Scan barcode
nikkideeley's review
4.0
The Brick Slayer recounts the true crimes of a serial killer who murdered their victims in their homes or hotel rooms using a brick. It subsequently details the arrest of Robert Nixon who was convicted for these crimes and the racism involved within the case.
This was a very informative, unbiased book which examined both the brutal murders but also the racial implications within the case. This was a good, quick introduction to the case, however I do feel with all the complexities it deserved a lot more in-depth coverage.
This was a very informative, unbiased book which examined both the brutal murders but also the racial implications within the case. This was a good, quick introduction to the case, however I do feel with all the complexities it deserved a lot more in-depth coverage.
teriboop's review against another edition
4.0
This is the true-crime story of Robert Nixon, known as the Brick Slayer, a serial killer in the mid-1930s who killed a number of women in Los Angeles and Chicago by beating them with a brick. Nixon was a 19-year-old African American man who likely had a learning disability or at the very least was immature, homeless, and from a broken family. Schechter follows the story through newspaper articles and sheds some doubt on whether Nixon was the actually killer or was simply tortured by police into confessing to the murders.
It would be interesting to check DNA today to see if Nixon was the killer or not. Likely all evidence has since been destroyed, but Schechter makes a case for Nixon to possibly be innocent.
This is a quick read and is fun to read as a "Kindle in Motion" that should be read via the Kindle app on an iPad or Kindle Fire to check out the fun moving graphics at the beginning of the book.
It would be interesting to check DNA today to see if Nixon was the killer or not. Likely all evidence has since been destroyed, but Schechter makes a case for Nixon to possibly be innocent.
This is a quick read and is fun to read as a "Kindle in Motion" that should be read via the Kindle app on an iPad or Kindle Fire to check out the fun moving graphics at the beginning of the book.
iggystar71's review against another edition
3.0
A little thin on information.
This was too brief. It skims the very surface of the case even for a short story. Not enough material to make a decision as to the guilt of the subject merely focusing on one aspect of this crime, if the interrogation was handled improperly.
This was too brief. It skims the very surface of the case even for a short story. Not enough material to make a decision as to the guilt of the subject merely focusing on one aspect of this crime, if the interrogation was handled improperly.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review against another edition
dark
informative
fast-paced
4.0
I am having a great time with these short murder stories. I love this author, and love the fact that these books are included in the Audible Plus catalog. There are six of them, and I have two left to read. This one was about the murders of several women, who were beaten in the head with bricks. A black man was arrested for the crimes. What stood out the most to me was the descriptive language used in the media about the suspect... This was a good book, and only about an hour long to listen to.
cierra_marie's review against another edition
5.0
Thanks to Amazon for making the Bloodlands Series available to Prime members both for Kindle and Audible. Harold Schechter does a great job of fitting a lot of historical information into approachable sizes.
genevarsmith's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
This book was extremely fast paced and the writing kept me from wandering in thought.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Torture, and Murder