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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
The Man from the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery by Bill James, Rachel McCarthy James
5 reviews
crackyourbrainup's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Violence, Death, Racism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
juliana18's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Stalking, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Ableism, and Police brutality
literaryliz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Blood, Death, and Gore
eldritch_flower's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
3.5
This was just an interesting read. Through this book, we follow the crimes of an axe murderer that targeted people living near railroads and in small towns. If all murders in the area completed by axes were done by this one person, then they would have killed over 90 people in 10 years. Of course, it's more complicated than that, and the authors are incredible with their research.
The book was easy to follow(I listened to it via audiobook), and the writing was fun. Yes I said fun. It wasn't just dry facts, it had personality to it. And it managed to have that personality without being disrespectful to the victims or the seriousness of the crimes. And honestly, considering how so many true crime podcasters and commenters fall short on this, it's admirable that the author was able to pull this off.
I like to think of myself as a true crime buff, specifically forensic psychology(which is what I went to college for), and this is a case I had never heard of. Most of us heard of the Axe Man of New Orleans, but not many of us know just how many axe murderers there were all over the US. And this was one that was brand new to me.
For that, I really appreciated how the author explained the crimes, explained the police procedures(and very specifically calls out how dumb they were, because they absolutely were), and discussed who he thinks committed the crime and why.
Overall, it was a great audiobook.
The book was easy to follow(I listened to it via audiobook), and the writing was fun. Yes I said fun. It wasn't just dry facts, it had personality to it. And it managed to have that personality without being disrespectful to the victims or the seriousness of the crimes. And honestly, considering how so many true crime podcasters and commenters fall short on this, it's admirable that the author was able to pull this off.
I like to think of myself as a true crime buff, specifically forensic psychology(which is what I went to college for), and this is a case I had never heard of. Most of us heard of the Axe Man of New Orleans, but not many of us know just how many axe murderers there were all over the US. And this was one that was brand new to me.
For that, I really appreciated how the author explained the crimes, explained the police procedures(and very specifically calls out how dumb they were, because they absolutely were), and discussed who he thinks committed the crime and why.
Overall, it was a great audiobook.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
hanarama's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
3.25
The Good:
• Conversational tone
• Compelling
The Bad:
• Circumstantial
• Large volume of cases
You Might Like This if You Like:
• True crime podcasts like Casefiles.
• True crime documentaries.
I did enjoy reading this book. The light and conversational tone makes the individual chapters easy to follow. It feels more like listening to a friend tell you about something they've just learned rather than reading book. And I think that is a large part of why the evidence and theory presented feels so compelling. The authors are very convincing in their argument.
Despite this though, a large amount of what they present feels entirely like circumstantial conjecture. Especially after they have named their suspect.
And I suspect that this has to do with the sheer number of crimes that they describe over the course of the book. So many that it becomes difficult to remember them all. And in the end, only about 1/3 are ascribed with full confidence to the Man from the Train. I would have liked for these cases to be examined more in depth and left those more questionable cases to side notes. I feel like it may have allowed for the theory to feel more concrete.
In the end, I do feel convinced by the argument that a train-riding killer was probably behind some of these crimes. However, I am unconvinced of the sheer scale of violence committed as well as if the suspect presented makes total sense
• Conversational tone
• Compelling
The Bad:
• Circumstantial
• Large volume of cases
You Might Like This if You Like:
• True crime podcasts like Casefiles.
• True crime documentaries.
I did enjoy reading this book. The light and conversational tone makes the individual chapters easy to follow. It feels more like listening to a friend tell you about something they've just learned rather than reading book. And I think that is a large part of why the evidence and theory presented feels so compelling. The authors are very convincing in their argument.
Despite this though, a large amount of what they present feels entirely like circumstantial conjecture. Especially after they have named their suspect.
And I suspect that this has to do with the sheer number of crimes that they describe over the course of the book. So many that it becomes difficult to remember them all. And in the end, only about 1/3 are ascribed with full confidence to the Man from the Train. I would have liked for these cases to be examined more in depth and left those more questionable cases to side notes. I feel like it may have allowed for the theory to feel more concrete.
In the end, I do feel convinced by the argument that a train-riding killer was probably behind some of these crimes. However, I am unconvinced of the sheer scale of violence committed as well as if the suspect presented makes total sense
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Stalking, Sexual violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
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