5 comments about The I-5 Killer: Revised Edition (Signet True Crime).

1. "The I-5 Killer" lacks the elements that make Ann Rule books so fascinating. Granted that Randy Woodfield is a complex criminal, and his story is interesting, but when Ann Rule wrote this book she had not yet started delving into the perpetrators' pasts and psychological makeup. Like her other early works, "Lust Killer" and "The Want-Ad Killer", Randy Woodfield's story is a better-than-average true crime offering when compared to books by lesser authors, but not nearly up to the level of Ann Rule's writing today.



2. The title of my review is kind of taken from the back of the book which I think is understandable. Again, Ms Rule has written with knowledge & with an edge that keeps one hooked from page to page. This book was the most terrifying I've read so far just because the killer, Randall Woodfield, spent a great amount of time in the area where I grew up (SW Portland) and at the same time when I was 16 years old (the age of girls he was attracted to). The bar where he worked is less than a mile from where I lived at the time. I probably saw him at some point but did not know it. I think that's pretty scary!
   
   Randall Woodfield was a sick, disgusting pervert that received exactly what he deserved...LIFE in prison. Ms. Rule's research states that he is not eligible for parole until he is the age of 81 years old. God help us all if he is still alive! This book just goes to show that you cannot judge a book by its cover. Even though someone may look like an Adonis, it does not mean that they are the same way on the inside. Randall Woodfield still is every young woman's nightmare. Ann Rule writes with such detail and really brought this story to life for me.



3. Randall Woodfield seemed to have it all. Growing up he had a stable home life, did well in school, and was an exceptional athlete, excelling in every sport he tried. He was such a good athlete, in fact, that the Green Bay Packers drafted him. But Woodfield didn't make the team and he never finished college, instead drifting from job to job, from city to city. He also went from woman to woman, pursuing all of them intensely. Still, he seemed like a nice enough guy and people who knew him were shocked to find out that he was the I-5 killer, committing a series of robberies, terrorizing and assaulting young women, killing some of them.
   
   "The I-5 Killer" is one of Ann Rule's early true crime books and it shows. It's not a bad book, but it's not as good as her later efforts. Rule focuses more on Woodfield than his victims, consequently, although the crimes against the victims were horrific, I felt detached since I never came to know what any of them were really like. There are eight pages of photos, but only one picture of a victim, which also adds to the feeling of detachment. Woodfield's trial had a bit more detail to it and was quite interesting.
   
   This isn't a bad book, but someone trying Ann Rule for the first time should try reading one of her newer books.



4. "The I-5 Killer" is the story of Randall Woodfield, a multi-sport high school star who was drafted into the NFL after a successful college football career as a Wide Receiver.
   
   He had the same problem as Lance Rentzel of the Dallas Cowboys, a severe problem with exposing himself to young women. Unlike Rentzel, Randall Woodfield's behavior escalated to more serious activities like armed robbery and sexual assault. It's difficult to understand how that led ultimately to murder. The final number of murder victims may never be known.
   Woodfield has suggested that steroid use was a factor in his becoming aggressive.
   
   Ann Rule details the jurisdictional battles of law enforcement entities that were involved in the investigation. That battle may have been responsible for Woodfield's destruction of incriminating evidence in the interim.
   She also explains the evidence that originally tied him to the multiple crimes around the I-5 freeway in multiple states.
   
   The thinking behind California deciding not to prosecute the double-murder charges was explained.
   
   Randall Woodfield is a narcissist, totally wrapped up in himself and his "image". What's so puzzling is how someone with a popular social life and apparently normal family background could become a serial killer.
   Ann Rule tells the story of the I-5 killer in gripping style!



5. Writing as Andy Stack, this is an Ann Rule novel. I read Stranger Beside Me from Ann as my first book from her. I didn't care for it much. This true crime story covers the life and crimes of Randall Woodfield. Ann really does a good job with this tale. Nothing is held back as she goes over Randall's very interesting life. The writing is crisp and clear making the 296 pages fly by. What makes this story of a killer so interesting is how much he had going for him. Randall was a normal kid raised in a normal home. He was good looking, popular and excelled in sports. It seems incredible that someone like that could do the horrible things he did. Very gripping story.

5 comments about Kiss and Kill.

1. The author did a great job of taking you behind closed doors of domestic violence. Domestic violence has become a hot topic in the past several years. This book will pull on your heart strings and make you wonder why someone as talented and gifted as Patty Jo Riddick Pulley was murdered for the reasons portrayed in the book. I recommend this as an excellent true crime book.



2. Rick Pulley had a wonderful, devoted Christian wife who was a talented musician. Both were dedicated to the Christian ministry and to music. Patty Jo Riddick Pulley was the ideal wife. From appearances, Rick and Patty Jo had a desirable, ideal, Christian marriage. Although childless, having children was a source of friction between the pair. Rick was at a dead end in the church ministry with a low paying job while his wife worked two or three jobs to support them. They were financially troubled by themselves much less if they had a child. They lived in a very cloistered Christian community which suprised Patty Jo's family after Rick declared her disappeared. The women were subservient and obedient to their husbands. The small Christian community of Ringgold, Virginia had their own share of problems. They appeared backwards to Patty Jo's family. Rick enjoyed the power that he felt he had in the community. His relationship with the young girl was quite bizarre as she described Rick becoming more like Jim Jones. Patty Jo encouraged her to leave which is something that she never had the chance to do. Despite her love for Rick, she was also being abused by him. It was inevitable that he would kill her but nobody knows exactly how and why. The author does paint a portrait but not enough of the small tight-knit Christian community of Ringgold, Virginia. he does detail Patty Jo's loving family that did not recognize the signs of domestic violence. Rick's past is somewhat vague. his mother is practically non-existence. I don't know much about the author's experience in Ringgold and the community or how factual about it's members. Regardless, Rick killed his wife after abusing her for so many years. I don't blame the community but I blame Rick who is completely responsible for Patty Jo's cruel murder. I don't know much about Ringgold not even from reading this book and I'm wondering about the facts about the community itself. I don't recall the author speaking to it's citizens or members of their church. When I read a true crime book, I expect it to be factual and I'm surprised by some of the comments about this case. A true crime author is expected to write and detail as much information and background about Patty Jo and Rick's life in Ringgold. I felt the book was just thrown together and not written adequately.



3. I WAS EXTREMLY DISAPOINTED IN THIS BOOK. IT LOOKED LIKE IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL. THE ENTIRE FIRST HALF OF THE BOOK WAS SO BORING THAT I FOUND MY MIND WONDERING TO OTHER THINGS. THE AUTHOR WENT ON AND ON ABOUT STUFF THAT REALLY DID NOT MATTER. HE WAS VERY REDUNDANT, OFTEN REPEATING THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER. IT GOT A LITTLE BETTER IN THE END, BUT NOT MUCH. I COULD NOT BELEIVE THE AUTHOR DID NOT INCLUSE WHAT RICK'S SENTENCE WAS. OR MAYBE I MISSED THAT WHEN MY MIND WAS WONDERING. I HAVE READ ONE OTHER BOOK BY THIS AUTHOR AND IT WAS OK. I MAY AVOID THIS AUTHOR FROM NOW ON.



4. I read a good deal of true crime books. This one is true bottom of the barrel. It is poorly edited and the author is chronologically challenged, making the book so hard to follow at times.
   What a mish-mosh of events with no rhyme or reason. There are too many good books available to waste one's time with a book that requires the reader to reread due to unfounded time-jumping and blatant errors in editing.
   It was funny that several people asked me if I was enjoying this book. Usually people are so used to seeing me with my nose in a book that I am not often asked this question. I felt terrible that I had to answer so many people in the negative but this book was not worth the paper it is printed on. I was stubborn about reading it to the end simply because I had begun the task, but I really should have spent the time elsewhere. (Perhaps walking on hot coals...) Waste neither time nor money on this one.



5. I am the niece of Patty Jo Riddick Pulley and can tell you that this book is NOT supported by family and I. The book has false and misleading information in it, not to mention information that was taken directly from the MSS of the victim's niece. I do not know how this book has managed to get on the same Amazon page as Quiet Moment's, but it certainly is not welcomed there and if anyone can tell me how to have it removed, Please do so! My family and I do not wish to associate ourselves with Dale Hudson or anyone who is a fan of his.
   
   Connie Smithson (Niece of Patty Jo Pulley and Author of Quiet Moment's)

5 comments about Son.

1. SON is the type of book that you never forget. As you read, you keep thinking that surely it's fiction and remind yourself that there is a man, a real man alive today, that lived this nightmare. He endured unspeakable verbal abuse but, when he reached a point of no longer being able to "hang in there," he retaliated against his monster mother in the only way he knew how. If I sound sympathetic toward SON, I am up to a point. I am certainly sickened by his dreadful crimes, but he was a psychopath and he did all that he knew to do to block out the reality of his bizarre relationship with his parents. You can draw your own conclusion by reading this incredible book. When the book was made into a "made for tv movie" I didn't think any movie could do the book justice, but it did. The book became even more real after watching Dale Midhoff as SON and Elizabeth Montgomery as his insane mother. If you ever see it listed, don't miss it. All of Jack Olson's books are extremely well-written and always fascinating, but SON is the best.



2. Thank your for the speedy delivery of the book.



3. This true story is a chilling reminder that we live in a world stranger than fiction. I could not put this book down. If you want to look into the world of the psychopath, this is the book for you.



4. KEVIN AND HIS MOTHER ARE VERY SICK PEOPLE. THIS BOOK HAS ME LOOKING OVER MY SHOULDER AT NIGHT WHEN I AM OUT AND ABOUT. VERY GOOD READ!



5. If you've ever wondered what reviewers mean when they use the phrase "true crime classic" this is the book that will explain it. Jack Olsen has written many fine true crime books and every well-read true crime fan has their favorites of his works, this Edgar Award winner is mine.
   
   Frederick Harlan "Kevin" Coe is the son of a respected Spokane newspaper editor and his eccentric wife. The whole family is a little off in Olsen's telling, but batty in a way that reminded me of families I knew or knew of growing up. Maybe every town has a family with a flamboyant parent, one "perfect" child and one child that is "going to become someone important." Other people in town notice that the flamboyant parent's stories never quite add up and the child that is going to be something never seems to grow up but everyone is far too polite to actually say anything. Besides, it's no one's business, right? That's the Coe family - mother Ruth was the flamboyant one, telling people about her Southern belle background (she was from Washington State), Kevin's sister was the "perfect" one (she promptly high-tailed it out of Dodge as soon as she was old enough), and Kevin is always on the verge of something big, to hear him tell it, that is.
   
   But Kevin never really grows up. He's forever reinventing himself, just like Mommy, to the point of rechristening himself "Kevin" and making up civic groups for himself to head up. Olsen makes it clear that Kevin Coe's twisted relationship with his mother Ruth fueled his rage against women. Ruth does a fine job of keeping Kevin tied to and dependent on her while complaining that he's, well, too dependent on her. Olsen shows all this but like the great reporter he was, he doesn't comment on it. He presents the facts and lets the reader draw the inevitable conclusions. For instance, he slowly catalogs the many nicknames Ruth and Kevin have for each other and those around them, showing how detached they are from their fellow humans, how utterly unable they are to interact with anyone else on a truthful emotional level.
   
   What makes this true crime classic one of my favorites is encapsulated in its well-chosen subtitle: A Psychopath and His Victims. Olsen spends as much time and expends as much reporting effort understanding Coe's victims and the horrible toll of his crimes on them. He shows us these women living normal lives before, struggling with challenges like divorce and low self-esteem but still moving forward until Coe gets them in his sights. We come to know these women in a few short sentences and begin to understand the devastation Coe causes them.
   
   This is a great book for any genre and a must read for true crime fans; and it's sadly as relevant today as it was 20 years ago.

5 comments about If You Really Loved Me.

1. I read this book about 7 or 8 years ago and i recently made an account on Amazon and i can tell you this book was one of the best books i have ever read about. I remember this entire book like i read it yesterday! What Cinnamon Brown went through as a pre-teen...the manipulation, the pressure she had on her and then to have to go to jail for this man, David Brown was just absoultly sick. I couldn't believe with the pressure she was put under by Brown that she would have to do any time at all and was repulsed when i read on and found out what they gave her. She is free now but still. It must have been hell on a kid that was practicaly forced to do something like that to someone she had to secretely love, and we know as a child she secretely loved her step mother.
   
   Shocking, sad and unfortunatly...so true...



2. I can't believe that David Brown really did this to his daughter, his own flesh and blood!! He manipulated his 14 year old daughter into killing his wife so he could collect the insurance money!! There are no words to describe how demented this "man" really is. Then he tried to have his daughter killed from prison! Unbelievable! This "man" deserves to rot in hell for all eternity~



3. Every now and then I pick up one of Ann Rule's true crime accounts. I like figuring out puzzles, and mystery novels are especially tempting as they let me try to figure things out on my own end of things. But true crime books have an additional factor to them -- I enjoy seeing the monsters that inhabit the world around us get justice, and sometimes it helps to know that I am not alone in my own little pocket of misery.
   
   If You Really Loved Me dips into the psychology of a family, and the man who was the head of it. To all appearances, David Brown was an ordinary looking fellow, overweight, acne-scarred, but very successful. He had developed a means of rescuing lost data from computer disks right at the start of the big computer boom of the eighties, and had made quite a bundle of money. His home was in an prosperous part of Orange County, California, and his marriage to Linda Bailey was a happy one on the surface. They had a newborn daughter named Krystal, and he had invited not just his daughter from a previous marriage, Cinnamon, but also Linda's sister, Patti, to live with him. The home was tidy and well-furnished, and the two teenage girls were average, high-spirited girls, especially Cinnamon.
   
   But on a March night in 1985, Linda died from two gunblasts in her chest. David Brown had gone out for a drive, and had come home to Patti crying and holding the baby, and Cinnamon was nowhere to be found. EMTs and the police came, and Linda's life could not be saved. And a search revealed Cinnamon huddled in a doghouse in the backyard, covered in vomit, and clutching a note scrawled on a piece of cardboard.
   
   Dear God, please forgive me, I didn't mean to hurt her.
   
   To everyone involved, the solution appeared very clear -- Cinnamon was tried for the murder and sentenced to twenty-five years to life, and only fourteen years old, was sent to prison. Life returned to normal for the Browns, and Patti stayed with David Brown, raising Krystal, and eventually giving birth to a child of her own, Heather.
   
   But to the police and prosecutors involved in the case, there was something a little too smooth about the murder. And there was something about Brown that bothered everyone -- but the only way to reopen the case would be if Cinnamon spoke, and for nearly four long years she remained silent. Then one of the original investigators, Jay Newell, recieved a phone call, and the truth began to be slowly uncovered...
   
   It's a chilling tale of mental and emotional abuse, murder for hire, manipulation and the man who was at the center of it all. Using interviews, photographs, and transcripts of the case, Rule gives a glimpse into a family that was deceptive, and with David Brown as the man who ran it all. He was charming, and would marry no less than six times, usually to very young women, and each marriage would fail in some respect. What was most disturbing was just how close David Brown came to getting away with everything -- investigators discovered that he would run insurance scams, make grandiose claims, and always seemed to find someone else to blame for everything that was questionable in his life.
   
   For me, the hardest thing to read what Brown did to his own daughter, and the abuse he put Patti through. Out of all of his women, it was these two teenagers that went through the most trauma. Brown viewed women as things, put on the earth to gratify him sexually, and it didn't matter if they were preteens or not -- it was these sections of the book that made me physically ill, and helped me to recognize that predators lack the moral integrity that stop most of us from acts of terrible horror.
   
   While Rule does get a bit repetitive in her account, the story is compelling enough to continue reading through to the end. She delves into the psychology of a sociopath, the hell that survivors of abuse go through, and the lives of the lawmen who worked to bring justice, finally to Linda Bailey and Cinnamon Brown.
   
   This is not a book for children of any age to read, and that would go to most adults that I know. The violence in this is particularly disturbing, made all the more so in that it actually happened. For me, the hardest part was to read about the words and actions that Brown used to control the women in his life -- my own mother and grandfather would use very close to the same phrases to twist my own thinking into believing that what they were doing was my fault, not theirs, and there were times when I had to set the book down and walk away for a while to get my own equilibrium back. Despite this, it helped me to understand more of what I had gone through personally, and so, that made the book worth reading.
   
   Rule is able to stay detached from her subject in this, and lets the reader decide guilt or innocence on their own. One thing that I appreciated was that she included several afterwords to update the readers on what happened to the Bailey-Brown families and the others in the story after the trials were over. There is also an insert of black and white photos of the people and places in the story as well.
   
   If you have a strong enough stomach to deal with the crimes that Rule brings to life here, go on ahead and read. But I would not let this book be read by a child, or anyone who is emotionally sensitive to this sort of thing. Handle with care, and it still gets five stars from me for the writing and the skill that Rule uses to bring this story of evil to life.
   
   Recommended.



4. This is a tremendous book by Ann Rule-- a complete true story. I am from Garden Grove, and my father's parents were the first owners of that home on Ocean Breeze where Linda Brown was shot. My family had owned it from the mid-50s and had moved out in the early 70s-- but many of the same neighbors remained through 1985. Some of which are mentioned in the book.
   
   This is a must-read. There was a "made for television" move about these events, called "Love, Lies & Murder," but it is NOT based upon Ann's book.
   
   If there's ever "just one" of Ann's book I would recommend, it would be this one, "If You Really Loved Me."



5. This is an older true crime story from the mistress of the genre, Ann Rule. I read it at the time it came out, and found it fascinating and tragic. Recently, my mother was cleaning out her collection of books and setting overflow aside for donation, and I rescued this from the donation pile because I wanted to read it again.
   
   One night in 1985, police were called to the California home of a self-made millionaire named David Brown, who shared the house with his wife Linda, their baby Krystal, Linda's younger sister Patti, and David's daughter from a previous marriage, Cinnamon. In the master bedroom, police found Linda Brown shot to death, and 14-year old Cinnamon curled up shivering and vomiting up mountains of pills in a doghouse out back. The story that emerged was that an allegedly contentious relationship between Cinnamon, David's daughter, and Linda, David's wife, had finally escalated into a tragic confrontation. Cinnamon immediately confessed to shooting Linda Brown, and after a quick trial was sent to a juvenile prison facility.
   
   Another murder in another dysfunctional family - nothing unusual, right? For some reason, however, the whole incident bothered the chief investigator, Jay Newell, and he couldn't get it out of his mind. Something wasn't right about it. Cinnamon was a sweet, confused girl who had no record of any serious rebellion, and the investigator couldn't shake the feeling that she was holding something back. David Brown also left a bad taste in Newell's mouth, and the presence of Linda's younger sister in the home seemed strange. What was really going on in this odd household? Long after the case was dead and buried, Newell kept watching and listening and asking questions.
   
   Almost four years later, Cinnamon broke her long silence and the true story of what happened in the Brown house that night was finally revealed, piece by appalling piece. It's a shocking insight into just how much power a parent has over a child, and how smoothly a cunning adult can manipulate so many others to do his or her bidding. It's Ann Rule at her best, pulling every detail together to present a full picture of a terrible crime and more importantly, all its underlying elements - not an easy task given the complexity of familial emotion and the ultimately deadly addition of a sociopathic mind.
   
   I have the old hardcover, but it's still in print as a mass market paperback, available on Amazon or any other bookseller site. I recommend it if you're interested in true crime and all the psychological factors that play into a crime like this.

5 comments about No, Daddy, Don't!: A Father's Murderous Act of Revenge.

1. I'm an avid reader of true crime. Yet, to date, not one book has touched me or evoked emotion from me as did this riveting tale from Irene Pence about John Battaglia who murders his 6 and 9 year old daughters as an ultimate act of control and revenge toward his ex-wife, Mary Jean Pearle.
   
   While reading NDD, I was taken from gut-wrenching sobs to intense anger; often times having to put the book down to regroup my thoughts and emotions. The thoughts of those youngs girls' last moments in the hands of their father bundled with inexcusable follies of the justice system that relates to domestic abuse kept me on the edge of my seat; allowing me to finish this book, starts and stops in all, within less than 36 hours. Extremely intense!
   
   If never before there has been such an argument for tougher domestic abuse laws that tie in with divorce proceedings and the determination of visitation and custody, John David Battaglia has set the stage for the changes made in Texas and the changes that will follow in many other states. That is the only "credit" he deserves for anything!



2. This was a very well written book and i could not put it down!! it was really sad how some people could be so twisted and do something so horrible. When you read this book be prepared for a heartrenching and gut turning story.



3. This seems to be relevant with so many divorcing families, no one wants to take the high ground and be the solid, reasonable, and responsible parent who will be above the name calling and threatening.
   The story is true and well told in flashbacks and chilling reporting.



4. How anyone can sit there and shoot your children at point blank range because you hate your ex wife is nuts. He is not human to take the lives of your own flesh and blood. He got what he deserved. That poor woman now has lost both her daughters over a psyco who at one point she thought she loved.



5. The book was very, very gripping. It is so hard to believe that anything this disgusting could really happen to a beautiful family. And he (the dad) got away with so much, for so long. My heart aches for the mother. It's hard to put it down, as awful as it was, but it's like watching a car wreck.

5 comments about And the Sea Will Tell.

1. Vincent Bugliosi is not only a top-notch prosecutor & attorney, he's also a top-notch writer! This is one of THE best books I've ever read....you talk about not being able to stop reading a book. This is one of the strangest "True Crime" stories ever, and it will just blow your mind. Some nights it gave me such chills, I was afraid to get off the couch & go to bed! I was frozen with fear almost. Spooky....This crime is freaky & scary. Get this book! You won't regret it. Promise. If you love True Crime, get this book!



2. This book had me enthralled from the opening page. Mr. Bugliosi weaves an amazing story with so much detail that it seems like he is narrating something as it happens! A sad tale of two customers looking to be alone in a remote island (I wonder if the same island was used for the Tom Hanks movie survivor?) who get miffed that they are not alone. One of the couples ends up murdered and it is obvious who their killers are but through lack of physical evidence, the killers were not brought to trial to many years later. Note: spoilers below:
   
   It made my blood boil at what Buck Walker and Jennifer Jenkins did to the Grahams. The photos in the book show them as a beautiful couple with a boat that anyone would be proud to own.
   
   The only issue with the book that I had was how Mr. Bugliosi could defend Jennifer Jenkins (note: I looked at newspaper articles and her name is different. I wonder if she changed it for the publicity), insisting he was sure of her inocence when the prosecutor's closing arguments of the trial left no doubt that she had to be involved in the murders.
   
   I was also upset to read that Buck Walker was paroled in 2007.



3. Forgettable title, but what a fantastic true crime book. Sometimes the mini-series based on this excellent narrative by (former prosecutor turned defense attorney) Vincent Bugliosi, shows up on television (starring Rachel Ward, James Brolin, Richard Crenna) and it's also a real stunner.
   
   What really happened on the remote South Seas island of Palmyra? How did a young hippie couple who ditched their leaky boat end up sailing majestically back to Oahu on a fabulous yacht? And what happened to the yacht's owners, Matt and Muffie Graham?
   
   Bones wash up on the island six years after the couple's disappearance--and two young people are arrested for murder.



4. As a fan of mystery stories, both real and fictional, I was drawn to the premise of "And The See Will Tell" by Vincent Bugliosi. It is the tale of two couples living on a supposedly deserted South Pacific atoll that ends with two people losing their lives with very little evidence as to how it happened. Bugliosi not only serves as the author, but also the defense attorney in a case that sought to bring justice to one of the accused killers over a decade after the grisly murders took place in 1974.
   
   Jennifer Jenkins and Buck Walker couldn't have been a better example of opposites attract: Buck was a convicted felon while Jennifer, not exactly spotless in her record, was certainly peaceful and nonviolent. Yet she fell in love with Buck and would do anything for him, even aid him in his flight from the law. It was Buck's idea to sail to Palmyra Island, a deserted atoll in the South Seas, where they could live off the land and no one would be the wiser. Jennifer went along with Buck, never dreaming of the nightmare they would encounter there. For Palmyra, far from deserted, was a place of interest and stopping point of many travelers, including Malcolm and Eleanor Graham, experienced sea travelers who planned to spend at least a year at Palmyra, having sailed form Hawaii on their beautiful boat the Sea Wind.
   
   The two couples who found themselves living upon Palmyra couldn't have been more opposite: the Grahams were conservative and extremely prepared for their voyage, while Buck and Jennifer were certified hippies, inexperienced at sea and surprisingly unprepared to deal with life on the atoll, which gave almost every visitor a discomforting vibe. When Buck and Jennifer return to Hawaii aboard the Sea Wind, the reader knows that something horrible has happened to the Grahams, but Bugliosi chooses to keep those details for the second part of the book. The first part is told through third-person narrative, recounting the events that unfolded on the island, and Buck and Jennifer's subsequent arrest when they return to Hawaii: with the Grahams no where in sight, murder is the immediate conclusion.
   
   The second part of the book is told through Bugliosi's first-person narration, a recounting of how he became acquainted with the case and served as a defense lawyer in the murder trial, evidence existing in the bones of Eleanor Graham being divugled by the sea several years after that fateful trip. "And The Sea Will Tell" is a riveting case and a very thorough examination of the murder trial, perhaps almost too thorough at times. There are numerous footnotes to expound upon testimony and court procedures, which can slow down the narrative. Vincent Bugliosi certainly knows that he is a good lawyer and lets this be known, which can read as rather pompous at times, but his attitude only enhances the story in the end rather than distract from it. And while justice may have been served in this trial, the truth as to what actually happend on Palmyra with these two couples is still shrouded in mystery, for no one, not even the sea, is telling.



5. I thought the first part of the book was a page-turner. But less that halfway through, I had to force myself to read it. I thought it was a self-serving book for Mr. Bugliosi. How he says "I just can't defend a client unless I know they are innocent" and I love how when the judge tells him he can only have a certian amount of time for his closing statement, he is sure to tell the judge (and us) how another judge thought his 13 hour closing statement was the best one he has ever heard. I'm not in the mood for an author who beefs himself up in a book. I couldn't even force myself to finish it-it was that boring! Perhaps lawyers will enjoy it since it's 99% courtroom & 1% true crime

5 comments about Are You There Alone?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates.

1. The recent Court decision to over-turn the conviction of Andrea Yates was based in part on the evidence presented in this well-researched book on the "unspeakable" crime. Ms. O'Malley caught a number of mistakes in the way Yates was treated and the way her case was presented, but uncovering the erroneous testimony of the prosecution's expert witness, Dr. Park Dietz, was the central factor in discrediting the state's case against Andrea Yates. By virtue of her careful reporting and analysis, Ms. O'Malley managed, not simply to observe the trial process, but to become one of the most powerful participants in it. It becomes clear in this book that the psychiatric treatment of Yates is one of trial and error, if not downright neglect. Even reading the transcript of the Dietz interview is enough to convince one that Ms. Yates, whatever she may have known about right from wrong under the McNaughton doctrine, was not in control. She never doubted her actions were illegal, and she seemed convinced that they morally wrong; yet, at the same time, and in a way that makes her case for insanity that much more provocative -- she seemed convinced that she would be judged morally wrong for not drowning them, or otherwise ending their lives. She had talked herself into a tragic corner -- herself inevitably damned, she opted to save her children from the certain damnation that awaited them if, in her warped view, she did not act. No one denies that Ms. Yates suffered from mental illness prior to and at the time of her act. But the depth seemed to elude a number of people. The endless attempts to get Andrea to specify her thoughts at specific points in time for the purpose of the trial record would be risible but for the fact they were real. When Dr. Dietz asked her, "What were you wearing at the time of the drownings?" She responded, "clothes." She was so hopelessly operating at a cognitive level that simply didn't fulfill the requirements of an advarsarial system -- and yet she was there, having been declared sufficiently sane to stand trial. The decision allowing her to so stand was, in effect, the second tragedy.



2. I am almost finished with the book but it's taking me time to read it as it's not the kind of book you can read quickly. I'm anxious to see how it ends. I would rather have reviewed it after I finish it. I think the book is probably going to get better closer to the end then I am.



3. Having read St. Martin's rush-to-press book, "Breaking Point," as soon as it hit the stands, I was disappointed with O'Malley's long-awaited book about the Andrea Yates tragedy. Whereas Spencer interviewed relatives, friends, and acquaintances, O'Malley relied heavily on court transcripts and seemed to take a point of view from a telescope.
   The book about Andrea Yates that I want to read has yet to be written. For example, I want to know where she stored her pots and pans while she was home-schooling three children in a bus and ironing her husband's shirts so he'd look normal while working at NASA. I want to know why she didn't lose her mind earlier.
   As for Texas justice....We're talking about a state that found Andrea Yates to be as sane as the woman who hacked her ex-lover's wife to death with an axe in the 1980s. Only difference is, the axe muderess was found not guilty.



4. I read this book because it was a list of good reads. I felt it was. The topic is horrofic. How can a mother do this to her children? You get a sense that the author tries to be objective as possible with the reason. The author I also felt does a good job of pointing out the inconsisties with the time line with the attornies as a well as when Andrea Yates was on medication. She also does a fair job of looking at the story after the verdict. Overall I felt it was a fair balanced book contray to what others think. She presents the facts and details as objectively as she can and lets the readers make up their mind.



5. To be honest, I was very hesitant to even read this book. Like most people, when Andrea Yates killed her five children by drowning them in the family's bathtub, the only information I knew was what I heard from the media. I almost immediately formed my own opinion -- Andrea Yates was evil. So it took me awhile to open my mind to the fact that there could be more to the story.
   
   Once I started reading ARE YOU THERE ALONE? I absolutely could not read fast enough. This book is fascinating in delving into the issue of mental illness, and what it truly means. I learned about psychosis, about postpartum depression, about bipolar disorder, and much, much more.
   
   Although there are things I still don't understand (how Rusty Yates, Andrea's husband, could have left her alone with their children when he knew she was seriously mentally ill, for example), I have to say that I have a greater understanding of why Ms. Yates did what she did.
   
   Hers was a horrific crime, and one for which she deserved to be punished. But she also deserved to get help for the problems that had plagued her for many years. For that, Suzanne O'Malley and the doctors, nurses, and many others involved in the case are to be commended.

5 comments about Perfect Victim: The True Story of "The Girl in the Box" by the D.A. That Prosecuted Her Captor.

1. This book was great. It went through the whole story and didn't leave anything out. The ending was great although I got really mad at the girl for staying with him. I don't want to give too much away about the ending. It's amazing that this could happen in such a small town as Napa but it did! I live close by but at the time this occured I was living in Florida and didn't hear anything about it. It was recommended by a co-worker and I have passed this one on for many friends to read. If you like true crime then this is a great book!



2. When I was browsing through the True Crime section at my local bookstore, I asked my sister to help me narrow down my choices: a Jeffrey Dahmer piece, the BTK Killer book, or one about a girl kept in a coffin beneath a couple's bed for over 7 years. She immediately recommended the latter.
   
   And she was right--to a point. The subject is disturbingly fascinating for a True Crime novel about a victim who isn't murdered. How could they keep this young woman so carefully hidden away for so long? It seems outlandish, but the more you uncover, the more you realize that it IS feasible, and it's absolutely horrifying to imagine what Colleen Stan went through.
   
   But the book is written by the DA who prosecuted her captor, and it shows.
   
   We learned virtually nothing about what makes Cameron Hooker tick. Almost nothing is revealed about Colleen's past. And Janice Hooker, the most in-depth study, is more an accomplice/side victim than anything else.
   
   But we learned all about the DA's marital problems, the vacation to reconcile her marriage, the eventual divorce, how cute her daughter is, how much she loves children, and virtually her every reaction to minute things--when all those small details should have been put into Colleen's story.
   
   I could have enjoyed this so much more, but honestly--why should I care about the DA's personal problems? I read this book to learn about the crime, the victim, the captor, the associates. I didn't read it to hear about the author's personal issues throughout the trial.
   
   Snip out those details, and this book would have gotten 1.5 stars more, if I could.



3. This book gave me a glimpse into a hell that i cannot fathom.
   
   This was an amazing book not just from the criminal aspect of it, but from a psychological aspect as well. The story of this tortured women is unlike anything i have ever heard, but it is told in a factual way, without sensationalism, like some true crime books. THe bare facts are the most horrifying things i have ever read, i cannot imagine this being done to someone, and more importantly, i was amazed at how the victim went through it without losing her faith in humanity or going insane. i think i would have.
   
   I wouldn't look at this as just another "true crime" book. It is also an amazing treatise on psychology and stockholm syndrome. I understand now how much some minds can take and the reasons behind it's bizarre sounding (but really ingenious) coping mechanisms. Reading this will teach you much about the human mind, some that will scare the crap out of you. It also has well researched footnotes about other similar cases and gives a glimpse into the legal system.
   
   Most importantly, this book shows how resilient and amazing the victim is. After knowing what the victim endured, i was amazed by her strength and by the fact that she did not seem as psychologically and physically damaged as i know i would be. Although this is probably the most horrific thing i have heard of happening to a person, she remains human (by that i mean kind and loving and dignified) and gentle in every sense. Truly an must read
   
   off topic a bit, but my only concern was if the victim got any of the money made from the book (it was written by the D.A. who was her attorney). She seemed to not want the case well known (from what i read, she may have changed her mind) and it would be upsetting if she didn't want the book written, or didn't get her share share of payment. I hope she was not exploited YET AGAIN.



4. The story is an exceptionally powerful story. Colleen Stan gets five stars for that. However--most people may not know that this is not only an unauthorized story, Prosecuting Attorney Christine McGuire did not share ANY of the profits from this book with the victim, Colleen Stan. "Don't talk to the media; don't make any book deals," McGuire warned Stan prior to and during the trial. Why? Of course McGuire told Stan it was so the Defense couldn't say that's why they wanted a "win." The real reason was that McGuire had already made a deal; her college friend and the co-author attended court daily, took notes. When the verdict came in, the ending was written. Is it even legal for a government employee to make money like this--using information gained while doing her job for private profit? Colleen Stan was victimized by Hooker--but she was also victimized by the person that was supposed to protect her--the prosecuting attorney. When Stan sought relief against McGuire, the State Bar Association said that only one person had complained. (A person held hostage for that many years isn't likely to have a huge group of friends. It takes time to get back into life.) When Stan went to an LA law firm, they wanted $250,000 to represent Stan. She didn't have that kind of money after seven years locked in a box! Publishers have an army of attorneys waiting to defend against cases like this. McGuire--do the right thing. You own Stan an apology and fifty percent of the profits. What the Prosecuting Attorney McGuire did is as outrageous as what Cameron Hooker and his wife did. They were sick and criminals. McGuire is supposed to be a good guy. That year, she forgot to wear her white hat.



5. I had serious problems with this book as I read it. In the big picture, I found it poorly written and exploitive in nature. The story of Colleen Stan is interesting, however author/prosecutor Christine McGuire's decision to center the book with her personal life and largely overlook the criminal seems ego-centric and opportunistic.
   
   The earlier pages of the book describe the ordeal and torture of Colleen Stan. The descriptions are ragged and hard to follow. Most people do not know what the described torture devices look like, because the do not use them. In this circumstance, pictures certainly would have been helpful. Even when pictures such as the "head box" are given, it only gives a rough idea of how the contraption is used.
   
   I have a serious problem with authors who interject themselves into somebody else's tragedy. In this case, McGuire and her marital problems become a major subplot in somebody else's story. Rest assured, few people buy a true crime book to read about the author's marital problems. Eliminating these passages would have certainly made the story flow more naturally.
   
   Lastly, the review is titled based on a phrase on page 181. Make no mistake about it, the story of Colleen Stan is a tragedy. Yet by the author's own admission, the victim was naive and the story becomes hard to believe. At some point, most readers must ask why she did not try to leave or escape. An adult with average intelligence should not fall for the hijinx that Colleen Stan did. This wears on the sympathy the reader can give to her. But if this makes the reader feel jaded, it pales in comparison to forgetting the victim in a true crime book.

No comments about Understanding Violence and Victimization (4th Edition).

5 comments about Henry Lee's Crime Scene Handbook.

1. This book was an exceptional take-home package of crime scene processing information in an easy-to-read format. However, the chosen title for this work is egotistical and arrogant. There are a large number of typographical errors, but the book is actually quite useful. I must say, please wait for the second edition before purchasing this book.



2. Response by Marilyn T. Miller. I am compelled to respond to an earlier review. This book was a cooperative work of all three authors but was done under the direct guidance and care of Henry Lee. Crime scene investigation has been one of Dr. Lee's lifetime concerns. This book is the result of that dedication. The other authors owe a hugh amount of graditute to him for their participation in the effort.



3. i will like to ricieve a copy of this book.



4. I read this book as a required text for a Masters program in Forensic Science. Having read the previous reviews on the book, I was not expecting a particularly good textbook, but I do not believe that the other reviews do justice to how totally worthless this book is. I feel obliged to write a review of my own to balance the scales, as it were.

   First off, the comment regarding the numerous typographical and grammatical errors in the book is grossly understated. I cannot believe that this book ever saw an editor's desk. I have randomly opened the book to several pages, and quickly found the following sentences, which I believe should illustrate my point:

   - Most importantly [sic] by keeping the suspect away from the scene, any physical evidence found at the scene that originated from the suspect will link the suspect to the scene only at the time of the crime and not from the suspect having been returned to the scene for identification by victims or witnesses. p.53 (grammatical error, poorly written and confusing)

   - Access [sic] the type of scene, the boundary of the scene, and the personnel and equipment needed. p 58. (should read, 'assess')

   There are others, as well - alas, I have forgotten the sentence I came across while reading for class that contained a minimum of 5 errors. Yes. One sentence.

   My most significant complaint, however, is that the book is simply not thorough. This is primarily due to the fact that it appears to have been written for idiots - all the major areas are touched upon, but there appears to be a fear that tackling them in detail would confuse people. So, instead, each technique is mentioned only in passing, leaving the reader with only a very vague overview of what goes on at a crime scene. Any person actually practicing in the field of forensic science is bound to be disappointed by its lack of depth, detail, and 'new' material. This likely also applies to anyone who has read any other books on the subject, whether they are active in the field or not.

   For those who are interested in the subject and looking for a much better primer, I would suggest Fisher's 'Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation,' instead. While he does not have the friendly or chatty writing style that Lee has (the only thing going for Lee's book, incidentally), he is significantly more thorough. The book is also more well-regarded in the field, based on everything I have heard. This is not to say that Lee does not have a prominent name in forensics - quite the contrary. But, I would hate to think that anyone would purchase this book on his name alone. He should stick to spoken lectures, at which he is quite excellent.




5. Very informative. Great details. It goes over everything that a person should know.