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  • The Search for the Green River Killer

  • The True Story of America's Most Prolific Serial Killer
  • Written by: Carlton Smith, Tomas Guillen
  • Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
  • Length: 17 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (41 ratings)

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The Search for the Green River Killer

Written by: Carlton Smith, Tomas Guillen
Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
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Publisher's Summary

In the 1980s and 1990s, 49 women in the Seattle area were brutally murdered, their bodies dumped along the Green River and Pacific Highway South in Washington State. Despite an exhaustive investigation - even serial killer Ted Bundy was consulted to assist with psychological profiling - the sadistic killer continued to elude authorities for nearly 20 years.

Then, in 2001, after mounting suspicion and with DNA evidence finally in hand, King County police charged a 52-year-old truck painter, Gary Ridgway, with the murders. His confession and the horrific details of his crimes only added fuel to the notoriety of the Green River Killer.

Journalists Carlton Smith and Tomas Guillen covered the murders for the Seattle Times from day one, receiving a Pulitzer Prize nomination for their work. They wrote the first edition of this book before the police had their man. Revised after Ridgway's conviction, The Search for the Green River Killer is the ultimate authoritative account of the Pacific Northwest killing spree that held a nation spellbound - and continues to horrify and fascinate, spawning dramatizations and documentaries of a demented killer who seemed unstoppable for decades.

©1991 Carlton Smith and Tomas Guillen (P)2019 Tantor

What listeners say about The Search for the Green River Killer

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Horrifyingly brutal

My daughters began following serial murders. First I questioned their interest, but then I realized it was just a faction of our world that requires recognition.

That this could happen anywhere forced me to pay attention.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I’ve tried 3 times to finish this

I could not keep myself interested due to the narrator’s monotone. I keep restarting and trying between finishing others and and waiting for my monthly credit to show up. I’ve tried 3 times, I just can’t get into it… it simply turns to background monotony every time. In fact it’s so monotonous that with every time I restart it, I recall nothing… while I could retell many other audiobooks in detail from memory after listening.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very detailed and well written.

A bit of a long listen. The title is exactly what the book is about. It goes into depth about the investigation and detectives lives. It can be a bit monotonous but still very interesting.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very dry

I know quite a bit about this case already, so I can appreciate the tidbits, that we may not have known, are included in this book.
The book is extremely long, senselessly long. I found myself wishing this chapter was over, there was just too many word being used to describe a simple situation.
It is written well, but it's very dry and the narrator is somewhat monotone.
If you are just looking for information about BTK, then this book is for you. If you already know a fair amount about BTK, I'd say pass.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Buy A Text Version If It Leaves The 'Plus' Menu

This book deservedly won Carlton Smith and Tomás Guillén the Pulitzer Prize. They take their readers/listeners behind-the-scenes in a strikingly in-depth procedural: what law enforcement, victim families, media, and others were thinking & feeling throughout an intensive hunt for a horrifying, incredibly prolific serial killer of vulnerable women. Each action taken - from body recovery to forensic evidence collection to profiling assertions to pursuing false-lead suspects to press conferences & television exposés - is enriched with well-researched rationales to answer the question: "Why did they do that?"
Some of the nuts & bolts of the investigation are pretty mundane (fights over Task Force budgets, for example), but the overall result of the authors' efforts is a straight-up brilliant documentary.

Less fortunately for audiobook aficionados, reader Keith Sellon-Wright turns in a distinctly "average" performance. To be sure, he is a professional narrator in every way (diction, timbre, cadence, pacing, voice-acting) - but his clinical, relatively unemotive tone lets the text down. Tantor Audio Inc. could have cast this project better.

Altogether, this 8.5/10-star recording is absolutely worth a listen. If you find it for free, Do Not Hesitate to download it. Should Audible ask for a Credit, however, consider a paper or eBook version. Don't get me wrong: this iteration of 'The Search For The Green River Killer' is quite a good listening experience overall.. but if you're genuinely interested in this truly outstanding True Crime book, reading it yourself would serve you better.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

boring 😴 the narration is awful

very boring I couldn't finish it I found i lost interest very quickly and just couldn't get through it.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

painfully long

I drive while i listen to books, this one had me contemplating driving into a bridge abutment. Narration is monotone and dry. so many trivial details i was wondering, at times, if they were messing with the listener on purpose.

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