hananhn's review against another edition
3.0
I liked how this book organized to follow the hunt of BTK.
mschaeff's review against another edition
4.0
This is an astonishingly well-researched book. It does an amazing job of capturing not just BTK's actions and the horrific murders he perpetrated, but in the team of people who worked around the clock to catch him. There are moments when it drags a little, probably because there are literally decades of story to cover, but it's satisfying and smart. I listened to the audiobook, which is excellent, and I recommend this one for fans of true crime.
jordan_p16's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 rounded down. Not a huge fan of the narrator, but interesting enough story!
titanic's review against another edition
5.0
"He considered himself a nice guy. When Julie Otero had complained that her hands were going numb from her bindings, he had adjusted them. When Joe had said his chest hurt from lying on the floor with broken ribs, he had fetched Joe a coat to rest on. Now, in the darkened bedroom of the house on Hydraulic, he gave the sick woman a sip of water."
I have been seeing this book recommended by every person interested in true crime, which to be honest is the only reason I got it. I hate Dennis Rader more than any other serial killer. He creeps me out. He's one of three, I believe, serial killers that really creep me out. So when I first started reading this book, I was thinking that it was going to put me on edge and that I was going to feel uncomfortable, and want to put it down and forget about it forever - and it did put it down so that I could finish reading another book, but that wasn't because it was bad because this book was the exact opposite. It was brilliant!
This book put so much detail in, and the effort that went into it clearly paid off because I have yet to read a better true crime book - it's my favourite! Most books about crimes focus on criminals and their crimes and their victims but I honestly loved how this one told us about the police force who spend many years tracking down the criminal, and I loved the details of the constant battle between police and press because it shows what it's like to be working on a crime. It's not all easy breezy. It did thirty years to catch the BTK killer, and during that time, The Eagle newspaper got sent messages from Dennis Rader, and they thought it was only fair to let the public know what was going on, and come on, it totally is. Which is another favourite thing of mine, the photos of his messages he sent. I loved reading the letters, laughing a little and the obvious misspellings, and looking at the photographs of the dolls tied to pipes or had drivers licences tied to them. The crime scene photos and photos of the victims were interesting as it brings the crimes to life, it makes you realise that these were real people, they are not just names in a book, they were real people murdered by a horrible man, and this book did a perfect way of capturing that. It was perfect.
I have been seeing this book recommended by every person interested in true crime, which to be honest is the only reason I got it. I hate Dennis Rader more than any other serial killer. He creeps me out. He's one of three, I believe, serial killers that really creep me out. So when I first started reading this book, I was thinking that it was going to put me on edge and that I was going to feel uncomfortable, and want to put it down and forget about it forever - and it did put it down so that I could finish reading another book, but that wasn't because it was bad because this book was the exact opposite. It was brilliant!
This book put so much detail in, and the effort that went into it clearly paid off because I have yet to read a better true crime book - it's my favourite! Most books about crimes focus on criminals and their crimes and their victims but I honestly loved how this one told us about the police force who spend many years tracking down the criminal, and I loved the details of the constant battle between police and press because it shows what it's like to be working on a crime. It's not all easy breezy. It did thirty years to catch the BTK killer, and during that time, The Eagle newspaper got sent messages from Dennis Rader, and they thought it was only fair to let the public know what was going on, and come on, it totally is. Which is another favourite thing of mine, the photos of his messages he sent. I loved reading the letters, laughing a little and the obvious misspellings, and looking at the photographs of the dolls tied to pipes or had drivers licences tied to them. The crime scene photos and photos of the victims were interesting as it brings the crimes to life, it makes you realise that these were real people, they are not just names in a book, they were real people murdered by a horrible man, and this book did a perfect way of capturing that. It was perfect.
readbyashleyd's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
5.0
This is without a single doubt, the most disturbing and traumatizing true crime book I’ve read in a long time. Word of warning, this book is not for the faint of heart, it is brutal and graphic and there are A LOT of potential triggers throughout. It feels weird giving such a book 5 stars because I wouldn’t really say I enjoyed it in the typical sense you normally enjoy a book. My skin was crawling the whole way through and I often had to pause to collect myself while reading it because I was just so disturbed and horrified by what I was reading. The depravity that humans can inflict on each other is truly terrifying, to think that that can happen just chills me to the bone. This book managed to evoke more emotion than me than any book has in a long time and to actually make me feel physically ill, I have never been more horrified by anything I’ve read.