No comments about Charles and Caril: An orgy of blood: the true story of one of the greatest mass murder rampages in American history.

No comments about The Murderous Trail of Charles Starkweather (Police Science).

No comments about BALLAD OF CHARLES STARKWEATHER.|THE.

No comments about Hunting Humans: Inside The Minds Of Mass Murderers.

5 comments about Outside Valentine: A Novel.

1. Ward's debut novel is a bleak and stirring portrayal of how the effects of crime ripple through several decades afterward. The story is told from three perspectives--one, from the girl no one loved until she met Charles Starkweather; two, from the boy left an orphan after his parents were murdered; and three, from a local girl who's life was forever altered by watching the orphan boy and imagining his lonely life.
   
   Her writing style is brief and thoughtful, and she is able to portray her three narrators in distinct fashions so that we can easily follow when one stops and another begins. Her characterizations are very real, and sadness is woven into an overall wintry, grey, and desolate background that is effective and powerful. There is a theme of abadonment and aloneness that permeates the novel; and although there is love and redemption at the story's conclusion, this is a chilly and scary walk through a story of true crime and its imagined effects on those touched by its wake.



2. As a writer of historical fiction with a deep interest in true crime stories, I took a chance on this novel after reading an interview with Liza Ward online. What I read was astounding beyond my expectations. The way the author takes one of the saddest murder cases of the 1950's and '60s and spins from its tragedy a hauntingly beautiful narrative will make this book a deserved classic. By combining the story of Caril Ann Fugate and Charles Starkweather--complete with narratives in the voice of Caril herself--and adding a fictional account of a couple brought together by one of the murders, Ward creates a story that is as much about the power of love and obsession as it as about good and evil. As a result, the book ranks among classics such as Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in its examination of morality and humanity. The language is rich, lush, and inventive, the storyline so perfectly paced that readers get lost in their journey through time. If you enjoy a suspenseful, well written story with historical relevance and intrigue, run, don't walk. Be prepared for the ride of your life.



3. Drab storytelling at its worst, but to compare this to Capote's In Cold Blood is to insult a truly great writer. Those who are so impressed with this amateurish work should go back and read no more than the first chapter of In Cold Blood and then reconsider your flattering comments.
   
   The outstanding reviews of this mediocre work indicate that, aside from the classics, there remains a paucity of worthy literary fiction.



4. Liza Ward, Outside Valentine (Henry Holt, 2004)
   
   Outside Valentine is pretty much tailor-made for me. I'm a sucker for the subject matter (three stories paralleling the killing spree of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate), the book was released by a major press but dropped off the radar after getting almost no publicity at all, and a whole lot of critics liked it a whole lot. And yet I've spent the last couple of years trying to get myself to like it and failing miserably. It's not that the book is badly-written, but there's not a single character in here, not even Caril Ann Fugate, who makes me care what's going to happen here, and the only plot point with any suspense surrounding it at all is the contents of the safe-deposit box in the 1991 story. And even that wasn't enough to keep me going past the halfway point. There are a slew of well-drawn characters here who are simply wandering aimlessly through their settings. (And even Terence Malick was capable of making Starkweather and Fugate wander aimlessly through Badlands in a compelling manner.) November is always them month where I go through and prune the reading list of stuff I simply can't bear to read any longer. I axed five books this year, which is a new high for me. Of all of them, Outside Valentine is the one I most regret, but there's way too much reading to do for me to try and force myself to finish this one. (zero)



5. A series of interjecting vignettes make up this novel.
   The narrative centers on the Frigate/Starkweather mur-
   ders and the lifelong scars and impact that was left
   on the victims and their families.
   
   A shadow world of post-traumatic stress disorder lures
   the reader into the depths of souls long shocked into
   silence, fear and oblivion. Interestingly, the author's
   grandfather was a victim of these serial killers!
   
   This book speaks to the homage that we all have a per-
   sonal narrative that 'this time our lives will turn out
   better'. What we find out is that we are all impacted
   by the past - much more than we can ever imagine.
   
   This is a very intelligent and well-written novel.

1 comments about Caril.

1. This book is very informative and well written. It describes all of the killings, the trials, and the outcome of the trials of both Caril Ann Fugate and Charles Raymond Starkweather. It begins by giving you a reporters view of the crimes and the manhunt for the murderous couple. It also has one chapter just about the confessions of Charles Starkweather. A very good read. I would highly reccommend this book to anyone who is interested in this story about a couple on a rampage.

2 comments about Starkweather: a story of mass murder on the Great Plains.

1. This book explained how evil a person can become. It tells how a young man can ruin his life and the lives of others by emulating those on the screen. The Monkey see, Monkey do syndrome is alive and well in this monsters life. Death was too easy for this person. Good book; well written; could have been more pictures



2. The book shed some light on the murders for me. I have read about them before and have seen a movie, but this book included details not discussed elsewhere. I thought it was very informative and the author seemed to try to get "all sides" of the story...after all...we will never know exactly what happened. The only thing the author could have added were additional photos.

1 comments about Starkweather: The story of a mass murderer.

1. This book is a great book.I think that it is really wierd that it is a true story. When it happened in the same state that I live in it really makes me think of how scary life really is.

2 comments about Starkweather: Inside the Mind of a Teenage Killer.

1. The subject matter was very interesting, but I noticed so many obvious mistakes. It was so distracting. There was one section that was missing the last half of a descriptive paragraph. I have never seen a book like this before. It was like they published the book with out copy writing it. If you can get past that I'm sure you'll love it.



2. An easy read, a bit dated now many years after the first edition, but still a nice history of that week in January and subsequent events. Allen tells a nice story without glorification of starkweather, and plenty of first hand observations noted. It is the definitive look into this case.

3 comments about Waste Land: The Savage Odyssey Of Charles Starkweather And Caril Ann Fugate.

1. This book was exciting and kept me interested. It had in depth synopsis of the trial. Some of the childhood information seemed a bit far-fetched, but as a whole the book was an enjoyable read. If you enjoy true crime you will enjoy this book.



2. Stephen King is haunted by the story of Charles Starkweather. In this excellent, concise book the dark horror of the killer's 8-day crime spree becomes terrifyingly real--we can understand why King can't forget this example of man's ability to commit pure evil. Starkweather was not merely a homicidal brute--he was essentially amoral, and found/manipulated a willing partner in a 14-year-old girl.
   
   The facts of the case are presented in objective, crisp prose that is compelling and disturbing. Like a particularly well-made horror film, we are terrified but find that we can't stop from finishing to the end. The book provides detailed support information, first-hand accounts, and court records. Some news clippings are reviewed, discussed, and others debunked--but always with a respectful nod to the reporters on the front lines there in the dark days. The author knows that while reporters, under a deadline and writing the day after a murder, may get some facts wrong, they still offer invaluable insight into the tone of the day. In this book, we have the benefit of hindsight 40 years on, from an author who respects the sources, even when they are contradicted by subsequent research.
   
   It is this balanced consideration of resource materials that makes the author's work so credible. This objectivity lends great drama to the book's main focus--the horrible story of Starkweather--because we know that all of the facts may read like a thriller novel, but they are researched and presented in a manner as true as possible to the facts. True crime writing is rarely better than this.
   
   Recommended for those who enjoy true crime, those interested in the dark psychology of serial killers, and anyone interested in the true face of 1950s America.



3. Michael Newton's WASTELAND is the story of a murder spree by 19 year old Charles Starkweather and his 14 year old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate. The pair terrorized the Lincoln, Nebraska, area for about a week in January 1958, and racked up a body count of 11 innocent people. The book goes into considerable detail about that week as well as the trials and appeals that followed.
   
   The strong points in WASTELAND include Newton's extensive research and his primarily reportorial and non-judgmental style of writing. Newton does not insert his own personality into his narrative. And his characterizations of both Charlie and Caril are in-depth and highly interesting.
   
   Among the negatives is that, in my opinion, the book is probably 75 pages too long. Much time is spent comparing Charlie's and Caril's versions of the events of the murderous week. This becomes tedious, since the versions vary mainly due to both Charlie's and Caril's attempts to avoid blame; because neither of them were much more than emotionally stunted losers; and since ultimately it doesn't matter which version was valid.
   Both were totally involved as a team, and Caril's attempts at minimizing her responsibility are clearly bogus as presented in the book. The accounts of their individual trials, totalling over 100 pages, become numbingly repetitive; and they repeat as well the information previously provided regarding Charlie's versus Caril's versions of the murders.
   
   WASTELAND is not a bad book. The portions which present Charlie's and Caril's background information - which in the case of Charlie is extensive - is fascinating, and the accounts of the actual murders and the pair's cross-state odyssey is fast paced and well worth reading. But there is also too much tedious repetition.
   This is a good place to learn about this interesting case, which was highly publicized at the time. But it is good, not great, true crime.