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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
An interesting idea but it jumped around too much..
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Enjoy is the wrong word for a book like this but it's easiest to sum up saying I enjoyed it. I liked the memoir aspects and the interwoven social and geographical history. The narrative voice is also very different and won't work for everyone but worked for me. The clear disdain for BTK is also a winner. I did feel that there was still a bit too much on the acts of these men which goes against the more victim led narrative of other modern true crime books.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
* Consumed on Audible
This non-fiction novel was a deep dive into the atmosphere that raised key serial killers, mainly in America. An ambitious undertaking from Caroline Fraser, she dissects the northwest in the early 1900s, focusing mainly on the lead smelters in operation during that time that poisoned nearby towns and remained in operation far too long with massive environmental impacts.
So first, I wish I didn't do this one through Audible. While it was well-read, it required attention that I don't always achieve through simply listening. Fraser bounced around through serial killers, their victims, smelters, bridges, detectives, and more - and by missing key names during my listening, the stories became less impactful. Second, she focused a lot on the poor construction of bridges in the area that killed lots of people, and literally every time that Ted Bundy got gas - and while interesting, I'm still not sure what that all had to do with anything.
For those who are fascinated by serial killers and history, this book leaves no stone unturned. I believe she proved that environment is a leading factor in the heinous crimes they committed, with an unflinching account of their vicious attacks and gut-churning actions to the victims' bodies. It was frustrating to listen to how long it took law enforcement to catch the killers, jaw dropping to count the sheer number of lives they took and how, and tough to learn how long it took to shut down the many smelters when they caused illness to so many.
Definitely worth a read for some ed-u-ma-cation, but know it's not a walk in the park.
This non-fiction novel was a deep dive into the atmosphere that raised key serial killers, mainly in America. An ambitious undertaking from Caroline Fraser, she dissects the northwest in the early 1900s, focusing mainly on the lead smelters in operation during that time that poisoned nearby towns and remained in operation far too long with massive environmental impacts.
So first, I wish I didn't do this one through Audible. While it was well-read, it required attention that I don't always achieve through simply listening. Fraser bounced around through serial killers, their victims, smelters, bridges, detectives, and more - and by missing key names during my listening, the stories became less impactful. Second, she focused a lot on the poor construction of bridges in the area that killed lots of people, and literally every time that Ted Bundy got gas - and while interesting, I'm still not sure what that all had to do with anything.
For those who are fascinated by serial killers and history, this book leaves no stone unturned. I believe she proved that environment is a leading factor in the heinous crimes they committed, with an unflinching account of their vicious attacks and gut-churning actions to the victims' bodies. It was frustrating to listen to how long it took law enforcement to catch the killers, jaw dropping to count the sheer number of lives they took and how, and tough to learn how long it took to shut down the many smelters when they caused illness to so many.
Definitely worth a read for some ed-u-ma-cation, but know it's not a walk in the park.
dark
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
I do not 100% buy all of Fraser's theories (gender brain differences is half baked at best, and the OWL is not a fully formed scientific concept) BUT the way she weaves social, industrial, natural, and personal history together with a poet's turn of phrase is the only way I got through a book about serial killer true crime (a genre I do not go for). Anyway the Guggenheims need to be first and foremost in conversations about reputation laundering!!
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
slow-paced
dark
informative
sad