5 comments about The Night Stalker: The True Story of America's Most Feared Serial Killer.

1. This is a strong book that always keeps yo guessing and on the edge of your seat. I think that this author writes some nice pieces of written masterpiece!



2. I'll begin with a few words about the author, because it's noteworthy. Philip Carlo is a man who strongly believes in research, and by that, I mean extremely thorough research. He spent over 100 hours with Richard Ramirez, and I cannot imagine how much more he spent studying the case. Carlo also is a man much concerned about the evil in this world and shows tremendous courage in his quest to understand and prevent these terrible things.
   
   The book itself is one enormous piece, about 600 tight pages, and I can't think of anything that is not covered by it. The structure of it is quite interesting as well: you first begin by the crimes commited by Ramirez, and believe me that part is seriously affecting (I am quite used to true crime books involving atrocious acts, but I had never felt so repulsed and shocked), then you move backwards in time to learn about Richard Ramirez's origins and family and life up to when he began murdering people. Then there's the capture, and the final parts are about the trial; probably the most thorough trial prose I've ever read in a true crime book. The quality of Carlo's work is truly outstanding.
   
   In this edition, there's a new chapter containing an interview with Richard Ramirez and some excerpts about females fans of Richard which just about blow one's mind with disturbing revelations about the woman psyche. It is extremely interesting.
   
   I would conclude by saying that if you are curious about Ramirez's case, then this is definitely the book for you, and I cannot imagine that another book covered so much material, with so much insight, as this one. With this book, you have an author who has a strong personality and is driven; and also one who definitely can write with excellence and leave himself out of judgement, however hard that is to do, he did it very professionally. This is one of the most impressive true crime books I ever read. The only other book that is similar in quality, I think, is Richard Lourie's book about Andrei Chikatilo. A must read.



3. The detail with which Carlo writes of the murders is impressive, although the calibur of his writing could be better. I found it difficult to put the book down up until the apprehension of Ramirez, which takes place at maybe pg. 300 or so. Thereafter, the narrative becomes somewhat bogged down with superfluous details, such as meticulous but frankly boring recitation of courtroom antics and other minutiae that ultimately has no bearing on the outcome of the case or the story in general. Admittedly, it's tough to achieve the same level of excitement in the second act for obvious reasons; however, if you pick up a copy of Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter" you'll find that it's not quite an impossible feat.



4. Philip Carlo certainly did his homework when researching the crimes of Richard Ramirez. After reading his unbiased account of what happened, I am now much more critical when selecting a true-crime novel. He tells the story just as it happened and lets you form your own opinions about Ramirez, good or bad. I disagree with the reviews that criticize Carlo for not giving his own opinion of Richard Ramirez; it was not his purpose for this book. I also disagree with the reviews on this website that criticize Carlo's account of the trial; I found it fascinating, well-written, informative, and full of detail. If you are only a voyeur of blood-lust, put the book down when the courtroom drama begins. He systematically divides the book into sections of time and place, allowing the reader to look at Ramirez's crimes from all points of view of all persons involved. He is what every journalist should strive to be: unbiased and only reports the facts. As a pre-criminology major, I found this book very insightful.



5. Philip Carlo has written a very exhaustive book about the Night Stalker. It's hard to imagine a more complete book on the serial killer.
   
   The first portion of the book dealt with the horrible crimes of the Night Stalker.
   Following that was a section dealing with Richard Ramirez from birth all the way to his arrival in L.A. from El Paso. His temporal lobe epilepsy of childhood and the influence his cousin Miguel had on Ramirez when he was a pre-teen.
   The next section of the book was about his attempts to avoid arrest and his eventual apprehension by citizens.
   The last part gave a detailed summary of Ramirez's trial.
   
   What made the Night Stalker so dangerous was that he was a different breed of serial killer, he didn't victimize a certain type of person. He really didn't stalk his victims, he chose his targets at random from an ever-expanding area.
   
   Philip Carlo effectively connected the combinations of influences that fueled Ramirez's criminal drive;sex,drugs,pornography,heavy metal music,and satanism.
   He was a dedicated satanist reading books authored by Anton LaVey and even meeting him once.
   
   The strange,surreal actions by the Night Stalker "groupies" and Ramirez himself are reminiscent of the Charles Manson trial from "Helter Skelter".
   
   If you want to learn why the Night Stalker was arguably the most feared killer this is the book to read!