Listen free for 30 days

  • The Ultimate Evil

  • The Search for the Sons of Sam
  • Written by: Maury Terry
  • Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
  • Length: 24 hrs and 52 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (36 ratings)

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Ultimate Evil cover art

The Ultimate Evil

Written by: Maury Terry
Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
Try for $0.00

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $48.21

Buy Now for $48.21

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.

Publisher's Summary

The true-crime cult classic that inspired an upcoming Netflix documentary series and companion podcast, The Ultimate Evil follows journalist Maury Terry’s terrifying investigation into the true evil behind the Son of Sam murders.

On August 10, 1977, the NYPD arrested David Berkowitz for the Son of Sam murders that had terrorized New York City for over a year. Berkowitz confessed to shooting 16 people and killing six with a .44 caliber Bulldog revolver, and the case was officially closed.

Journalist Maury Terry was suspicious of Berkowitz’s confession. Spurred by conflicting witness descriptions of the killer and by the Queens District Attorney, who was convinced Berkowitz didn’t act alone, Terry spent decades researching, gathering evidence, and interviewing those involved in the case. He released his initial findings in the original publication of The Ultimate Evil in 1987, in which he presented his theory that Berkowitz was a member of the Process Church of the Final Judgment, a cult responsible for the Son of Sam murders as well as other ritual murders across the country. After Terry’s death in 2015, documentary filmmaker Josh Zeman (Cropsey, The Killing Season, Murder Mountain) followed leads Terry left for him, which form the basis of his upcoming docuseries with Netflix and a companion podcast. Taken together with The Ultimate Evil, which includes a new introduction by Zeman, these works reveal the stunning intersections of power, wealth, privilege, and evil in America - from the Summer of Sam until today.

©1987 Maury Terry. Introduction © 2021 by Joshua Zeman (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

More from the same

What listeners say about The Ultimate Evil

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    28
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Pure Evil Surrounds Us

This is one of the scariest books I have ever read. Right up there with Helter Skelter and The Stranger Beside Me. These are very bad people. Read this book with the lights o n and the doors double locked
gayle

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

The Ultimate Para-Politic and True Crime Book!

Maury Terry really did a good and factual job for most of his book. However, I agree with Carl Denaro that the extra 150 pages of Manson and Hollywood rumor were unnecessary. Maury kept it really tight and included verified and factual information throughout the book with exception to the end where the Manson rumors were placed in, Although there probably was a link between Manson and the Son of Sam Cult, probably via the intelligence community, the added non-verified info about Manson may have damaged Maury's airtight case regarding the Son of Sam murders. The book is an exiting and highly interesting read (or listen). Any avid para-politics and true crime buff will thoroughly enjoy it. If you've seen the Netflix series and enjoyed it, then you will probably enjoy this as well. The narrator is Keith Szarabajka from the serial "The Equalizer", the real Equalizer, before it was butchered by Denzel Washington and then made into an utter piece of trash by the so-called Queen Latifa. He does a great job at the narration. In the end I am highly satisfied with this book and recommend it to others. It touches on subjects people need to know about more, about the Satanic-Occult influence running this world in high-society and it's links to various crimes written off by corrupt FBI psychologists as a lone wolf so-called "serial killer", which is an invention made up from whole cloth in the 70s. Dave McGowan's book, Programmed to Kill delves further into the Government links to "serial killers" and their links to MK Ultra, the Armed Forces, and the Phoenix Program. While Maury doesn't get into this link specifically he does get into these cults they control. Obviously seeing from their near perfect ability to silence and dispose of witnesses it goes just beyond organized Satanism and into the realm of Government. Only Government can be that efficient in covering up crime. This book also serves as warning to anyone who thinks they can merely dabble into the Left-Hand path. It shows the brutal truth, you will either end up murdered, in jail, or tormented for the rest of your life. Steven Blake Crawford, one of the Arlis Perry's killers also had this book in his possession around the time he shot in himself in the head as Deputies and Detectives were serving a DNA warrant (which came up as a match) on his residence. Due to Maury's actions, justice befell many of the Son of Sam Cult and Perry Murder culprits. Although none of them went to trail, intelligence/cults probably monitored the suspect list and as soon as a guilty party was heavily investigated they killed them so as not to leave any loose ends. For this we thank Maury, who despite heavy attack continued his lifelong mission to get justice for the victims of Satanic ritual murder.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Wow

Crazy story and extremely chilling. Quite speechless after it. One of the most insane true stories I have every heard

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Riveting dive into the Son(s) of Sam rabbit hole

Whether you have seen Josh Zeman's excellent Netflix true-crime docu-series Sons of Sam or not, this book is a must-read. An alternative investigation into the .44 caliber killings that terrified New York City in the late 1970s, and inspired one of my favourite Spike Lee joints (the underrated masterpiece "Summer of Sam"), The Ultimate Evil chronicles journalist Maury Terry's obsessive pursuit of the truth. Whether you accept that David Berkowitz was the lone Son of Sam, and committed all of the .44 caliber shootings alone (as I did), or you are convinced by Terry's investigation that Berkowitz was only one of a group of Sons of Sam (as I do now) who conspired with members of a Yonkers-based Satanic cult -- the story is irresistible. Part alternative history, part cautionary tale, Maury Terry's story, much like David Fincher's adaptation of Robert Graysmith's Zodiac books, warns of the danger that awaits the amateur sleuth should they go hunting for monsters. As Nietzsche said (or at least as others have said that Nietzsche said), when you look into an abyss, the abyss stares back. Like Zodiac, the questions are so compelling, we forgive the author for not delivering a definitive answer. This story, like so many great adventures, is about the journey more than the destination. If you have seen the Netflix series, you are perfectly primed to join Maury on his quest. There is much in the book that didn't make it into the series, so there is really no risk of redundancy. Likewise, if you've read the book, you will find the Zelman series a more than satisfying follow-up. In fact, with the benefit of time passed, the documentary series even supplies a few answers that eluded Terry in his lifetime. Never have I experienced a more gratifying double bill than "The Ultimate Evil" and "Sons of Sam." Both the series and the book have lingered in my mind since finishing them, and I am sure they will continue to do so for a very long time. I cannot recommend either more emphatically. If you are hovering over the rabbit hole, unsure of the darkness, do not hesitate any further -- take the plunge, enjoy the fall. Or, as fellow outsider-journalist Hunter S. Thompson has said, "Buy the ticket, take the ride."

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!