This book mainly focuses on the Jacob Gray case, a young man who vanished and left behind his bike. The author spends a lotThis was a generous "okay."
This book mainly focuses on the Jacob Gray case, a young man who vanished and left behind his bike. The author spends a lot of time searching for Jacob with his father, but we get occasional chapters of other vanishing cases, some solved and some not.
I picked this book up because I thought we would get a better look at the search-and-rescue process as well as detailed, factual accounts of how those searches go. Instead, we hop from case to case about vanished men, abducted women, and Jacob Gray.. and get a LOT of Bigfoot theories.
I hated the Bigfoot stuff. It is so disrespectful to talk about a woman being kidnapped, held hostage and assaulted for days by a serial killer before her body is discarded off a bridge.. then listen to the author claim that "well no one's ever proved Bigfoot DOESN'T exist." (Yeah, because you prove things EXIST when you MAKE THE CLAIM.)
There's no real look at SAR protocol other than the author talking about his own eyewitness accounts or regurgitating David Paulidies conspiracy theories. Really, disrespectful is the rest descriptor of this book.
I kept reading just to make this review and warn people about this book. When I described the MULTIPLE Bigfoot theories peppered through it, my boyfriend thought this was fiction. Bigfoot, portals to another dimension, and alien abduction are all half-seriously mentioned throughout the book. Don't read this if you're looking for something serious and informative....more
An excellent book by a former park ranger about the disappearance and investigation of three men missing from the PCT. The subject is handled respectfAn excellent book by a former park ranger about the disappearance and investigation of three men missing from the PCT. The subject is handled respectfully and is well written. I'm really interested in checking out the author's other works....more
I remember loving Chasing the Boogeyman, and I immediately loved reading Becoming the Boogeyman. This is a true crime meta fiction where the author isI remember loving Chasing the Boogeyman, and I immediately loved reading Becoming the Boogeyman. This is a true crime meta fiction where the author is the main character and drops a (fictional) childhood serial killer into his life. We continue from the first book in the series to find there's a copycat continuing the original killer's work, with the author stuck in the middle.
This is a love letter to the true crime genre while still acknowledging its problematic nature. We get a hint of possible supernatural happenings, which I anticipate will be looked at more closely in the next book in the series.
My only complaint (besides Chizmar's constant name-dropping his good friend Stephen King) is that there are a LOT of people mentioned in this book. It was difficult for me to keep track of. There's a moment of a reveal near the end and I had to flip back through the book because I had NO IDEA who the person was, as they had only been mentioned briefly.
Otherwise, a great book and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series....more
The title of the book isn't completely truthful - while one of the sections is about the GSK, it also3.5 stars, rounded up for an interesting subject.
The title of the book isn't completely truthful - while one of the sections is about the GSK, it also goes into other cold cases solved through investigative genetic genealogy. It's also surprisingly short, I feel like it could have benefitted from another 50 pages or so.
I'm not a big genealogy person, I don't find it interesting. But I am fascinated by true crime and I liked reading about the detective process of putting together family trees.
My only complaints are that you occasionally get a "boomer" vibe from the author when she mentions drinking from bone china in her California coast beach house, and how she washes over the ethical implications of IGG. There's also a point in the story where a cop insists that the GSK could NEVER be involved in police work because we all know cops aren't bad people ...more
This book is simultaneously easy to read because of how well-written it is, and difficult to read to listen to the horrific suffering these m4.5 stars
This book is simultaneously easy to read because of how well-written it is, and difficult to read to listen to the horrific suffering these men went through and what others like them go through.
The concept of borders is weird, and we don't handle it well. The author does an amazing job explaining how it's not as simple as they like to discuss in the news, and reminds us that these people are people....more
I think I would have loved this book a few years ago. This story revolves around Carly and Viv, in 2017 and 1982 respectively. Viv is Carly's aunt whoI think I would have loved this book a few years ago. This story revolves around Carly and Viv, in 2017 and 1982 respectively. Viv is Carly's aunt who disappeared and Carly is tracing her footsteps to find out what happened to her.
This book is themed heavily around true crime and the culture surrounding it. A few years ago I was really into true crime, but just like one of the characters in the book I realized it was damaging to my mental health and I stepped back.
The premise of the story is interesting, and I liked the dual pov, but it's also very straightforward. In fact it's so straight forward that I was SURE there was a major twist coming. Because there's no way the first theory you make is the correct one in these kinds of books, right?
The ending of the book feels slapdash. There's a sudden ramp of action and threat, that I wish had been better seeded throughout. And Nick makes an incredibly decision that made slzero sense. It felt like the author was tired of writing and just wanted to wrap things up.
Not a bad book, but not something I was desperate to read every day. If you like true crime and horror, you'll certainly appreciate the little nods to the community....more
This was a really interesting read and a little different from a lot of the usual true crime. The author looks at the mysterious murder of Jane, but aThis was a really interesting read and a little different from a lot of the usual true crime. The author looks at the mysterious murder of Jane, but also the culture of misogyny at Harvard and in the archaeological community.
This is a long book, and it does feel like it meanders sometimes. But I also read this in like three days. I enjoyed the author's personal thoughts and experiences and how she felt about the case. But if that's something you don't like, you aren't going to enjoy this book....more
Not a bad book at all! In today's social climate, a true crime book that touches on racism and police brutality/reform feels pretty relevant. I hadn'tNot a bad book at all! In today's social climate, a true crime book that touches on racism and police brutality/reform feels pretty relevant. I hadn't heard of Petrosino or the Black Hand before so this was a really interesting read. My only complaint is that side characters were only introduced or mentioned when they were relevant to Petrosino's life and I would have enjoyed a more steady timeline with them, rather than just when their lives touched on the detective's....more
This is one of the best true crime novels I've read in quite a while. It's not overly lurid or sensationalized like a lot of true crime can be. McNamaThis is one of the best true crime novels I've read in quite a while. It's not overly lurid or sensationalized like a lot of true crime can be. McNamara's writing style is fantastic. She was able to weave in facts as well as her own narrative of her obsession with the GSK without it coming across as either an information dump or navel-gazing.
True crime isn't for everyone, but I think this book is an exceptional example of a good true crime novel. It's especially important considering the GSK was identified and arrested just a couple of months after the book was published. It is a shame that McNamara died before she could see him identified. Her "Letter to an Old Man" epilogue is very powerful and it's incredible to see just how right she was about a lot of things concerning this case.
If you're at all interested in true crime, this is a must-read. If you've heard about the GSK's recent arrest and want to know more about how he operated, or what California or law enforcement were like at that time, this is a must-read....more
This true crime novel has a fascinating premise: it's about a man who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of rare books. Not to sell, but simThis true crime novel has a fascinating premise: it's about a man who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of rare books. Not to sell, but simply for his own personal collection. One particular rare book dealer helps track him down and bring him to justice.
Unfortunately, the synopsis is more interesting than reading the actual book. I'm not sure if it's the author's writing style, or the thief himself, but there just isn't a lot of substance to this story. The thief comes across as simply lucky and dumb and more interested in possessing the books and basking in what they represent to him (a cultured, erudite life) than doing anything else.
I can kind of understand the thief's perspective in the collection aspect, because when I was younger I had hundreds and hundreds of books and the thought of not having the books was painful for me. But I grew up and realized that possessing a thing doesn't mean you value it, or that what you feel like it represents is transferred to you.
This is a fast read, and some of the author's descriptions of rare books are lovely. But I also wanted more from this book--more details on the crimes, more interviews with the thief and his victims, more stories of past book thefts, etc. This is a good weekend read if you're in the mood for some fast true crime without a bunch of gruesome details....more
This was one of the weirder true crime books I've read. Jason Moss wrote to various serial killers and posed as their ideal victim, in an attempt to gThis was one of the weirder true crime books I've read. Jason Moss wrote to various serial killers and posed as their ideal victim, in an attempt to get them to establish a rapport. It often worked, with the greatest success and the bulk of the book's focus being on John Wayne Gacy. This includes excerpts from their letters which were profoundly disturbing.
The book is short--and would be fewer pages if it was in a normal sized font, but it's one of those where you can tell right off the font sized was increased to make the book appear a bit longer. There are various things like that which have been done to pad the length. The most egregious of which is Moss's rants about his personal life, conflict with his mother, and school. He sounds like a whiny teen boy because the book took place while he was a whiny teen boy. But man does it get annoying. I'd recommend skipping the first 10 chapters because they don't even get into Gacy or other killers, it's just him talking about himself.
This book was interesting and if it had been written better I'd have given it 4 stars. But the bad writing and whiny tone really bring down the quality. The disturbing letter snippets also make the book hard to digest, but that's just part of reading true crime....more
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