S.Norman

good narrator but bad audio

Reviewed: 2019-12-13

I could hear background noise, mic pops and more. was very distracting and made it hard to get through the book. I've heard the narrator before, he's good. the book is ok, but author doesn't have the flare for story telling that John Douglas does. he's sometimes too descriptive.

Shocking Story

Reviewed: 2019-12-03

I had never heard much about this killer and this book really provides a comprehensive overview of everything. Super interesting listen. Does a good job of sharing the details without overdoing it.

Graphic but a good listen

Reviewed: 2019-12-03

Be warned this book gets into more graphic detail about sexual assault than most. Covers some cases I didn't know about before, takes a new perspective on ones I did. I enjoy the narrator as well. Overall, solid true crime overview book.

A Little Biased...

Reviewed: 2019-12-03

While I learned a lot of interesting things about this, it didn't translate as well to audiobook and the author seems a bit biased. There were some topics that discussed math and stats and it was hard to understand without reading it. He seems to think his method is the best method of all and doesn't touch on any of the obvious concerns. He seems to have very little respect for most criminal profilers or other profiling systems and approaches. I was surprised to hear him say that feminists are upset about rape basically because it takes value away from a woman? yeah... I think women just hate being raped dude. Had some interesting cases but overall was an odd book

Fairly standard stuff from Douglas

Reviewed: 2019-09-09

I really enjoy John's work, but if you've read one it's like you've read them all. There's a lot of overlap in this book and his many others, material feels a bit recycled. But a few new interesting points. If you liked his other books you'll like this one, just don't expect too many surprises.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Entertaining, Endearing and Interesting

Reviewed: 2019-09-09

I have to confess I picked up this book on an audible suggestion, and I had no idea who Joe Kenda is or anything about his show. I liked him instantly and his no-BS way of telling stories. I listen to a lot of true crime and the authors tend to dance around things and rarely express their opinions or feelings on them. Joe isn't like that, he'll tell you exactly what he thinks of something - swear words and name calling included. It's refreshing, and at times, hilarious.

He has a vulnerability behind his tough cop attitude and short fuse, and it becomes more prominent when he talks about some of the real distressing cases. You can tell how seriously he took his job. Also interesting to hear his measured opinions on citizens owning guns.

The stories were all really interesting. Some were damn heart breaking.

He's got a new fan in me, though the TV show is ending I plan to binge it all. I hope he makes another book. He was so interesting and it was good to hear the complexity of managing this type of work along with a family.

Rehashed but from Ressler's POV

Reviewed: 2019-08-13

Pretty good, mostly rehashed of other books he and Douglas have done independently and together. But still interesting to hear his POV

A boring book about... a Serial Killer?

Reviewed: 2019-08-02

This book wasn't what I was expecting based on reviews, hype, and general talk of a film. This is a book about the history of the Chicago World's Fair, with a little bit of HH Holmes in it. I guess I expected it to be the other way around. I was boring to me as it wasn't what I expected, hearing about ledgers, finances and health issues of the people who made the fair. It does cover a lot of interesting content but a huge majority of it was just mundane, every-day stuff. If you're into history and that sort of thing I can imagine it would be fairly interesting but even then a lot of the content was rather stagnate for me. I've never fallen asleep listening to books but I fell asleep often listening to this one - which is crazy when you consider it's about a serial killer. The serial killer stuff IS very disturbing. I don't say this out of needing it to be more morbid or gory I was just more interested in the history of HH Holmes, how he was caught and what was learned as a result. I did find the history of the Ferris wheel interesting, and of course a few other little factoids. But if you're buying this book to learn about HH Holmes... he's sort of a background thing. Voice actor for the narration was excellent though

Terrifying but riveting read

Reviewed: 2019-07-16

I wasn't sold on this despite the critical acclaim. A lot of time has passed and I worried this was another case of someone fawning over Ted. But Rule writes this in a manner we can all relate to. We have all made the mistake of befriending the wrong person, someone who is toxic. But luckily for (most) of us that person didn't turn out to be a serial killer. Rule does a great job of showing how difficult it was for her to navigate her friendship while her suspicions grew. It's well researched with a lot of input from victims and doesn't make everything all about Ted. it's very human. I am so glad she did an update, but I was sad to read about the circumstances surrounding her death.

Def worth a listen

Incredibly Satisfying Listen - Great story

Reviewed: 2019-06-21

I was not expecting to love this as much as I did. I am sad to have finished it. I discovered this book after seeing a trailer for the TV show and decided I would prefer to read it first. I am so glad I did! Hill weaves together a childhood coming of age nostalgia with psychological thrill and a little taste of the supernatural. Of course, it's hard to tell at first if it is INDEED supernatural and not the trauma experienced by a child and processed in later life.

The narrator was fantastic. She seemed a bit over the top to me at first because she had such distinct voices for each character, but she grew on me and now I can't imagine any different voices for these characters. She brought them to life and I'd forget it was even a woman when she'd read the male parts.

The story is quickly paced but not rushed. There's the perfect amount of attention to detail of setting while keeping the plot rolling and fleshing out the characters. Things are described in a way that you can almost feel the snow on your face, or smell gingerbread or mint. I couldn't stop the book! I just wanted to keep listening and listening because I was so immersed.

I am not ready to say goodbye to this setting and I hope Hill will make another book exploring "innerscapes" of other characters. Excellent read, the nearly 20 hours it takes to listen will fly by.