Reviews

This reads like a self published memoir. But since the events happened so close to home, it felt personal. Holly experienced extreme trauma as she and her date were attacked and brutalized by the railway killer. Holly survived to process her trauma and see the perpetrator face justice.

smkelly1997's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

Content Warnings

naisinkoi's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Quote: "I am truly thankful for a second chance at life. I made a choice to either crawl into a hole or do something.”

I love memoirs, more so listening to them on audio as it feels as if the writer is telling me their life’s story, one on one.

Holly K. Dunn tells her life story about how she was attacked by the Railroad Killer when she was just starting her junior year of college in Kentucky.

Holly explains how an innocent activity such as walking along railroad tracks with her boyfriend after attending a party changed into one of the most harrowing experiences someone can ever go through.

In details, she tells of how the railroad killer, Angel Maturino Resendiz, attacked them and brutally killed her boyfriend Chris and stabbed and raped and left her for dead.

In this memoir, Holly narrates to us how she went through the experience, how she ended up finding help, the healing processes and the challenges she has gone through in life being labelled as the only survivor of the railroad killer. She takes us through the process of finding justice and the good and bad she experienced as a result of human nature throughout the process.

She explains of how she was approached and agreed to set up Holly’s house, a nonprofit that provides a safe and nurturing space for victims of abuse in her hometown of Evansville, Indiana.

She further delves into how the harrowing experienced has made her who she is and has shaped her life. She lets the reader know that she found meaning and purpose through service to other victims of assault and works as a motivational speaker and activist. She also opens up about the challenges she faced in her romantic life when it came to moving forward from her assault.

If you want a read that pulls at your heartstrings and shows you how the human will can be resilient, this is the perfect read for you.

krysbunce's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

3.75

I don’t like rating people’s stories but I feel this book should have focused more on Holly’s experience rather than a guy she dated for 2 weeks only. It felt less about her story and feelings than it did about someone she barely even knew.

archaicrobin's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

How do you review a true crime book written by the only victim? I found myself struggling with this, was it phenomenally written? No. Was there hours upon hours of research? Well no. Does Holly write about one of the most traumatic experiences of her life and share how she managed to survive and thrive despite it? Yes!

Holly tells her story and doesn’t shy away from the gruesome details and I kept wondering how does she have the strength to write about this? How does she retell this story as part of her job? I enjoyed hearing Holly’s story from Holly, and that’s what makes this one unique. If you’re only interested in learning more about the railroad killer there are probably plenty of other true crime books to pick up. But if you’re more curious about Holly, and how she’s turned the worst experience of her life into a driving force for change then pick up this book and read about her story

Content Warnings

More...