5 comments about The Fatal Bullet: The True Account of the Assassination, Lingering Pain, Death, and Burial of James A. Garfield, Twentieth President of the United States ... of Victorian Murder (Graphic Novels)).

1. This entry in Rick Geary's series on Victorian murders examines the assassination of President James Garfield by Charles J. Guiteau, a megalomaniacal failure at preaching, the law, and almost everything else he had tried. The drawings are evocative of the time and place, and give a clear idea of the events. The lives of Garfield and Guiteau are traced, and Guiteau's mental illness is made quite clear; today, he would almost certainly be sharing a room with John Hinckley. I'd like to see this whole series reprinted: one of them is out of print and apparently unavailable.



2. As a history buff, and a fan of Rick Geary's, I knew I'd enjoy this book, but I had no idea how much! The book tells the paralell stories of President James A. Garfield and his stalker (and eventual assassin) Charles Giteau, an abysmal failure in every aspect of life; indeed, his ONLY success in life was the murder of President Garfield, and he almost botched that up, too. Garfield lingered for months after the attack, dying perhaps more as a result of medical incompetence than Giteau's efforts.
   Geary's wonderfully cartoony art is reminiscent of claymation; it gives a true illusion of depth and form. He is truly one of the underrated geniuses of the Comic art form. His meticulous research gives us many interesting facts, such as The President being allowed to walk around Washington D.C. unescorted (No Secret Service yet), Abraham Lincoln's son's association with Garfield, and too many others to count. Do yourself a favor- read the book!!



3. When I ordered this book, I thought it was a short textual history of the assasination of President James Garfield. It turns out that this book is in comic book format with the story being told by dialogue and cartoon illustrations. However, I really enjoyed the book and learned a lot about Garfield, his assasin, Charles Guiteau, and Garfield's slow death.

   Guiteau was basically a loser in life and had even served time in jail. He was constantly skipping out on creditors and and he showed signs of mental illness. He was dillusional and thought that Garfield would apppoint him to an ambassadorship. He literally stalked both Garfield and Secretary of State Blaine in an attempt to secure the appointment. When it was not forthcoming, he stalked Garfield (this was in the days before the secret service) until he had the opportunity to shoot the President.

   The wound caused a rupture in an artery but an aneurism sealed off the opening so he did not bleed to death. Garfield lingered for many weeks until the aneurism ultimately ruptured and Garfield died. The location of the bullet had not been located and the aneurism had gone untreated. Today, Garfield's condition would have almost certainly been diagnosed through an MRI and he may have survived delicate surgery which would have saved his life.

   In reading history, we generally get a line or two about Garfield being assasinated by a "disappointed office seeker." It was enjoyable to learn more about this event, particularly in such an unusual literary format.




4. I'm a fan of this series. There are good entries and less good entries. I discovered them with the Jack the Ripper volume which I like to read at night before bedtime. There are two aspects of that book I wish Geary would return to. The first is that the crime is scandalous and unsolved (as is the Borden case), the second is that none of the victims was a president!
   
   This is really not about juicy, low Victorian murders which I would think is the appeal of a series with that title. Once a president is involved you're into assasinations, which to my mind are a different thing. Curling up with a book about an assasination in which the killer is known & villified for his failings, the victim lingers, and in which all the answers are found before you're done just doesn't hold the same appeal.
   
   People who are seeking history seem to like the book.



5. Rick Geary's new book "The Fatal Bullet..." explores an important event in American history in an unusual yet effective manner.
   
   To summarize: the nation, which in recent times had dealt with the horrors of President Lincoln's assassination was once again shaken to its core the summer of 1881. On Saturday, July 2 in the near empty waiting room of a train depot, the twentieth U.S. President, Republican James Abraham Garfield was shot in the back. It would take a grueling two months before the President would succumb to his injury.
   
   The assassin, one Charles Guiteau was quickly apprehended. He announced that he bore no ill-will toward the President but that his death was a "political necessity." During his trial Guiteau defended himself proclaiming to be an agent of deity. He would go on to state that the President's physicians should bear the burden of his death. He reasoned this because of the fact that they had decided the wound the President had suffered was not, in fact fatal and that he would soon recover. Guiteau was convicted of the assassination by a jury and was executed by hanging on June 30, 1882.
   
   What sets Geary's book apart from other historical works is that it was written in a graphic novel. With illustration reminiscent of a comic book, Geary's book sets out to explore the Garfield assassination as well as to take a closer look at the events leading up to this significant point in the two men's lives.
   
   Geary examines certain similarities in both lives. Some of these included are in regards to their home regions, the fact that both were the youngest in their family, both considered clergy as a career and that both were drawn to the law and politics.
   
   Robert Frost wrote of two roads that diverged in the wood. This would certainly be applicable to the life paths taken by Garfield and Guiteau. While their lives bore some resemblances they each took different paths. Garfield had a "happy prosperous life" with a strong marriage and a "reputation for honesty, loyalty and fair dealing." Guiteau, on the other hand, took the "downward path" with a bitter and brief marriage and a reputation as a "cheat, charltan and hum-bug."
   
   Geary's book is very interesting and unique. To take a piece of history put it in comic form and stay true to the serious nature of the event is quite the feat. This book will appeal to those young adults and teens who may otherwise have little or no interest in history. Teachers would do well to include this book in their curriculum.

5 comments about The Zebra Murders: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights.

1. I bought this book with the hope of enhancing my limited knowledge on this critical time in the city of San Fransico that took place back in the 1970's. I did read Clark Howards book on the same subject about 25 years ago. After reading Mr Sanders version of the events I wonder if they were both writing about the same incident. Needless to say, Mr. Sanders book leaves one with the feeling that the real crime was the fact that the Mayor of S.F. and the police were using every means at there disposal to put a stop to these horrible crimes.
   One fact that seems to be at odds with Mr. Sanders is the fact that after months of frustration, the police were able to create a crack in the case within a week of finally taking drastic actions in regards to a dragnet in the area where most of the killings took place. This is in direct contrast to the point that Mr. Sanders makes throughout the book which is to say that the then S.F. police department was completely corrupt and unable to solve crimes because they were so at odds with most of the citizens of S.F. A point most everyone else disputes.
   I believe the fact that the crime was solved only after the police applied direct pressure speaks for itself in terms of whatit really took to put a stop to these killers.
   I would not recommend this book to anyone who is searching for a truthful, insighful and accurate telling of this tragic chapter in the city by the bay.



2. "Enjoy" is probably the wrong word for the subject matter. But I found it fascinating. Both my father and my uncle were in the force at the time and I heard stories about the case and the paranoia it caused. I was on offence about the racial controversies described in the book till I saw the discussions both on this site and elsewhere and saw the names of people (all retired SFPD cops) who were bashing the material. Now I think that maybe the authors are not exaggerating... Regardless, I found the book to be very interesting and informative. Good work.



3. Any long-time resident of the San Francisco Bay Area will recall the Zebra killer, whose racially motivated drive-by shootings terrorized the city in 1973-74, and how they were eventually solved by a team led by two black detectives. This story comes alive under the hand of the city's first Afro-American police chief, who was one of these detectives, and pro ides behind-the-scenes expose information about the reign of terror and its investigation. The underlying politics and discrimination within the SFPD comes to life, as does the time of social turmoil, in this riveting story of a crime spree thwarted. Any California collection must have it.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



4. ZEBRA MURDERS: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights by Prentice Earl Sanders and Bennett Cohen is the true story of serial killings that took place in San Francisco in 1973 and 1974. The killings were racially motivated during a period when the United States was being forced to treat African Americans in a more equal manner. Although the Brown v. Board of Education decision had been made several years earlier, apartheid still existed. There were angry African Americans - some who were ready to step outside the law.
   
   The atmosphere surrounding the murders included the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, the birth of the Black Panther Party and continued segregation in the work place. Early in the police investigation, it was noted that all the victims were white and black men were seen running from the scene of the crime. Two police officers, Prentice Earl Sanders and Rotea Gilford, who were fighting their own racial discrimination battle with the San Francisco police department, were assigned to the case. All black men who were out after dark were stopped, searched and questioned. This behavior brought lawsuits to the city. In addition, the two black officers were concerned there was going to be a white backlash and so they pushed hard to solve the case, sometimes staying up for days on end. The killings were upsetting the entire city and Sanders and Gilford were afraid the 'racial profiling' was only serving to make matters worse.
   
   This is a well-written true story of American apartheid in the San Francisco police department and the ability of two black officers to overcome the obstacles and still solve the mystery. It moves along swiftly while interjecting the needed nuggets of history of segregation and discrimination in the United States. You can feel the frustration Sanders and Gilford felt as they fought the police department in a lawsuit and attempted to solve the mystery of black men randomly killing white people. Enough background was given so that the atmosphere surrounding San Francisco in 1973 was apparent. It is definitely a must read book.
   
   Reviewed by Alice Holman
   of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers



5. As usual book arrived in record time in great condition. Very interesting good read about a horrifying true subject!

No comments about "Tales of Ratiocination" The First Detective Stories.

5 comments about Breaking Point (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

1. The first half of this book was interesting. The second half was good, but it seemed they wrapped the whole book up in the last chapter and it left you craving for more info. What happened????????????? Also, there were booking photos of some women who were only breifly mentioned in the book and it never expanded on why in the world they were booked for anything. I felt excited at first, but just let down at the end.



2. This book would have been much, much better if they had A) stayed on topic and B)Waited until the trial was over.

   Why A)? I don't even get the connection between the Worrenikis or whoever, and then the fact that the 2 photos of the girls could have been used for family pictures that proved that Andrea is not some sadisitic child-murderer.

   B) What is the point on profiling a case when you can only speculate the end result?

   On to the case. How is it that Susan Smith was, at first, only given 30 years at the minimum for the cold-hearted, greedy murder of little Michael and Alex? Yet Andrea Yates, an obviously sick woman, was given life w/ no chance of parole for the murders of Noah, John, Paul, Luke and Mary? Andrea did it out of love; Susan did it to get back at David and get with Tom. I don't think that there are any exceptions to the murdering of kids, it's all horrible, however I think there should be different sentancing. The fact that Belinda Hill rejected Andrea's insane plea blows my mind and it's obvious that Belinda Hill did not research Andrea's history.

   The jury that day not only took away any chance of Andrea getting better, yet they took away Rusty's only remaining family, and Andrea's family's dreams.

   If only doctors had realized how serious Andrea's sicknesses really were, those five children would be alive and well today, Andrea would be in treatment, and June 20, 2001 would not be a day that Americans remembered. THe day that five children were tragically taken away-not only by their mother's hands, but by the Texas doctors.




3. Being from Houston where this crime took place I liked the behind the scenes info on TV cameraman John Treadgold and the first police officers reaction to being first on the scene of this tragedy. The background into the families life was very detailed. Some reviewers question the book not covering the trial: but it was mainly a P.S. to the actual act anyway.



4. Suzy Spencer did a great job in telling a story that left me furious at the end of the book.
   
   I do not know who I want to strangle first: Andrea's self-centered and emotionally distant husband Rusty who kept the poor woman pregnant and isolated; that idiot of a preacher, the sexist (and bedbug crazy) Michael Woroniecki; the DA that was determined to have this obviously insane woman put to death; or the incompetent psychiatrist at Devereux.
   
   What IS it with the state of Texas and its zeal for executing women? Darlie Lynn Routier was railroaded onto death row, where she remains to this day. They were all too glad to execute Karla Faye Tucker, even though they had no problem with commuting Henry Lee Lucas' death sentence.
   
   Andrea Yates was mentally ill, and yet they wanted to stick a needle in her arm. Appalling.
   
   There are some women who should not have children; I think Andrea Pia Kennedy Yates was one of them.
   
   The poor woman didn't have a life. There was no "ME time" for her. She was constantly pregnant, even though she suffered postpartum depression from Day One. She had to homeschool her kids and at one point was made to live on a bus!
   
   Abuse doesn't have to be physical to be abuse - I believe Andrea Yates was abused by her husband -- and the mental health system let her down.
   
   I couldn't believe it when I read how Rusty Yates alienated the women he worked with at NASA, asking them why they were working and why they weren't "at home where they belong"? (I would have asked the domineering Mr. Yates, "And WHY are YOU getting in MY business?" Right before dumping a cup of coffee in his lap.)
   
   I also couldn't believe how he stated his "main objective as a parent" was to make his boys "stay quiet for longer periods of time."
   
   Excuse me? Children are not automatons or robots! What a control freak!
   
   I was beside myself with anger when I heard Rusty Yates now seeks a divorce from Andrea. Excuse me? What's he going to do.....find ANOTHER woman with little or no self-esteem and keep HER pregnant and a virtual prisoner until SHE snaps, too?
   
   Good job of story-telling by Suzy Spencer of how far women STILL have to go and how fundamentalist beliefs continue to screw up people's heads and lives!



5. A person cold bloodedly chases down her children, one by one. Holds
   them down in a bathtub while they fight for their lives, again one by
   one. She gets sympathy from the author. Sad. Whats with this rash of
   "poor pitiful murderer" books coming out lately?

4 comments about Long Dark Road: Bill King and Murder in Jasper, Texas.

1. Authors and psychologists can spend lifetimes trying to know what shadows know. They prowl the obscure corners of human behavior, seeking to drag something back out to the light. But sometimes, the path only leads them deeper, darker.
   
   Dr. Ricardo Ainslie -- both an author and a psychologist -- has been chasing shadows along Huff Creek Road in Jasper, where James Byrd Jr. was dragged to death in one of the past century's grisliest hate crimes. And each step has taken him deeper into the darkest recesses of a decayed mind.
   
   Countless articles, books and films have documented how King and two white friends -- fellow ex-con Russell Brewer and Shawn Berry -- offered the drunken Byrd a ride in the wee hours of June 7, 1998. But they didn't take him home. Instead, they chained him by the ankles to the rear bumper of Berry's truck and literally dragged him to pieces on a hard-pan logging road. They purposely left his dismembered corpse in the front yard of a small African-American church and cemetery.
   
   And King -- whose body was almost completely swathed in racist and Satanic tattoos, whose apartment concealed a stash of racist literature and clothing splattered by Byrd's blood, and whose distinctive cigarette lighter was found at the scene -- was the first of the three to stand trial. Widely seen as the ringleader of the butchery, he was convicted and sentenced to die. Unrepentant and his appeals all but exhausted, the 29-year-old King now awaits execution.
   
   But those trials didn't answer a central question: What made Bill King a monster?
   
   Partly at the request of King's father, the 55-year-old University of Texas psychology professor was drawn deep into the sometime savage, sometimes frighteningly ordinary world of a small-town killer.
   
   "Bill King, the man, is much more human than we would care to think," Ainslie writes. "When the global media descended ... in a relentless hunt for sensational material, they constructed a perhaps comforting, but ultimately obscuring, myth about King's monstrous nature. ... The truth is that King is all too close, in kind and in temperament, to me or to you."
   
   In King, we see a dim and distant reflection of ourselves, Ainslie suggests. Author Hannah Arendt coined the phrase "banality of evil" to portray the Nazis who perpetrated the Holocaust, and Ainslie invokes it for other acts of evil.
   
   "To attempt to understand the motives at work in Bill King's life, to understand that there were reasons for his behavior, is not to exonerate him," Ainslie explains. "If we avoid examining King's life for fear that such an effort might appear to excuse him, then we risk missing precisely what we most need to know about this story."
   
   One of the most unsettling elements of the 254-page "Long Dark Road" is its hypothesis that "given the right alchemy, perhaps anyone might become capable of monstrous cruelty."
   
   "The transgressions involved may not be as momentously horrifying as the dragging death of an innocent man," Ainslie says, "but I believe that human beings, by nature and perhaps by wiring, struggle with our dark sides. This is one of the key premises of Christianity."



2. I was so looking forward to reading this book, LONG DARK ROAD,(Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004) when I purchased it. I was very disappointed after the first two chapters. The 44 pages of the second chapter read almost word for word like a rehash of what Joyce King wrote with freshness and eloquence in her book, HATE CRIME, which was first published by Random House in 2002 and then by Anchor Books in 2003. On several pages, it looks like Ainslie simply rearranged some of Joyce King's wording. So I found myself desperately looking for originality in Ainslie's text, because he never acknowledges Joyce King's all-too obvious influence on his writing. Ainslie introduces some interesting psychoanalytic theories re: King in the middle of the book, including some, but not entirely new info on family history. Missing, however, is attention to the fact that most prisoners suffer from some form of mental illness, are usually poor, often come from dysfunctional families and have fallen through the cracks of the mental health care system in this country. Clear recommendations for early mental health care intervention for juvenile delinquents would have made Ainslie's efforts here more compelling and plausible. It is not clear why Ainslie interviewed King at all without clear recommendations in place for what could have been done to prevent Bill King's violent, criminal behavior. Instead of researching the failures of a system that places mentally ill juvenile delinquents in penal institutions with violent offenders, Ainslie focusses on the point that Joyce King already made clear in HATE CRIME--that there is a need for prison reform. We already read that in HATE CRIME. Moreover, Ainslie does not offer any comparative analysis of Bill King with other poor, bi-polar, traumatized young men or women who are housed in U.S. prisons or on death row. It is not at all clear where Bill King, then, stands in the broader analysis of the type of psychological study Ainslie is engaged in. The reader learns little that is new here. Moreover, they learn nothing new about Bill King's psychological condition that can not already be easily gleaned from news reports on the case, Joyce King's HATE CRIME, or other previously published materials on the dragging of James Byrd, Jr. I found this book lacking in depth and breadth of analysis.



3. I thought the author did an outstanding job of writng about the humanity of a person who did what we call a "inhunman" crime. It is all the more chilling that these acts were not done by some sort of monster, but a person, who is to some extent a result of his environment. The best part of the book, however is the description of the community of jasper and the very real people who tried to do the right thing in the midst of lots of media hype.



4. I have to admit that the only reason I initially read this book was my curiosity at how the town of Jasper and the events which took place in said town would be portrayed. Jasper is my hometown, and I was 12 years old during that dreadful summer of 1998.
   
   Ultimately, when I found out that a professor at the very university I attend current day had written a book about my hometown and Bill King, I wanted to see if he, like nearly all others who had written or spoken of the topic, had made my town and fellow townspeople out to be some sort of ignorant, backwoods armpit in East Texas. Almost immediately, my attentions were diverted elsewhere...Ainslie does a terrific job of showing that this crime could have happened to any person in any town...ANYWHERE in the world.
   
   Although I may or may not agree with his diagnosis of Bill King, since I did not know him personally, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book, if enjoyed is even an appropriate word. Coming from the mouth of a Jasper resident who has to deal with the horrid looks and comments from people who learn where she is from...that's saying a lot. This topic is quite sensitive to me, and that degree of sensitivity has not lessened in any way since July 1998. If any changes have happened, it's only gotten stronger.
   
   I strongly suggest reading this book for a better and less bias view of Jasper and James Byrd, Jr's murder.

5 comments about Nightmare in Wichita: The Hunt for the BTK Strangler.

1. The BTK Killer, Dennis Rader, is now in prison for the rest of his miserable life. Reading the book, I got to understand the horror, fear, anger, and frustration that the BTK Killer caused in Wichita. Women who were so terrified that they changed their lives in hopes that they wouldn't be the next victim of this unconsciousable killer. We first learn of BTK when he kills a family of four. The other three children were at school and were fortunate not to be home. The Otero family suffered first and horribly. While only one man was the killer, he made a game with the police, the media, and every female in the Wichita area. I can't imagine if I had lived in Wichita from 1974 until his arrest how my life would have been different. Dennis Rader led two lives. He was a family man, devoted husband and father and Lutheran congregation president and the other life was that of killing and taunting not only his victims but the entire community. This is what terrorists do if you think about it but not for any cause except his sadistic, sick sexual gratification. The book is well-written and answers questions that I have. I'm only halfway through it. It is a slow read and I wish they were more pictures and even maps.
   My heart goes out to the families of the victims and the law enforcement, some who died before his arrest. The community of Wichita and the surrounding area lived in constant fear of becoming the next victim of BTK. I think it's worse that people had to lock their doors, check their phone lines to see if they were cut which was a clear sign of BTK, check their lingerie drawers, and home. Men started carrying guns to protect their wives because of him and women lived in constant fear. They cut their hair since he preferred women with long hair rather than take the risk. I think Rader got more of his personal kicks watching women and men live in fear. No, he didn't kill as many as Ted Bundy, H. Holmes, or Gary Ridgway but he did provide a terrifying fear for everybody who lived in Wichita. People were scared and frightened even in the safest place imaginable, their own home. This book is an excellent piece of true crime and I don't understand why others think it's poorly written. I think this book is well-written and reported. Now that the nightmare in Wichita is over, people can go to sleep without worrying about BTK. The Terror in Wichita is over for now.



2. This book started off fine. It was easy to read and there was enough to hold my interest. There were many syntactical errors which weighed down the flow of the book. The author lost me and then annoyed me about two-thirds of the way through. Suddenly, this seemd to become an autobiography! Wow, what an ego trip Beattie went off on. I didn't know whether to puke or stop reading; I actually skipped over the useless "me, me, me" nonsense and that is what I would recommend to readers. Beattie actually spouted-off about someone who showed up at his home as he was being taped for a television segment; this person supposedly told the broadcast staff that the author was the greatest authority on BTK but this person would not say so on camera. Skip over all that silliness and you will have a decent read. The author just loved to list all of the people who were clamoring to interview him and/or have him on their show. I really found his perpective distasteful--I did not buy a book about HIM; I guess he figured he would take advantage of a somewhat captive audience. Even one of the photos had to include him--the photo and his self-congratulatory references added absolutely nothing to the book. So, I would recommend the book if you are not bothered by having to read a bit judiciously.



3. It would be difficult for a book on this subject to be uninteresting, but the author almost succeeds. The facts of the case are brought out very well, and initially held my interest intently. However, toward the middle of the book I became bored with details not direcctly related to the case, and I became increasingly turned off by the author's devoting page after page to himself rather than to the case. He apparently was indeed largely responsible for the resurfacing of the BTK strangler, but modesty would dictate that he allow the public to come to this conclusion without his pointing them in this direction. Furthermore I am puzzled by the timing of the book....it was written before the BTK strangler was even brought to trial!! Why not wait until the trial was over so that the results could be included?? One suspects that the author was in a hurry to publish before anyone else did, or was in a hurry for the profits.



4. Wichita attorney Robert Beattie had puzzled like many over the years about the identity of the BTK killer. After an apparent lull of a decade in the serial killings, Beattie attempted to rekindle interest in this madman with a book outlining the nightmarish times of Wichitans living in fear.
   
   Likely, as much of a surprise to Beattie, as to others, the book was the tool which caused BTK to resurface. Taunting the Wichita Police department once again, BTK stumbles and is caught due to his ignorance of the technology involved in a simple computer floppy disk.
   
   All Wichitans owe "Nightmare in Wichita" and its author a debt of gratitude. It is unlikely that they would have ever heard from Dennis Rader (aka BTK) again if not for this book.
   
   While not a great read .... and with some factual errors, the book is nevertheless quite interesting and worth your time.
   
   If you can't find the time to read it, then drop a line to it's author. And just say thank you.
   
   Densel Myers
   Yukon, Oklahoma



5. Saw an interview with the author on Science Channel, and ordered from Amazon. The book came in days. It was very a riveting story, and as a matter of fact I read the book in one night. Amazon is great, when you hear or read about any book, you can get it immediately.

5 comments about A Woman Scorned: The Shocking Real-Life Case of Billionairess Killer Susan Cummings (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

1. I must say that this book kept me interested throughout; however, the ending did leave me wanting to know more. The author had me thinking that there was no way she could have been found not guilty. When you look at the evidence presented in the book, you know what I mean. Was this a case (like OJ) where a murderer got free because of money, or was there more behind the story that wasn't presented? The facts in the book certainly point to this being a cold blooded murder and nothing more.



2. A Woman Scorned is an incredible example of how money and power really can buy justice. It is unfortunate that the jury in the case did not pay close attention to the evidence presented by the young prosecutor, and the police witnesses who did a fine job of investigating the case. I especially liked Sherriff Higgs and his team of investigators. They seemed like real people, doing an important job. All in all, I enjoyed reading the book. The story was presented in a dramatic and interesting fashion, and gave insight into the quiet, rural towns of Virginia horse country and the people who enjoy life there.



3. A particularly poorly written book about a particularly slimey incident. The author and the killer should both have been given jail time.



4. I was born and raised in the town of Warrenton where this book takes place. Granted the book does sensationalize the story (her side not Roberto's) I think that she does a good job of presenting what happened. I picked this up to see how well the story was told and to show to a girlfriend that moved to the area after the murder. I was not disappointed. Though not the most well written piece of literature the author does present the facts accurately and interestingly. Please remember most people in this small town are ashamed she is part of our history. This women is a person that you cross the road to avoid she gives off an aura or cruel elitism. We are not all like this!



5. I am in this book - my name was misspelled (Deputy Tulley) - I was never a dark haired, well-built man as the book states - the book is fairly accurate.

5 comments about Children Who Kill: Profiles of Pre-teen and Teenage Killers (2003) (2003).

1. i just raed this book and it was very interesting in the beggening with all the stories but i feel that there should have been more stories thats what kept me reading was the stories.anyway this book really shows you that there are kids who do do these things and that they need help.



2. There are few things as disturbing as accounts of children committing murder. Whenever one of these cases appears in the news, it touches a nerve in us all, and those of us who are parents can't help wondering "How could this have happened? Could my child be capable of something so hideous, or was the child who committed this crime some sort of unexplainable abberation?" "Children Who Kill" by Carol Anne Davis attempts to answer these questions, and it is a fascinating glimpse into the pathology of child murderers and a "must-read" for any true crime aficionado. However, having said that, I must mention that the writing style is so amateurish that, at times, I had trouble believing that I was reading the work of a published author. The book reads very much like a middle school research paper, sometimes to the point of being distracting. I took into consideration the fact that the author is British and I am an American, which would explain why some of the phrasing seemed odd to me, but do British schools not teach the use of commas or compound sentences? Fortunately for Ms. Davis, the subject matter is so compelling that one keeps reading despite the distractions. If you are a person who finds true crime fascinating, you will enjoy this book, but if poor writing bugs you, this book will drive you crazy.



3. Yes, Davis lets the crimes speak for themselves. But there is a trend in the USA of trying children as adults and all around demonizing them that this book seems to cash in on, and I find it quite inhumane and distasteful. If there had been any kind of thoughtful analysis it might have mitigated this content, as is I cannot accept it as more than it is: Cashing on on some people's need to be afraid, and giving child haters ballast for passing more hateful laws.



4. This book offers some of the sad stories of kids who have committed horrible crimes. Among factual events in this book, there are still many things said that are false and exaggerated.
   In the crime involving Wendy Gardner and James Evans, it paints Wendy out to be a monster, when in fact, James Evans was the culprit. Unfortunately, the author gives her the beating for HIS actions. Wendy was abused by her grandmother, and James Evans was a ticking time bomb who had later told Wendy he would have ended up killing someone during his lifetime, even if it hadn't been Betty Gardner.
   Wendy Gardner thought she loved James at a time when she was experiencing strong teenage feelings, but it wasn't true love - nor did she plot a murder to run off with him. Quite the contrary, in fact - she had been trying to end the doomed relationship with James. Each time Wendy attempted to leave him, Evans would threaten or manipulate her into giving him another chance. Evans was obsessed with proving himself worthy of Wendy's love so she'd fall for him and marry him. Wendy had told James she didn't know what love was. This is relevent because it supports the fact that Wendy had no "plans" to run away with James. He knew Wendy's grandmother was abusive, and Wendy had made the mistake of saying she wished her grandmother was dead. Wendy did not literally mean that - she simply wanted the abuse to stop, even if Evans would slap her in return. Evans obsessed over proving himself to Wendy, but his actions backfired that night. Wendy could not believe James Evans had killed her grandmother - not even years after. This shows you how well these teens really knew each other.
   The kinds of things Wendy wrote in her journals were actually typical things that are on the minds of lots of teenaged girls who are going through troubles at home and hormone rushes. I felt it was wrong to use the journals against her.
   Wendy Gardner and James Evans were not stupid kids, but neither was a genius, nor did Wendy conspire with him or make him kill her grandmother. Nobody forced James Evans against his will to strangle Betty Gardner, and he ordered Wendy to assist him after he killed Ms. Gardner, refusing to let Wendy from his sight. James, in fact, had been the bossy one in that relationship, not Wendy. He figured maybe if he got Betty out of the way, Wendy should belong to him like property. But fate ended his plans forever.
   Wendy took the blame for what James Evans did in the hopes of sparing them a horrible punishment. By the time she had told the truth, nobody believed her and she was labeled as a "mastermind." Evans was no pawn and he did what he did, justifying his own reasons without any remorse. His psychiatrist had called him a sociopath. James was known for torturing and abusing animals and he had bashed in a car with a baseball bat. My family had lived near Wendy during those years and they knew Betty was abusive to Wendy, and they also knew Wendy and James were not some couple like Tristan and Isolde. Nobody was shocked that James Evans had ended up killing someone. He was a phony tough guy who didn't pick on someone bigger who would actually fight back. They WERE surprised that Wendy had gotten mixed up with James Evans at all.
   Wendy has served her time and she is getting her life together and moved on from the past. She's in a committed relationship, employed and spending time with family. She is not the person this book describes.
   James Evans is still in prison, and the parole board will decide if and when he is ready to be released. But please don't believe that this author actually cared about the life or death of Betty Gardner just because he tries to peg Wendy Gardner as a mastermind, manipulative young killer. DeFelice is the very same man who has shamefully put a horrible crime photo of Betty Gardner's corpse on the very cover of his book just to sell more copies.



5. This author, a non-professional, has bought the abuse excuses of numerous childhood killers who claim they were abused. There is virtually no corroborative evidence and the author is soft in the head about the child killers who claim, with no evidence, that they were repetetively abused. Skip this offering it is not worth the price. The author never knew any of the murderers and falls victim to their most ridiculous claims of abuse. This is a case example which demonstrates why lay people should never write about such murders because they are completely stupid and unprepared to consider the actual evidence.

No comments about New York Murder Mystery: The True Story Behind the Crime Crash of the 1990s.

1 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.