cowboydan's review against another edition

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5.0

Fantastic book that doesn't shy away from the brutal reality and terrible ripple effect of murder. It's unfortunate that the author has to bring a sense of humanity to sex workers, with that being said, she does it with honesty and dignity. She also gave an incredibly thorough background on Ridgway. You get the entire picture, as much as we could possibly know given the evidence and recounting of events from so many people, at the time that this novel was written. A really heavy book, literally (due to the sheer numbers/years of victims and the length of the investigation) and figuratively in the emotional sense. It will leave you with a sad heart, and hopefully with a refreshed perspective on human beings who are sex workers. This story is very deep. I'd say it's a must read for anyone with an interest in the true crime genre.

steadycollie's review against another edition

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5.0

Ann did a great job in giving a context to the victims, more than the killer. Helping us see them. Remember them. This was one of the better True Crime novels I've had the chance to read. Very informative, detail oriented and again, thankful for the emphasis on the victims and the task force who eventually caught the perpetrator.

hectaizani's review against another edition

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3.0

Above all else this book was sad. Ann Rule spent a lot of time describing small details about all the girls who were killed by the Green River Killer. It was an homage and a tribute to their lost lives. I'm glad they finally caught him. I do wish it hadn't taken nearly 20 years.

sarahannimal's review against another edition

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5.0

Really thorough accounting of an incredibly complex and time-consuming investigation.

ellwoo's review against another edition

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informative sad fast-paced

2.25

theboldbookworm's review

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4.0

The Green River Killer was an extremely evil man who killed at least forty-eight young women in the 80s and possibly more after that. He evaded capture for over 20 years.

I feel like Ann Rule did a great job with this book by putting a lot of focus on the victims. There are photos of almost all of them and summaries of their lives. It is so sad to read about all these women that were taken solely for the pleasure of their killer and their families that had to wait so long for answers. This is a case that I didn't know a ton about and I learned a lot by reading this book. Because I am fascinated by how serial killers brains work, I do wish there had been a bit more of the over one hundred hours of interviews with the killer. This is still an interesting and well-researched book if you are interested in the Green River Killer.

I would say this one is essential reading for true crime fans.

emilyrandolph_epstein's review against another edition

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5.0

A comprehensive account of the Green River Killer case. I really appreciated the dedication to highlighting who the victims were as people and the portions dedicated to their families.

alexandrabree's review against another edition

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5.0

I really like how much detail about the lives of the victims Ann covers in this book. I just finished the Robert Pickton book that did the same thing and I think that in these "full coverage" novels have to have that segment on the victims. Not just the gory details about the killer, I also liked how she went in between the two.

I have now read the full paperback book and listened to the abridged audiobook

kikiduck's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

1.75

I think I can definitively say that Ann Rule is not for me. Of all the things I didn't enjoy, I think the one that's hardest for me is she's obviously friends with a lot of police and detectives, and has spent a lot of time building relationships with them, and she's either incapable of, or unwilling to look at anything they did in a critical way.

That, combined with her amateur psychology analysis, her super repetitive writing, and her weird insistence on listing the cross streets for everything, and I think I can safely say I'm done. The local angle isn't enough to keep my interest.

lykida's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

4.0