A Chilling Ride- a review by Wendy C.
This review appears on Amazon.com
A review of "STILL AT LARGE: A Casebook 20th Century Serial Killers Who Eluded Justice" by Michael Newton
This book is probably meant to frighten readers. From its cover illustration of a poor soon-to-be-victim running down a dark alley being chased by a madman, to the blurb on the back cover that reads, "So you think you'll never be the vicitim of a serial murderer? Don't be so sure", Michael Newton's encyclopedic "Still at Large" is a scary look into the world of serial killers and their unsolved crimes.
The author has researched crimes globally to give us a jam-packed thriller with over 180 entries listed alphabetically by either the presumed killer's nickname or the region where he/she did the killing.
Some crimes are well-known and now solved, like the Green River prostitute murders of the Seattle, Washington area. Gary Ridgeway has now been found guilty of the crimes which plagued investigators for years.
Another famous elusive killer has now been brought closer to justice as the BTK murders have been attributed to an unassuming man named Dennis Rader.
Still, most of the cases in this book are still unsolved. Some are so old that even if the killer is "still at large", there hardly seems to be reason for the public to worry about becoming the latest victim. And even though this book refers only to the 20th century's serial killers, there are many mentions of London's "Jack the Ripper", who terrorized prostitutes in the late 1800s because so many men have taken up where he left off and have also gotten away with it.
This book is chilling in its depiction of unsolved crimes and will have you looking over your shoulder. However, it is sometimes a little insensitive, I believe, toward victims because it is such a compact roll-call of killers. Most victims end up mere names in a laundry list of murders, with lines like, "the next to die was known junkie/hooker...", which I see as a little cold. That person was still somebody's daughter or friend.
Overall, Newton does a pretty good job of handling the victim situation. No matter how hard authors try, victims are usually secondary to the infamy and celibrity of a killer, even an unnamed one like the "I-45 Killer" or "Frankford Slasher".
I was impressed by Mr. Newton's research. He even discredits other writers of true crime who he feels have stretched the truth by either adding numbers to a victim list or making up murders altogether. It kept me from buying a book by one such writer, and I am grateful!
Read this book if you are a true crime buff- it's a keeper!
A review of "STILL AT LARGE: A Casebook 20th Century Serial Killers Who Eluded Justice" by Michael Newton
This book is probably meant to frighten readers. From its cover illustration of a poor soon-to-be-victim running down a dark alley being chased by a madman, to the blurb on the back cover that reads, "So you think you'll never be the vicitim of a serial murderer? Don't be so sure", Michael Newton's encyclopedic "Still at Large" is a scary look into the world of serial killers and their unsolved crimes.
The author has researched crimes globally to give us a jam-packed thriller with over 180 entries listed alphabetically by either the presumed killer's nickname or the region where he/she did the killing.
Some crimes are well-known and now solved, like the Green River prostitute murders of the Seattle, Washington area. Gary Ridgeway has now been found guilty of the crimes which plagued investigators for years.
Another famous elusive killer has now been brought closer to justice as the BTK murders have been attributed to an unassuming man named Dennis Rader.
Still, most of the cases in this book are still unsolved. Some are so old that even if the killer is "still at large", there hardly seems to be reason for the public to worry about becoming the latest victim. And even though this book refers only to the 20th century's serial killers, there are many mentions of London's "Jack the Ripper", who terrorized prostitutes in the late 1800s because so many men have taken up where he left off and have also gotten away with it.
This book is chilling in its depiction of unsolved crimes and will have you looking over your shoulder. However, it is sometimes a little insensitive, I believe, toward victims because it is such a compact roll-call of killers. Most victims end up mere names in a laundry list of murders, with lines like, "the next to die was known junkie/hooker...", which I see as a little cold. That person was still somebody's daughter or friend.
Overall, Newton does a pretty good job of handling the victim situation. No matter how hard authors try, victims are usually secondary to the infamy and celibrity of a killer, even an unnamed one like the "I-45 Killer" or "Frankford Slasher".
I was impressed by Mr. Newton's research. He even discredits other writers of true crime who he feels have stretched the truth by either adding numbers to a victim list or making up murders altogether. It kept me from buying a book by one such writer, and I am grateful!
Read this book if you are a true crime buff- it's a keeper!
posted by Spleengrrl @ 5:39 PM
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