Reviews with content warning for Murder - Behold the Monster: Confronting America's Most Prolific Serial Killer

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Behold the Monster: Confronting America's Most Prolific Serial Killer by Jillian Lauren

9 reviews

caseyundercovers's review

I've never DNFed a book before, but this one broke me.

As a book about a sexualy violent serial killer, I was prepared for a lot of violence, gore, and vulgarity. However, this book took it to an entirely new level of disgusting. The author takes it upon herself to dramatize the murders and presumes to narrate what the victims were thinking and feeling as they died, some of which was so disrespectful that I was outright angry and disgusted to have even read it. And don't even get me started on dick cheese.

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alexisgarcia's review

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

2.5

i think this book wasn’t executed quite right. i don’t totally agree with adding a bunch of details about the actual crimes when there was no actual evidence of them happening. while it has the ability to make the story more compelling and “atmospheric”, it always feels a little disrespectful and fake. idk. and the way the information is presented is super disjointed and confusing.

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yalibrarianjen's review

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

4.75

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ambeda's review against another edition

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challenging dark medium-paced

3.5

I knew what I was getting into when I picked up an audio book about Sam Little, but what I didn't appreciate was the recreations of some of the victims' deaths. I want to know about them, and I want their names and lives to be remembered. This wasn't the way to do it, in my opinion. Maybe the flow didn't quite feel right, as I listened to the audio book, and we jumped between past and present often. Not to say I didn't appreciate all of the work Jillian Lauren put into this book, I do! No regrets that I finished it, and if I worked on this project, I'd be proud of putting this out there.

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apersonfromflorida's review

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dark informative sad medium-paced

4.75

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lizzy52's review

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dark medium-paced

4.75

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fkshg8465's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

I don’t really know what to say. The author did an extraordinary thing - got a serial killer to confess to 90+ murder after only originally having been convicted of three. Definitely makes me wonder the effectiveness of our law enforcement agencies. The amount of detail she has to research and notate, the ethical decisions she had to apply throughout the investigation, and the retold narratives she constructed to give voices to the dead - pretty darned remarkable. But it’s hard for me to say that I’m grateful to have read this book. I learned a lot, but do I really need to know this much about a serial killer? Hopefully not!

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willa_reads_books's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

i think that this book was really well written. due to the victims and how recent all of these things were discovered, i have not seen much press on these cases and this killer. this is a comprehensive look into his crimes, his victims, and his trial.

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sleepysadpoet's review against another edition

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dark informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

Disclaimer: I received a gifted copy of this book via netgalley and in exchange I'm leaving an honest, thorough review. All opinions are my own.
When I requested this book, I knew absolutely nothing about Samuel Little. I just knew it included interviews with a serial killer, and as someone who listens to true crime podcasts and stuff, I was intrigued by that. Now that I've read it, I'm furious. He got away with so fucking much and it's terrifying.
Not because of the writer, she's talented and thorough. I don't typically read crime novels, though this isn't my first time reading one. Most of the ones I read are fiction.
This isn't fiction, it's reality and it's absolutely fucking terrifying that this man got away with so much. This is in part due to the fact that he targeted women who wouldn't be prioritized--sex workers, addicts, women of color. One was trans. And there were write ups saying "no humans involved." What the actual fuck?
I appreciate the fact that the writer focused on the victims and telling their stories. A lot of true crime experts focus on the criminal and his story, and that always gives me the ick. Because how can you be comfortable doing that, giving the murderers screen time? It isn't about THEM, it's about their victims.
This book is absolutely heartbreaking and it really made me think. He was one of the most prolific serial killers, and the reason he got away with it is because these women weren't viewed as human beings.
It's cathartic that he died of covid--he often told his victims to 'take his breath.' and at the end? He died from an illness that stole his breath.
This book was really intense, but those victims' stories should be told.

Thank you again to netgalley, and Jillian, for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

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