Book Review: "Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries: The Many Victims of America's Most Infamous Serial Killer" by Kevin Sullivan

New from the author of the WildBlue Press classics The Trail of Ted Bundy and The Bundy Secrets!

Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries is a deep-dive into the archival record of America's most notorious serial killer.  It's a veritable goldmine of information on Bundy, his victims, and this very voluminous case.

Written by the foremost authority on Ted Bundy, this latest examination of this brutal serial killer contains new, revealing, and never-before published interviews with those close to Bundy, close to his victims, and a potential victim who barely escaped his clutches.

Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries brings to light for the first time many heretofore passed-over facts about Bundy and reveals previously hidden aspect of the lives of some of his victims.

     (Summary from Goodreads)



Ted Bundy’s Murderous Mysteries: The Many Victims of America’s Most Infamous Serial Killer is Kevin Sullivan’s fourth work on the devious and deadly Ted Bundy, behind The Bundy Murders, The Trail of Ted Bundy, and The Bundy Secrets.  I have read his three previous books (and really should write reviews because they are that good) and taking all four into account, it’s amazing (at least to me) that it was only a chance conversation that caused him to begin his research on Bundy to begin with.  Fortunately, he did have that conversation because Mr. Sullivan has quickly become a foremost expert on the serial killer.



One thing that stands out in Ted Bundy’s Murderous Mysteries, and the entire Bundy series, is that Mr. Sullivan will ferret out even the most seemingly minor details about the young women and girls Bundy abducted and killed, bringing life to them.  They weren’t just victims; they were daughters, sisters, and friends who had lives with dreams and futures before Bundy snatched them away.  While some true crime books glorify the killer or killers, relegating the victims to supporting status, Mr. Sullivan makes you feel (and hurt) for these precious women and girls that were lost.  He utilizes police reports, talks to persons who knew the lost, as well as to two survivors of Bundy’s attempted abduction and attack, and even shares personal writings.  As such, the victims of Bundy aren’t just Bundy victims.  They are real people and it makes the tragedy of what Bundy did even more heartbreaking.



This book isn’t for the Bundy neophyte; if you’re new to the subject, it’s best to start with Mr. Sullivan’s The Bundy Murders, where he recounts Bundy’s known crimes.  For those of us who have read Mr. Sullivan’s previous books and are up on all things Bundy, this latest offering is another well-researched and well-written book that delves into the fractured psyche of a monster whose depravity still continues to this day to have repercussions. 



How good was this book?  I purchased it on release day and planned on holding on to it for maybe two weeks, to take with me on vacation.  That plan lasted a whopping 48 hours tops before I couldn’t take it anymore and dove in.  I read through the book in under two days, unable to put it down.  I consider myself somewhat of a “Bundy scholar” (something that makes perfect sense to true crime readers) and I continue to learn new, relevant and fascinating information from Kevin Sullivan.



I cannot recommend this book, and the previous three, enough.  Reading them, you will gain insight about the infamous Ted Bundy, as well as the lives that his many victims were leading until they crossed paths with a killer, expertly relayed by the talented hand of Kevin Sullivan.



Ted Bundy’s Murderous Mysteries: The Many Victims of America’s Most Infamous Serial Killer is currently available for purchase in both e-format and paperback.  (Kevin Sullivan’s earlier Bundy books are also available for purchase as e-books, paperbacks, and audio versions.)  Don’t wait - - pick yours up today!

Follow Kevin Sullivan on his Facebook page, Twitter page, and via Wild Blue Press.



FTC Disclosure:  I purchased this book with my own funds.  I was neither paid nor compensated for this review.      

Book Review: "Hunting Charles Manson: The Quest for Justice in the Days of Helter Skelter" by Lis Wiehl and Caitlin Rother

As Helter Skelter was the first true crime book I ever read, and one that will permanently sit on my list of best true crime books, I have a lifelong interest (sounds better than fascination) in the so-called Manson murders.  No book can truly be held up to Helter Skelter, nor should it.

Hunting Charles Manson is a notable and strong entry of the books on the infamous summer of 1969.  It doesn't cover as much ground as Helter Skelter, which gives us a lot of information on the criminal trial, but it also doesn't have its intimidating (for some) page count.

Hunting Charles Manson starts with background information on Manson himself, giving the reader an exploration of his home life, mindset and how he started down the road that would lead him to the Haight-Ashbury and the birth of "The Family."  I found the sections of the inception of The Family particularly interesting; the result is beneficial insight into why he managed to attract so many females to his coterie who remained loyal to him for years.

Many of his Family members are also given page time.  Rather than being portrayed as merely Manson's bloodthirsty minions, the authors demonstrate they were real people with real lives before becoming part of Manson's contingent.  It will make you think about what might have happened had they never met up with him; was the Family was little more than a drug-addled cult?  The authors' descriptions of daily life on Spahn Ranch are extremely well done.  I could visualize the hot dust blowing on the old movie sets and Family members grouped around, listening to Manson playing guitar.  It brings on a wistfulness -- even sadness -- that this communal living, instead of bringing love and peace, spawned violence and death.

The murders themselves are each recounted.  The details, if you are sensitive, can be agonizing to read and envision.  Gary Hinman, Steven Parent, and Donald "Shorty" Shea are often given the short-shrift of the verified Manson victims; Parent is the forgotten victim of the Tate-LaBianca crimes while Hinman and Shea are very nearly forgotten as victims at all.  More details are provided on Hinman and Shea as people versus just murder victims; it makes their loss, and the violent actions of Manson and the Family, all the more poignant and effective.  Thanks to this book being recent and published after Shea's body was discovered, a long-held legend within the Family that Shea had been "chopped up" into pieces and scattered in multiple graves can be discounted as well as providing a solid account as to Shea's final movements and day of life and who was involved in killing him.

The convicted killers' convoluted and tangled web through the legal system is also explored and this is one of two points in the book that I didn't agree with.  Sections on Charles "Tex" Watson, the man involved in every murder save Gary Hinman and the self-professed "right hand man" of Charles Manson, read almost sympathetically.  Even if you do believe that Watson is paying his debt to society and has become a born-again Christian, I cannot forget that he brutally stabbed to death Sharon Tate, who begged for the life of her unborn child, and then went on to marry and father four children while incarcerated.  I find that particular irony distasteful and revolting.  While Watson may have taken so many illegal drugs as to hinder his thinking, it didn't affect his ability to torture and kill and I simply cannot grant any sympathy to him; only to his victims.

The other point in the book that I didn't agree with - - and this is more my opinion than anything else -- is a motive for the Tate murders put forward in Hunting Charles Manson.  I've heard of the motive previously and this book does an excellent job in breaking it down and presenting it.  The problem I have with it is that it doesn't explain how and why Steven Parent became a victim, if you believe that Parent was the first person on Cielo Drive to die that night.  (And there has never been evidence to suggest otherwise.)  But again, that's simply my opinion and motive is something we may likely never get a firm answer on, especially now that Manson is dead.

Hunting Charles Manson does something that many books in the Manson library have not been able to do and that's provide a fresh look on crimes that have been written about, debated and dissected for nearly fifty years.    I appreciated the view inside Manson's life for the last ten or so years of it -- something rarely written about.  I also like that Ms. Wiehl and Ms. Rother showed the determination and strength of Debra Tate, Anthony DiMaria and Kay Martley as they attend and have attended parole hearings for years, speaking not so much of the ugliness their loved one experienced at the hand of Manson, et al. but of the precious memories they have of the precious people that were.

Hunting Charles Manson is an excellent resource for exploring the psyche of Manson in our quest to answer why.  Why did he turn out the way he did?  Why did he want strangers butchered?  Why does he continue to fascinate today?

I have been a fan of Caitlin Rother's books for years and made it a point to get this book solely based on her as an author.  As with her previous books, Ms. Rother presents the story and attempts to get into the mind of madness and answer the questions that puzzle those of us who have been fortunate enough to remain distant from the crime.  She is always respectful of the victims and their survivors, not glorifying the violence or the offender, and that is one reason I am a fan.  She's also a darn good writer.  For more information on Caitlin Rother and her books, go here.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Hunting Charles Manson for true crime buffs or readers looking for information on Manson and his crimes.  The fact the book features information from as recent as early 2018 is a bonus.

Hunting Charles Manson is available for purchase at major booksellers.

FTC Disclosure:  The review copy of this book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.  The provision of this book did not affect the outcome of my review.  I was neither paid nor compensated for this review.  

Book Review: "I'll Be Gone In The Dark" by Michelle McNamara

For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders.  Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area.

Three decades later, Michelle McNamara, a true crime journalist who created the popular website "True Crime Diary," was determined to find the violent psychopath she called "The Golden State Killer."  Michelle poured over police reports, interviewed victims, and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was.  

I'll Be Gone in the Dark -- the masterpiece McNamara was writing at the time of her sudden death -- offers an atmospheric snapshot of a moment in American history and a chilling account of a criminal mastermind and the wreckage he left behind.  It is also a portrait of a woman's obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth.  Utterly original and compelling, it has been hailed as a modern true crime classic -- one which fulfilled Michelle's dream; helping unmask The Golden State Killer. - from Amazon   

As a true crime aficionado (which sounds very strange to anyone who doesn't read true crime because why would you enjoy reading about people being killed?), I had heard of The Golden State Killer aka The East Area Rapist aka The Original Night Stalker.  Not only did this guy have a lot of victims, he also had a lot of aliases.  Having lived in southern California for a number of years, the case was often revisited in the local media on anniversaries of the attacks and/or deaths and I followed them.  I watched Investigation Discovery's "documentary" on the rapist-murderer and finished the show searching for more information.  That search led me to Ms. McNamara's book, which I reserved at my local library as requester number 37.  I was lucky.  It quickly jumped to over 60.  No joke.

When my number finally came up and I was able to pick up my copy, as luck would have it, a suspect was arrested in connection with the case days after.  So while reading, I was somewhat anxiously looking to see if the suspect's name was mentioned.

So let's get to my thoughts on the book.

Unlike some, or most, true crime books, this one does not progress in chronological order.  For instance, it starts with a 1981 murder rather than the actual start of the crime spree in the 1970s.  The book continues to jump around, from the 1970s and 1980s to present day, throughout.  If you prefer things orderly, this may upset you.  If you don't have an issue with the order of things, you may still find it confusing (raises hand.)

This is obviously not a spoiler since it happened in 2016 and is clearly mentioned in summaries of the book but Ms. McNamara died before she finished the book.  At times the writing does come off disjointed and I attribute that to her early death.  Some chapters begin and/or end with notations that the verbiage was lifted directly from her notes, which were more of a draft, and it does, in part, read that way.

This also shouldn't be a spoiler given the book's publication date compared with the suspect's arrest but there is no true ending.  The case was still officially unsolved at publication meaning a somewhat unsatisfactory ending.  For some readers, that's a no-go.

My biggest issue with I'll Be Gone in the Dark was that it fizzled for me by the halfway point.  The reading felt laborious and I caught myself alternating between speed reading (to get to "the good stuff") and my mind wandering.

Not that the book was wholly negative.  I appreciated that Ms. McNamara excellently explained not only how the perpetrator got away with so many assaults for so many years but, as a reader, plopped you down in the Sacramento area circa 1970s.  She shared facts about the cases that had not been previously disclosed, helping the reader to understand the nature of the time, place, and attacks.

One of my greatest pet peeves about true crime writing is the negligence of the author to make the victims into real people rather than just a list of the assaulted and/or dead.  Ms. McNamara does reveal characteristics of the victims, good and bad, showing their humanity.  She also writes of the domino effect that rapes and murders have on the survivors/surviving family members -- marriages destroyed, loved ones left devastated, without justice.

I greatly admire Michelle McNamara.  She was a lifelong writer and creator of The True Crime Diary; her passion was real.  She was a ride or die chick, as evidenced by the byline of this book - - One Woman's Obsessive Search for The Golden State Killer.  The Golden State Killer nickname was one she coined.  To say she threw herself into this investigation 100% is no understatement.  She lived and breathed this case, which couldn't have been easy.  

However, while I'll Be Gone in the Dark has some solid parts and is timely, I was left disappointed.  I felt the book had the potential to be smashing, and a wonderful tribute to Ms. McNamara, but it fell short.  Perhaps having the book organized in chronological order would have altered my view somewhat.  I'm conflicted on this one because Ms. McNamara is a good writer and she tackles a tough, yet fascinating subject.  But it just didn't completely work for me.

The summary above claims the book is destined to become a true crime classic but I must disagree.  It simply cannot be put in the same category as Helter Skelter, Fatal Vision, The Stranger Beside Me, Small Sacrifices, Bitter Blood or the like.  As a disclaimer, I also feel that In Cold Blood falls short of being a classic so maybe I just have no idea.

I'll Be Gone in the Dark is available at major booksellers, on Audible and at your local library.

FTC Disclosure:  I obtained this book at my local public library.  I was neither paid nor compensated for this review.