Serial Murder Books

this is a oversize true crime book with good pictures. It covers Jeffrey Dahmer, Bianchi & Buono, & many other violent killers. It is worth the money. full of information.

Dan Christopher presents a somewhat unique story in a very quirky way of writing...

He focuses on the main character Jeff, who is a college graduate of the "boomerang" generation (as in, they go back to live at home after college). Shortly after graduating from an unnamed college, his girlfriend Melanie is killed in an ambiguous, non-descript terrorist attack (we are lead to assume it involves airplanes, but there is no specific reference to NY or September 11th).

As he starts a new job as a research analyst at a Wall Street investment bank, he contemplates quitting in order to join the army and fight but, but decides that he would break his mother's heart in doing so. So, instead, he decides to kill off some investors that are suspected as supplying financing to terrorists (information he gets from working in the investment bank).

Jeff makes a list of these suspected terrorists, buys an illegal handgun from an old high school pothead friend and then starts picking them off one-by-one.

The real gem of this story is the thoughts that Jeff has, his struggle to keep what he's doing hidden from him mommy (he does still live at home), and trying to fend off a forthcoming co-worker, Julie. Additionally, the pothead who he buys the gun from becomes increasingly interested in his Jeff's crusade.

Definitely worth a read. It is a quick read, but entertaining.

This was an ok book. If you like freaky thrillers, than you`ll like this book!

In the 1st book in the Molly Doyle mystery series, Elaine Flinn introduces us to Molly Doyle, antiques dealer. Previously known as Elizabeth Porter in New York, Molly changes her name and starts a new life in Carmel, California. Running away from a scandal in the tight knit antiques business, Molly decides to lay low for awhile and save money to open her own shop in New Orleans. All of this seemed like a good plan until a dying woman stumbles into her arms and wraps Molly up in murder and antique mayhem. A couple of murders follow, and Molly works closely with the police to stop the murderer in his/her tracks.

This was a great introduction to the series! Molly is sassy, smart, and full of information on antiques. Different than many of the cozies on the market (Molly does smoke, drink, and swear), it has an interesting premise and a great host of characters. They all seem real, and have real emotions and everyday concerns. I will definitely pick up future books in the series.

Enjoy!

I thought I'd heard of all the worst cannibal killers, but Albert Fentress & John Weber were new to me. The chapters on John Weber are fantastic. This book tells you everything you wanted to know, and then goes beyond into things that you almost don't want to know, but you can't stop reading. I liked that the murders chosen are a bit obscure- there's no Dahmer for example or Ed Geines and this pleased me- we've all heard & read all about them already. This book is a page turner!

Very interesting historical story about a family of killers. A real mystery, with all the angles covered! Easier to read than The Benders: Keeprers of the Devil's Inn. Recommended for those that enjoy Western History, unsolved murder mysteries, or those wanting more on the story of the notorious Benders of old Kansas.

This book chronicles the DEPRAVED life of serial killer John Robinson. His criminal career entailed embezzlement, fraud, deceit, and murder. Throw into this mixture involvement in kinky S & M sexual activity, and the plot grows more depraved as you read one chapter to the next.
This book DOES include court proceedings and sentencing, making it a thorough true-crime story, from start to finish.

Overall, I felt this book was a good one. It's obviously an interesting subject (though occasionally horrifying), and the author provides a great amount of detail and insight into the childhoods, early adulthood, and early murders of the subjects in question. Also included are some very telling quotations by the murderers themselves.

However, I felt that some of the author narrative was distracting and occasionally far-fetched. He seems to cling to the idea that these killers are 'two-sided', or, as he sometimes describes, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While it would certainly be comforting to think that there was a part of these individuals that was separate and untouched by their homicidal urges and sado-sexual impulses, I personally find it unlikely. The fact that John Gacy was an active and often productive member of society does not mean that the productive part of him was separated from the part that raped and killed teenage boys. We would all like to think that we would be able to tell someone with these sort of violent tendencies, but at least in Gacy's case, it was not evident at all to the individuals in the community he served. They valued, rewarded, and took pride in his place in their society and he often did things that were beneficial to the community at large. He also happened to be a murderer. I do not think that these things are mutually exclusive simply because we want them to be, because we want to believe that no community could love and praise a man who was killing their young boys. But there's little evidence to truly support such a claim, and the author stretches toward the idea that there are two Gacy's, the good and the evil one. Frankly, I found it to be grasping at straws. This theme of 'the evil side' seems to carry through to other murderers in the book, as well. It struck me more that the author is trying very hard to be clever, and while he often succeeds at sounding intelligent, well-informed, and plausible with his beliefs - there is the occasional moment of discord when he makes a statement that just doesn't seem right.

Aside from stylistic annoyances, though, I think the book was overall a great read and very compelling. It's a broad look at several serial killers, and the subjects chosen were particularly good for the purpose of the book. Covered are John Gacy, Kenneth Bianchi, William Heirens, John Cannan, and Patricia Wright. I would recommend it to people interested in knowing a bit more about this darker side of humanity. Of course, and I imagine this goes without saying, this may be a difficult read for people who have a low tolerance for violent imagery. Although the details of the crimes are quite appropriately clinical, one can't help envisioning them as they read and for that reason I wouldn't recommend it for the weak of heart.

I bought this book because I went to school with the author but I wasn't sure I would like it. I loved it! From the mysterious roll of film left on the sherrif's car to the action-packed conclusion. My only regret is that I wish it was longer.
I would definately recomend this book.

The book was well written to keep the reader's interest, but does not go into great detail on the Whitechapel murders.