done a very poor job. It is rather depressing that such a good writer has no understanding of human motivations.

This is the sequel but not quite sequel to Threshold. Those of you that read Threshold will know what i am talking about and those of you that haven't you should. This novel center's around Deacon and Chance Silvey,now married with a baby on the way. All is not good in Silvey world because Deke is a recovering alcholic and spends all of his days trying not to drink. Than one day Deke is called into a investigation to use his Psychic Abilities to try and get a lead on the murder of a previous associate of his. What he finds is not pretty.

It turns out that a hybrid monster of a sort is on a killing spree and has her sights set on Deacons baby who she think's will get her admitted to The Hounds(see frank belknap long).This monster that is tracking the Silvey's is also being hunted herself as well. The two trackers are Scarborough and Mary Jane and they have been assigned as agents of The Hounds to track the hybrid monster that goes by the name of Narcissa Snow down and kill her.

This story is very well written but not scary in the same sense as Threshold. Ms. Kiernan really is the heir to Lovecraft in every way and is superior in some ways as well. I reccomend this book to anyone out there who is looking for a good horror novel in the same vein as Lovecraft and his circle.

"Misbegotten Son" is the true story of Arthur Shawcross, a serial killer in New York state.

Jack Olsen researched Shawcross from childhood to his incarceration for his serial murders. He included excerpts of the psychological/psychiatric interviews and the confessions.

He was diagnosed as "mentally ill" at a young age. He tortured animals and exhibited other behavior believed to be indicators for potential serial killers. He was also diagnosed as "borderline retarded" and never seemed to have a conscience, sought attention frequently, had a violent temper, and was troubled in general.

His first two murders were ghastly with children as his victims. He largely got off easily. Jack Olsen describes the circumstances that led to Shawcross not being charged for both murders. The D.A. rightfully lost his job over it.

Mr. Olsen follows Shawcross's trail after parole where he eventually settled in Rochester,N.Y. That trail is an easy one to follow strewn with female corpses of his 11 victims. Shawcross brags that he cannibalized some of the bodies. He is a psycho-sexual sociopath that always had an excuse for something that triggered his murderous rage. The author readily disbunks the many mythical excuses upon investigation.

Jack Olsen covered all of the angles from the killer, his family, wives and girlfriends, the victims and their survivors. Not least of the characters are some law enforcement personnel from Watertown and Rochester who worked hard pursuing justice in their cases.

"Misbegotten Son" is a very good true crime book that will probably leave the reader scratching his or her head and asking the unanswered question-Why?

THIS BOOK IS ONE OF THE BEST TRUE CRIME BOOKS I HAVE READ FOR AWHILE. SOMETIMES I KEPT THINKING , IF MR. SHAWCROSS'S MOTHER WAS THE WAY HE SAID SHE WAS, SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN JAILED ALSO!

I investigated pyroluria and found this at Wikipedia.
"Pyroluria was initially described by Abram Hoffer, a pioneer in orthomolecular medicine and orthomolecular psychiatry. Proponents claim that pyroluria is relatively common, but few, if any, mainstream medical experts regard the condition as genuine, with few or no articles on pyroluria found in modern medical literature."

Author Jack Olsen does a brilliant job in creating for us a terrifying portrait of a murdering psychopath--and the breath-taking race of detectives trying to find and stop his killing. Arthur Shawcross was a terrifying killer machine. He brutally tortured and killed two young children in his first cycle of death. Detectives worked night and day to find him and after excrutiating failure, they finally got lucky. But what happened next enraged the community and especially the police when a district attorney permitted Shawcross to plea bargain his sentence so that he was released after serving only l2 years. The DA was deservedly ruined by this plea bargain because Shawcross then began his second cycle of brutal murders--this time of prostitutes. Once more, you're treated to the heroic efforts of two detectives who went without sleep and food in their race to stop and capture the killer. It's like following a fascinating jig-saw puzzle. Piece by piece, the detectives began collecting enough clues to finally capture the mad man. My only criticism is that the book is much too long. I could have done without the numerous oral histories and the many pages devoted to psychiatric evaluations. Another major complaint is that there were no photographs of either the killer or the detectives or the victims. In a stor y this big, I think you really need to see pictures of evil and its aftermath. Perhaps photos were added to the paperback edition. Other than that, though, this book will keep you riveted as if it were a novel. The killer is one you'll never forget.

I couldn't even estimate how many true crime books I've read over the years, and this is, by far, the best ever. What has frustrated me about most of these books is that they don't go very deeply into the WHY's and HOW's---Why did this happen? How did this guy get this way? This book, The Misbegotten Son, not only delves deeply into all that, it does so, eventually, at the molecular-genetic level (literally). Plus, the extensive research that also went into the lives and backgrounds of all parties involved is absolutely amazing. I hate to use such a banal phrase, but I really could not put this book down; I stayed awake for two days straight, savoring every word. The only "bad" thing about this book is that it has probably spoiled me...I can't imagine any future book coming close. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

This is a strange book, shortly it has no purpose being a book. Moghul or Buffet or Peshawar really have nothing to do with the book it could be in timbktoo and still be boring. The plot is not only confusing but totally bizzare and left for the reader to imagine in the detail. Murder and sex is mixed in at odd places without purpose. This is not a novel, or a story, tt's a gibberish. Odd collection of minor facts arranged to no end. Try hard as you may you can't like anything about the book, neither plot, nor locale nor characters or the writing is of any consequence and one would do well without dwelling on them.

Cheryl Benard plunks us down in Pakistan with a socially inept American businessman, adds a murder to the stew, sprinkles liberally with women hidden beneath chadors - and stirs in wicked funny narrative. The author is obviously familiar with Pakistan; although she is not a native, she strews her brew with stories about the locals: the police investigator and his modern wife, an ex-pat American who is a champion of the poorest of the poor, and a girl enslaved in a wealthy man's home. Each side character raises timely moral issues within the strictures of the Taliban who lurk in a nearby refugee camp. In spite of this heavy background, Moghul Buffet entertains at every step along the way.

Two years ago, I had the privilege of working with Ms. Bernard's husband, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. What made that time such a rich experience was the opportunity to work with someone whose intellect had two rare qualities. First, he was a true Renaissance Man, who not only possessed an impressive breadth of knowledge, but also a similar breadth of abilities in which to apply it. Second, although like all intellectuals, he based his decisions on theories and doctrine, he always understood that, like even the best people, every idea has its limitations.

On the strength of the evidence in this book, Ms. Bernard shares these same rare traits. It is the work of a Renaissance mind with an ability to apply her knowledge in many ways: this book is at once a droll social satire, a sharp murder mystery, an acute observation of Muslim mores and a feminist tract. It also displays a knowledge that doctrine and ideas are limited by how they reflect the real world, not the other way around.

Unlike any other feminist document, however, this one appeals to men as well because it does not treat men as the enemy, but appeals to our better nature. The story is told partly through the eyes of men, which allows men to see the nature of women in the Muslim world.

One or two of the people I shared this with found the resolution of the mystery somewhat disappointing, but this was because they were expecting a nice tight British drawing room solution. Any one who is familiar with Muslim counties knows the premium put on resolutions of conflict in a way which puts the interests of society first. The ending reflects that perfectly.

You will not be disappointed with this book.

While this book is technically a mystery, it is more effective as an occasionally black comic look at modern Pakistani society and the way it interacts with westerners. The plot of the novel is rather convoluted: it follows a series of murders starting with the apparent murder of an American business man. However, this book is both much more and much less than a standard murder mystery. The plot quickly develops numerous subplots involving a mysterious woman seemingly involved with all the murders, a fundamentalist Iman, the birth of the Taliban, not to mention to complex relations between modern men and women in Pakistan's upper classes... hence the title, Moghul Buffet. The book has a little of everything.
The subplots and depth of characterizations of some of the main characters are the books best qualities. As a mystery, the story is rather convoluted and in the end not completely resolved. Some things are left only implied, and some are never really explained at all. It wasn't the best mystery I've ever read... but it was an incredibly interesting book for the way in which it examines Pakistan today, and especially the role of women in Pakistani society. The book is also fun. The author has an understated sense of humor all through her story... and yet she is always detached, also.
I should also say I was in Peshawar some 15 years ago and from what I remember the author's depiction of this place is quite accurate.... go ahead and read the book, you won't be sorry!

When businessman Micky Malone disappears from Peshawar on the Pakistani/Afghan border, the Pakistani government becomes alarmed and sends out Detective Iqbal to investigate. As the body count rises Iqbal struggles to find the murderer. He is hampered by his lack of understanding about how the women of Pakistan think and this leads to a great many comic moments and wrong deductions during the investigation. This is a fascinating look at a country in turmoil and also features a brief glimpse of the Taliban before they came to power in Afghanistan

An all-too-common story of an abused wife, married to a football star. After her divorce, Liz escaped to Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia. She gets tangled up with an eccentric old man who owns the island and his family who are strange in a provocative way. As the plot thickens, her abusive ex-husband finds her, but the story takes a twisted turn with her new founded family.
Marty Wurtz
Author of Deceptions and Betrayals

I found the dialogue laughable when Mr. Woods didn't intend it to be. The climax lasted about two pages. I figured out the "secret" of the twins before I was halfway through the book. There was so much fluff in this book that had nothing to do with the central plot that at the end I felt like I had been snookered into reading 300+ pages for a plot that actually took up maybe 50 pages. It took a willing suspension of disbelief to believe the villian turned into a vicious serial killer simply because his wife left him while he was on steroids. The cops in this book were comical characatures whose detective and interview skills matched that of a 10 year old. Mr. Woods should read a Michael Connelly novel before he tries writing cop scenes again. Woods is hit or miss and this was one of Woods' worst books. Stick with Chiefs and White Cargo. I read this book based on the reviews posted here and I was really, really disappointed.

I can't imagine anyone giving this book 5 stars, or even 4 for that matter. The plots were unbelievable. The characters were unbelievable. The writing was mediocre at best. I found the book to be a waste of time. I did finish it, thinking it would get better, but it never did. No one gets away with murder so easily, and it insulted my intelligence. No one runs around in a Tarzan suit either. Give me a break. Read Chief's instead by Stuart Woods.

I've read many of Stuart Woods books and enjoyed them very much. Palidrome was more than that though. Some friends and I shared a library copy of the unabridged recording of this book on our shift at work. Why do I mention this? Well, it's simple. This book was amazing! We were left spellbound as a group, each of us poking and proding each other all night as things developed in this story. The story is emotional as we were along on this journey with these characters. So many twists and turns left us gasping with those surprised, "OH's" that had our coworkers staring at us. The editorial comments above tell the basics of the story, so I wanted to share the experience of actually reading or listening to it being told. This story had us wrapped up in what was going on for the two nights we listened to it we probably worked more focused than we'd done before simply because our concentration was so involved with this story.
Personally this book had me crying my eyes out at work! I sat at my desk bawling my head off and happily doing so because I enjoyed this book so much. Unlike some of the other reviewers I wasn't expecting the twists and turns of the story, so it was great to have friends just as surprised as I was going through it with me.
Even a couple of years later we still remind each other every so often about this book and tell others about it. This story sticks in your head and makes you care about what is happening to the characters. I may have liked Stuart Woods before this book, but after this I love the way his mind works!

Although I love Stuart Wood's Stone Barrington novels, I must admit that once in awhile I like to read his other books that are based on different characters. This book was one of the fastest, most thrilling books I have read in a long time.

It focuses on Liz who is nearly beaten and raped to death by her husband who happens to be a famous football player who is drugged out on steroid and drugs. This books gives a creepy description of what steroids can do to an average person. Anyways, Liz escapes to Cumberland Island in order to get away from her vengeful ex-husband. On this island she gets involved with the Drummond family who have a few skeletons in their closet. As if that is not enough, Liz's husband is on the rampage looking for her to kill her. Will he find her? What is the secret between the Drummond twins, Hamish and Keir? Read this book and you will find out.

Having struggled with the issue of forgiveness in my own life, I truly related to what was conveyed in this book. I commend Debbie on her courage in sharing her story, and God's work in her life.

Along with this, Michael Varnado's "Victims of Dead Man Walking" gives excellent insight into the true story of the murders/rapists and their victims. Those crimes did not just affect the ones directly involved, but the entire community.

It's hard to find enough words of praise for this book. Two vicious killers escape from jail and chance on a 16-year-old Christian girl talking with her boyfriend in his car in a small town in Louisiana. The escaped prisoners abduct them at gunpoint and head for Florida. They shoot the boyfriend on the way and leave him for dead on a fire ants' nest. They keep the girl with them, and rape her whenever they feel like it. She finds out they raped and killed at least one other young woman before her.

Debbie Morris survived this terrible ordeal and her testimony put the abductors back in jail. Later she found that a nun had befriended the main killer, Robert Willie, and he was now becoming something of a celebrity, even while headed for the electric chair.

It would have been easy to produce a book that was full of bitterness at the legal system, at the world, and at God. But this book doesn't do that. It is gripping yet sensitive, informative yet reserved, and as forgiving as it is powerful. What I like most about it is that the writers (professional writer Gregg Lewis put it together for Debbie Morris) know exactly when to give details and when to restrain them. For example, many writers would play up the rapes for their sensationalism, but in this book Debbie Morris says "he raped me" and leaves it at that.

This is factual writing at its best. I found it hard to put the book down. And it moved me more than books usually do. I cannot find a thing wrong with it to give it less than a five-star rating.

This was written by, or on behalf of, Debbie Morris, one of the victims of Robert Willie, a death row inmate supported by Sister Helen Prejean, as recounted in her book Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account Of The Death Penalty In The United States. As such, I think anyone interested in Prejean's work will want to read it, and I recommend reading Michael Varnado's Victims of Dead Man Walking (also issued as Losing Faith) and Dead Family Walking: The Bourque Family Story of Dead Man Walking by D.D. Devinci for other points of view.

I read this book when it first came out, and I have pondered it for all the years since. As an account of enduring and surviving a grotesque crime, this is a very moving account. As a comment about dealing with such issues, I found it unsatisfying.

The first problem is the ambiguities of the relationship between Morris and Prejean. Let me say that I have considerable admiration for Prejean, certainly more than for most people on her side of the death issue. At least she doesn't dismiss the victims as irrelevant. This story is told as a memoir, so Morris attempts to recount her feelings at the time, which are not necessarily how she feels looking backward. Before she met Prejean, Morris tells us that she was extremely critical of her for accepting without question what Robert Willie told her. Her anger was quite justified. It wouldn't have been difficult for Prejean to find other accounts. But now that Morris and Prejean are such great friends, does this criticism still stand? Further, it becomes clear that Prejean has no qualms about lying through her teeth to further her claims. She said in her interviews prior to Willie's execution that he was remorseful, a changed man. Willie contradicted her in his own interviews. She admits to Morris that Willie wasn't, and probably wasn't capable of being remorseful. Neither she nor Morris seem to have dealt with this untruthfulness.

I am bewildered by Morris' remarks about forgiveness. Many people who write on the issue of forgiveness have the odd idea that if one hasn't forgiven someone, one thinks of them obsessively, eaten up with anger. I had a friend who was murdered; I certainly haven't forgiven the murderer. He received a sentence that satisfies my sense of justice and I have almost forgotten him. I often think lovingly of my friend, but the only time that I think of him is when someone brings up this forgiveness issue. One of the proponents of forgiveness insisted that I must have forgiven him in some sense, but I insisted that I am the arbiter of my own feelings - he is not forgiven one whit. Forgiveness can be just as active and require as much energy as anger.

I'm glad that Morris has learned to cope with what happened to her, but I don't understand it as forgiveness. If she had forgiven him before the trial, would she have refused to testify? If it doesn't affect the course of the law, then what does it mean? Salvation is between the individual soul and God, so that is no explanation either. These are familiar platitudes, which people throw out so unthinkingly, confident that they are self evident, that when they are challenged to explain, they often cannot.

Personally, I recommend Forgiving and Not Forgiving:: Why Sometimes It's Better Not to Forgive by Jeanne Safer as a nuanced look at anger and forgiveness.

I remember this crime all too well. My cousin (Mark) was Debbie's boyfriend. I was only 9 at the time, but I remember the frantic phone call from my aunt and my dad joining other members of our family as they drove through town looking for Debbie and Mark. I will never forget overhearing the details of the wake of horror that Robert Willie left behind.

Debbie's book is full of courage, honor, and forgiveness. If should be in every victim assistance program and every victim of crime should read it. If you've read Dead Man Walking, you owe it to yourself to read this as well as Mike Varnado's book (he was the investigator who found Faith Hathaway's body). Helen Prejean cannot tell you about the "real" Robert Willie... only his survivor can.

This was my second Elizabeth Adler novel and I was surprised at how different this was from the Italian romance she also wrote. The story is exceptionally good but really graphic at times. I hurried over several passages because these are not the kind of images I want to carry around in my head. It pains me to think there are these kinds of people in the world. I'll continue to read Ms. Adler but probably pick one of her romance novels with exotic settings next time.

Elizabeth Adler turns it up a notch in her thrilling "Now or Never" set in the Boston area. Detective Harry Jordan tries to find who has been killing female college students, and he decides to try and get Mallory Malone, a tough yet secretly vulnerable crime show host to help him nap the killer. They first cannot abide each other, but find themselves falling passionately in love with each other, and boy, is this novel steamy. Mallory is one of Adler's best heroines to date, and I like Harry, who became a cop in spite of his old-money wealth. Good mystery, but it is wrapped up a little too convineatly as the killer has a secret connection to Mallory.

This is a great book with a great balancing act between a love story and a thriller. It's very readable and the main characters are loveable. The reason I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the graphic descriptions of the murders were too horrific for my sensibilities. I believe the book would have been just as readable without some of the gruesome details of the murders.

Well written, fun and exciting plot, and I loved the charactors. A great book!!

This is part crime story and part romance. The plot (in particular, the romance aspect) is a bit predictable, but the suspense, graphic descriptions and action more than make up for it. This is not for 'faint of heart' readers, but for those who aren't overly squeamish, this is one fascinating ride.

Why did I like this book so much? It was a fast read and Stiefel knows her way around dialogue. On my wife's recommendation, I gave the book a shot. It got me from the first page. The plot was complicated enough to keep me interested, but not too crazy that it didn't make sense. This one is a keeper.

What can I say? I loved this book! The characters--gotta love that Tally!--are so well-developed that I probably will find myself looking for them next time I'm in Boston. Great plot that kept me up at night. I kept telling myself, just one more chapter... Dynamic writing, real-life dialogue, a colorful cast of characters, and plot twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end are just a few of the reasons I've put the next Stiefel book on my "must buy" list.

Superb book from beginning to end... loved the ending. Looking forward to reading The Dead Stone for sure. : )

My book club picked this novel because we thought the description of the title character was unusual. We read a lot of mysteries and thrillers. The book really lived up to expectations. I loved that it was a fast read, but I also found the characters very compelling. The book was clever and unusual, something we don't see all that much. We were all totally surprised by the ending. I can't wait for the next in the series.

I found this book in on a trip to Las Vegas. I'd never heard of the author, but I loved this book. It's a fast, exciting read, plus I loved the main character, Tally. She's a homicide counselor - a profession I had never heard of. I liked all the characters, including Penny, the Canine Corps dog. And the plot was excellent. I hope there's another Tally mystery coming! Great job!

I think this is the first book by the author who has a masters degree in social work. JOn Dunkel was the boy next door but you couldn't imagine somebody like him to be accused of doing such horrendous crimes of murdering innocent young boys. I think that's the problem. We're not looking properly for the signs. Yes, the signs were there. Maybe he was signalling for help to stop. Such monsters often appear quite normal so we can't jump to conclusions without all the facts presented. There is no doubt he was guilty. One only wonders why and what would have prevented the murders? I feel sorry for the people of Belmont. I was the boys' age in 1984 when the murders started happening but I live on the east coast. I could say that it would have changed my life if it happened in my neighborhood. i can only imagine the devastation of the victims' families, friends, relatives, and the other children who they played with. May they all rest in peace. I don't know if Dunkle is still on death row. California has about 600 guys on death row but this book was a slow read for me. I felt sorry for the families of the victims. I was glad that the author gave updates about the main characters like Lisa Thomas who was crucial in helping get him. Dunkle is still a very sick character who did everything to avoid getting caught and put in prison for life. His behavior in the courtroom and with the police department was sickening. He was like the Hillside Strangler trying to claim insanity when he wasn't.

I am only 14 years old and when I selected this book to read for my english class assignment I had no idea how scary it would be. I was not born when all of this was happening even though I live right by Belmont. It makes you think about all the people in this world how could anybody be willing to kill children like him. He worked at ToysRus who knows how many kids he could of killed being around them all day. I feel terrible for all the family members and friends of the 3 poor little boys that were killed by this man. I can not believe anybody would be able to do that. This was an excellent book, but I think it is a little to scary for people my age.

My own son was 10 years old when Lance Turner was murdered at Water Dog Lake. The event profoundly changed the lives of many Belmont residents ... no more hiking alone into Water Dog Lake for sure. Reading Gretchen Brinck's account of that and Jon's other brutal crimes was completely captivating. I have lent the book to approximately 20 friends and their 20-something sons. If being dog-eared defines a good book, this is it. Jon Dunkel was a neighbor so I thank God every day that my son and his friends, one of whom lived next door to Jon, were not part of his web of insanity ... or maybe his "contrived insanity."

I bought this book because of it's great reviews by the readers below. And they were right! This was one of those hard to put down books. It is a great book for reference and a good addition
to a true crime library; But what distinguishes this book is it makes it personal. It speaks of the victims and their families and actually gives them (the victims) a face and a personality.

It is most refreashing to see that Gretchen Brinck and others like her cover all angles of these horrendous crimes. They make it be known that the victims are whats important here, not the criminal. In this book you will find the struggles both the family and the police go through, and also the twisted mind of a killer. Well written book.

I have read many true crime books and found this one rivetting. What was so unbelievable was how this sick young man managed to outwit the police, psychiatrists etc, all the while he continued to kill and hurt. It seemed so unfathomable to me how this kid was not stopped before he killed his 3 young victims. With so many DUI's, attacking a kid with a 2 by 4, running another over - how did he evade capture so long? Did the police truly bungle the situation as much as it seems they did. I also place the blame squarely on Dunkle's family - they were either in deep denial about Dunkle's violence, killing and drinking or just didn't want to face it. Their blindness and apathy lead to the deaths of the 3 boys. No question.
I have tried to google Dunkle to find out what has become of him. All I found out was that he is still on death row and that he is now believed incompetant. A guardian was appointed to him as he cannot represent his own interests. Is he truly psychotic or is he just a sick, fine actor? It looks like he will never be put to death as he will be deemed too ill. As long as he is in prison forever, where he can't harm others, sounds okay to me.

I highly recommend this book. It is chilling and will leave you wondering about how someone can devolve into a serial killer like Dunkle.

I found this book to be really good. It kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning. It really keeps you guessing until the end.
I really like this book because it has a good description of New York. It makes you wonder if this author is really from Brooklyn because he talks about some of the streets in Brooklyn!

As a mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I was pleasantly impressed by Michael I. Leahey's BROKEN MACHINES. Mr. Leahey's first mystery deals with serious themes such as drug addiction, urban prostitution, and immigrant sweatshops. The novel also introduces a fresh team of sleuths--J.J. Donovan and Dr. Boris Koulomzin. Think of an Archie Goodwin/Nero Wolfe pairing for the contemporary world. The plot involves a social worker who brings the plight of Clifford Brice to Donovan's attention. Clifford is a boy whose mother was murdered while hooking in Brooklyn. Another murder follows, as does an attempt on the boy's life. Leahey's world is a gritty one, but he has a pair of humane and winning sleuths. Fine debut. I recommend it.

As a mystery writer with my debut novel in its initial release, I was pleasantly impressed by Michael I. Leahey's BROKEN MACHINES. Mr. Leahey's first mystery deals with serious themes such as drug addiction, urban prostitution, and immigrant sweatshops. The novel also introduces a fresh team of sleuths--J.J. Donovan and Dr. Boris Koulomzin. Think of an Archie Goodwin/Nero Wolfe pairing for the contemporary world. The plot involves a social worker who brings the plight of Clifford Brice to Donovan's attention. Clifford is a boy whose mother was murdered while hooking in Brooklyn. Another murder follows, as does an attempt on the boy's life. Leahey's world is a gritty one, but he has a pair of humane and winning sleuths. Fine debut. I recommend it.

I read for my job 2 mysteries this moth Leaheys Broken Machines and Bruce FOresters first in a 14 part series and whilke both were intriguing FORESTERS ability to grip thr reader and never let go puts him head over heals with Leahey. BUY both because I think both asre th br reckoned with in the future.AGAIN Foresters FATAL MACHINES AND LEAHEYS BROKEN MACHINES ARE WELCOME ADDIONS TO EVERYONES LIBRARY

While sitting in my daughter-in-laws home, I was intrigued by the cover of a novel she had on her coffee table. I reached over and began flipping through the pages of the book and within a few days I was finished.

Michael Leahey's "Broken Machines" is an excellent, humorous, descriptive mystery novel. His use of adjectives to describe various scenes throughout his novel are attentive and real. I recommend this author's work as a definite purchase and look forward to reading some of his future work.

Rick Wilber's novel, "The Cold Road," a tour de force, is a psychological thriller of love, loss, disillusionment, bone-chilling horror, self-discovery and renewal.

Wilber has no need to resort to cheap tricks like opening with bloody shootouts among people we neither know or care about; or having a woman skinned alive from the inside on the first page.

With his customary journalistic integrity and precise, controlled prose, Wilber introduces his characters in the tradition of past masters so we can care abut them when things begin to happen.

Melissa O'Malley, high school basketball star and brilliant student, and her lonely, aloof father, Melchior, who spends all his spare time ice-fishing or working in his barn on junk sculptures, live in gray, frozen Mankato, Minnesota where the temperature often plunges to 40 below zero.

Melissa abhors the aching, deadly cold and listens endlessly to Bob Marley and Jimmy Buffett songs hoping the sunshine and suntan oil they sing about will lend her a splash of vicarious warmth.

As Melissa's body changes from the gangly athlete into a beautiful woman, she finds her feelings for her childhood friend, Danny Finnegan, whose father is a detective, also changing. They plan to finish school, get married, move to Florida, and live happily ever after in the lovely warm sunshine.

But fate intervenes, Danny dies, and Melissa goes to Florida to college alone. There she meets charming, handsome rouge Bo Palmer whose wealthy father owns a resort on an island in the Caribbean called St. Kitts.

Meanwhile, back in frozen Minnesota, Detective Finnegan is working overtime to catch a serial killer who brutally murders mothers and sometimes their little girls, always taking a hand as a souvenir.

After she graduates, Melissa goes to St. Kitts with Bo, taking a job with Bo's father. But Melissa quickly realizes she has gotten into something she doesn't understand, something dark and sour. She begins to fear her life might actually be in danger.

Her only friends on the island are Rosie and Stanley, who were born and raised there. Their mother, an "obeah" woman, has the "second sight," and she assures Melissa that she has it too. She knows that Melissa's mother had been an island girl and tells her other things about Melissa that she could not possibly know.

Melissa flies back home to visit her father and Detective Finnegan, and to see if she can use her newly unleashed psychic gift to help find the brutal killer who is still butchering women.

Back home Melissa makes discoveries that chill her to the bone. Repressed memories of her past begin to boil to the surface of her mind, and shake her to her core.

She goes back to the island to her friends, Rosie and Stanley, not knowing what her future holds, but now willing to face it without the aching cold numbing her bones.

Reading Wilber's "The Cold Road," I had flashes of the first time I read such authors as Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Erskine Caldwell, and other great authors. Not that Wilber's style resembles any of theirs, but the grace and power of his prose seems to flow from the same vein of literary mastery.

To anyone who loves literature, or just likes a damn good story, I highly recommend "The Cold Road" by Rick Wilber.

I have never been to Mankato, Minnesota. And after reading Wilber's description of it, I KNOW I never want to go.

This is not meant as neither a knock to the people of Mankato nor Wilber's writing style. As a matter of fact, just the opposite for the latter.

Wilber's style, though somewhat slow at times, leaves you with a vivid sense of what that place is like at that time. Even the feelings of a maturing Melissa (perhaps the best part of the book, though that's my opinion) are interpreted in a manner which can be felt by male readers as well.

Other than the detailed descriptions of the different sceneries in The Cold Road, the book also offers dual uncertanties in different climates. Only toward the end does the ending come into focus though there's more in stored even after the whodunit part is revealed.

A definite read for lovers of drama, science fiction and horror, with a bit of the 'ol mystery/new age detective formula.

I originally had to read this book for a class. At first I felt that it dragged on a bit, but I'm very glad I read it through to the end. It is suspense and romance at its best, and for those who'd rather not read a love story this novel has elements of science fiction in it as well.

Cold, as defined by the Oxford American dictionary, is a lack of heat or an item that is faint because it is no longer fresh. Melissa O'Malley experiences an undeniable internal chill throughout "The Cold Road" by Dr. Rick Wilber. Participating in Dr. Wilber's class and journeying along "The Cold Road" proved to be an exciting excursion.

This is a powerful novel.

Supreme contrast of hot and cold is evident.

Dr. Wilber's ability to capture a teenager's inner personality transcends his knowledge of his audience. Wilber commissions individuals to search for the truth. Melissa O'Malley searches for her own personal truth by seeking her authentic reality. In "The Cold Road" Melchoir O'Malley, brought supposedly warm gifts to his daughter Melissa in the wintry north. On the other hand, Dr. Rick Wilber brings zealous gifts of education and awareness to his readers in the cold world in which we live.

Patrick J. Burley

I'm delighted to see that virtually all reviews for COLD ROAD lavish Rick Wilber's novel with five stars out of five; if there was a sixth star reserved for inventive fiction fusions, COLD ROAD certainly deserves it.

As a writer myself, I have to admit that these days only a true storyteller can grab me with his opening paragraphs and keep me bound to the journey through to final page; my house is filled with partially-read novels I gave up on because they lacked the sort of curious scenes, fascinating characters, breathtaking prose and originality of storyline that I now require to justify time away from my own writing.

Rick Wilber's masterful COLD ROAD has scenes and passages that had me up on my feet, pacing my writing room in admiration. The book is a powerfully wrought fusion novel that reminded me of Tim Power's DECLARE in its subtle blend of fantasy-horror and gritty realworld setting, and of Peter Straub's THE THROAT in its unforgettable characterizations.

Melissa O'Malley is one of the most complex and convincingly realized female characters I've encountered on the page ... the settings in Minnesota and St. Kitts are so richly visualized that Wilber's descriptions left me yearning to visit (St. Kitts) or to avoid (Minnesota in winter) ... the sustained eeriness of Melissa's obeah powers---and the way they play out in the novel's climax---are impressive indeed.

Don't want to spoil the book for you, so I'll just have to cuss:

Damn, this man can write!

Seems to me the best writers on the planet are all doing fusion novels. Writers like Neal Stephenson, Neal Gaimon, Tim Powers, Charles de Lint, and China Mieville, who are striking off in new directions with visionary recombinations of genres, expanding the possibilities of popular fiction.

Rick Wilber joins their ranks with COLD ROAD, and my advice is to run, don't walk, to your nearest bookseller to get a hold of this marvelous read.