That's a no

The 7th Victim by Alan Jacobson started off feeling a bit like an episode of Criminal Minds as the main character is an FBI profiler who works for the BAU. However, as the story continued I started to realize that this woman was in no way capable of being a member of such a prestigious group. Her credibility is basically nil as she rants and raves at the office while dealing with a lot of drama in her personal life. To say the drama was overdone would be to put it mildly. (There isn't an area of her life where she isn't faltering in some way and the obvious course of action to fix said problem never seems to occur to her.) Our main character, Karen Vail, has been trying to find the Dead Eyes Killer for several weeks with virtually no leads. The killer's signature is gruesome and the bodies keep piling up but she's too wrapped up in her own life to really spend a lot of time working the case efficiently. (And then it's further complicated by her relationship with the members of her task force.) I don't want to spoil the ending but it was so ridiculous that it really sealed the lid on the coffin for me. I didn't like the main character, I didn't like the plot, and the killer reveal was dumb. 0/10 do not recommend

Adding insult to injury, this is the first in a series. That's a no for me.

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: When Life Gives You Pears by Jeannie Gaffigan

What I'm Currently Reading: Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Tracking down a killer

While perusing the New York Public Library's Winter 2018 Staff Picks  (an excellent recommendations list by the way) I came across I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara. Since I have somewhat of an interest in true crime and especially serial killers (see my archive for the evidence) this seemed a natural choice for me. McNamara (who sadly passed away before completion of the book) covers the history of the Golden State Killer back to his beginning when he was still referred to as the Visalia Ransacker before upping his game to become the East Area Rapist. (Michelle actually gave him the moniker of the Golden State Killer.) He began as a peeping tom before graduating into a burglar, rapist, and then finally a serial murderer. His reign of terror in California where he committed more than 120 burglaries, 50 rapes, and 13 murders spanned about a decade from the late 70s into the mid-80s before abruptly stopping. His crimes crossed jurisdictions and so for many years police did not know that all of these crimes were the work of one single man...a man that at the time of this book's publication was still not identified.

McNamara talks about her obsession with true crime and specifically with this man who she often referred to as her 'white whale'. She cultivated relationships with other true crime aficionados through online forums (and her blog) but also developed close working friendships with detectives both past and present who had worked on the case. By assembling all of the available evidence (of which there was an abundance) she began to comb through it hoping that she would see something that would help them find the man who many believed had either died or been imprisoned on unrelated charges. Although there was ample evidence including DNA there was no match in any database so detectives routinely fed his DNA markers into genealogy websites hoping for a match...and shortly after McNamara's book was published they found one.

This book is as much a true crime novel about an unidentified killer as it is the memoir of the woman who devoted so much of her time to investigating his crimes. If you like watching shows like Cold Case or really anything on the I.D. channel you'll feel right at home with I'll Be Gone in the Dark. 8/10

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: New Kid by Jerry Craft

What I'm Currently Reading: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Jeffrey Dahmer: The Early Years

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf is a graphic novel which was used as the basis for the documentary film of the same name which came out in 2017. This is the account of Jeffrey "Jeff" Dahmer during his adolescence in Ohio from the point-of-view of his friend, Derf. [A/N: I would say "friend" is pushing it as it was frequently noted throughout the book that while a group of boys dubbed themselves The Dahmer Fan Club and imitated him/quoted him on multiple occasions Jeff was rarely (if ever) asked to hang out with them.] Derf talks about Jeff's home life which was as you'd expect: turbulent and troubling. His parents had an argumentative, unhealthy relationship and his mother in particular monopolized much of the attention in the home making it possible for Jeff's habits to remain under the radar. Jeff was an alcoholic from a very early age and somehow this went  unnoticed by the adults in his life including his teachers. However, Derf says that it was common knowledge among the kids at school that he was often drunk in class and looking back it was most likely a coping mechanism against his darker impulses. Besides his unhappy home life, he was struggling with his sexuality as a gay man and his sexual fantasies which revolved around having total (i.e. sexual) control over male corpses. He managed to keep this urge in check by murdering animals, skinning them, and keeping their bones in a shed behind his house. And yet no one had any idea this was happening. Hindsight is 20/20 and Derf seems to employ this readily when explaining that he and the other boys in the Dahmer Fan Club "knew" something wasn't right with Jeff which is why they often didn't invite him to be a part of their group activities. His parents were too caught up in their imploding marriage and his teachers seemed to have turned a blind eye even when he imitated people having epileptic fits to comic effect in their classrooms. (This bothered me a lot by the way.)

I found the informative background knowledge on a serial killer that I knew little about quite interesting but the artwork (remember this is a graphic novel) was not my cup of tea. It was the faces which I really didn't like. Perhaps that was artistic license since Dahmer tended to dehumanize his victims. I just know that it brought me out of the narrative more often than not. I'll give it a 7/10 overall because it was almost too unbelievable to be true. If you enjoy true crime and find the evolution of serial killers to be fascinating then you'd be remiss not to check this one out.

Source: Amazon

The fits. [Source: American Book Center]

What's Up Next: Mine Own Executioner by Nigel Balchin

What I'm Currently Reading: From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Murder, Mystery, and Mustaches (Oh my!)

As you might have already guessed from previous posts, I'm rather fond of true crime. So when I saw the title, Jack the Ripper: True Facts, you know I had to give that a read. If you're looking to get every conceivable fact (however minute) about the murders committed in Whitechapel in the year 1888 then this book is perfect for you. PERFECT. However, if you're wanting something that reads a little more like a narrative and which offers some plausible suspect of the crimes then you're barking up the wrong book. While I appreciate an author that knows his facts this book was drowning in minutia which overshadowed the meat (I'm not even sorry for that) of the tale. And most frustratingly the author doesn't offer up his thoughts on who he believes is the killer. This might be due in part because every single piece of evidence conflicted. It's no wonder that no one was ever brought to justice (or were they? Government conspiracy theories abound!) for the crimes with all of the inconsistent "eyewitness" testimony. *sigh* I guess I was hoping for something quite different from this book but in regards to listing out all available data (and sources, yay!) on the subject this book can't be beat.

Because I was disappointed in an ending which was tied up in a neat little bow I decided to turn to one of my favorite authors, Rex Stout. Some of you might recognize the fictional detective that he created, Nero Wolfe. Those of you who don't are really missing out. He is the armchair detective and there was even a miniseries created which focused on a few of his more famous storylines that had Timothy Hutton (ha cha cha) playing Nero's right hand man, Archie Goodwin. I hope I've gotten you excited because the book I'm reading is one I haven't sunk my teeth into before: Prisoner's Base. All of his stories start out similarly. A distraught individual seeks Nero's help. That person gets killed. Then it's up to Nero to solve the case because the police are pretty much bumbling idiots (sound familiar anyone?). It's a rollicking good time!! This one revolves around an heiress (of cotton-towels? ummm).

I hope you're all aware that it's Geek Week. GEEK OUT AND READ A BOOK!!

PS The reason that mustaches creeped into the title is because there were copious mentions of mustaches in Jack the Ripper. COPIOUS. Waaaaay too many references and descriptions of male facial hair. Sooo yeah.

An opening of the eyes

I mentioned in my last entry that I was going to be reviewing titles from NetGalley. These titles are in pre-publication status which means that you won't be able to go and pick them up just yet (if you were feeling so inclined). However, if you like the sound of them I highly encourage you to mark them on your "Must Read" list (I have so many of these that it's ridiculous at this point). So with that thought in mind on with the review!

The Why of Things: Causality in Science, Medicine, and Life by Peter Rabins was just as interesting as its title suggests. As a species, humans are always looking for the answers to 'why' things happen. We are by nature curious creatures and the author explains in-depth why it is important that we continue to look for the causes behind different phenomena/events whether they be on a global level (How did the earth begin?) or on a personal level (Why did I develop lung cancer if I've never smoked cigarettes?). The methodologies and disciplines that seek to answer these questions and an infinite number besides were discussed (some quite thoroughly such as the biological sciences in regards to genetics).  If you're interested in learning more about a fascinating topic (and trust me when I say that it is fascinating) then this book is for you. If you're a science nerd (yay nerds!) then you'll love it. Keep an eye out for this one to hit shelves.

Switching gears slightly (are you surprised?) I'm going to be reading Jack the Ripper: The Facts by Paul Begg. It's exactly what it sounds like. A narrative tale about the exploits of one of the most well-known serial killers of all time. He claimed the lives of 5 women in 1888 and was never caught. Paul Begg uses case notes from the time as well as documented accounts to aid in his attempt.  This is a revision of a book that was published in the 80s but which the author explains in the Introduction is almost a complete reworking based on new facts about the cases. As I'm interested in both Victorian England (and England in general if I'm being honest) as well as accounts of criminality I know I'm going to enjoy this read.

I hope you're all taking advantage of the summer to get your hands on books. Please let me know of any that you think I should read/review!!

PS Ashley, I'm working on getting a copy of the book we discussed. Once I do I'll review here for you! :-)

Long time no update!

Well, hello there!  I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in forever but it's been busy with school and such.  HOWEVER, I have finished Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach and declare it to be absolutely delightful and worth the read.  I must reiterate my earlier sentiments that if you can't handle detailed descriptions of gore and a wit that is very macabre you'd best stay away from this book.  If you're like me and really enjoy books that talk about really interesting and sometimes gross things then get to reading!

I'm now reading (completely for my own enjoyment I might add) Serial Killers & Mass Murderers: Profiles of the World's Most Barbaric Criminals by Nigel Cawthorne.  I'd like to blame my obsession on the tv show Criminal Minds for my interest in this read but that would be a lie.  The truth is that I've always loved true crime and all that is macabre so this book fairly leapt off of the shelf at me.  The title pretty much tells you exactly what you're in for when you read this book.  It discusses some of the most prolific serial killers and the heinous crimes that they committed.  Some of the criminals you'll find within its pages: The Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy, Doctor Death, etc.  Each chapter starts off with how many people were killed, the modus operandi (look at how fancy I am!), and if the killer was caught and since sentenced to death.  If you're interested in what makes up the mind of a killer then you'll probably like this book.  I have to be honest that I don't find it all that well written but the meat of the story is what I'm after so I can look past that for the most part.  I should be finished with this one fairly quickly and when I am I will be sure to let you all know my thoughts on it. :o)

Until next time, happy reading!!

PS It just so happened that I've been reading these rather ghastly books around the time of Halloween.  Sheer coincidence, I swear!

EDIT: Because I just can't help myself here's a booktrailer that I created for Stiff.