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dilchh's review against another edition
5.0
My first venture into the true crime genre. And not a bad one indeed. Truth of the matter I am not quite aware about the story of this particular serial killer, but I remember there was an episode of Criminal Minds that had quite a similar storyline to this murders; whether or not it was inspired by the actual killings, I'm not sure but it became one of the reason I went and bought this book. •
There was something about how the authors narrate the story that kept hooked to this book, though it frightened me so. I mean, living alone and reading serial killing of this magnitude is not a pleasant way to end your day. But, the writing and the research really made this book a thoroughly enjoyable read. Even the conclusion at the ending! Wow!
•
If you're not keen in the true crime genre then maybe this book is not for you, but, if you're like me and trying to try out some new genre to read, this would not be a bad choice of book to start. •
There was something about how the authors narrate the story that kept hooked to this book, though it frightened me so. I mean, living alone and reading serial killing of this magnitude is not a pleasant way to end your day. But, the writing and the research really made this book a thoroughly enjoyable read. Even the conclusion at the ending! Wow!
•
If you're not keen in the true crime genre then maybe this book is not for you, but, if you're like me and trying to try out some new genre to read, this would not be a bad choice of book to start. •
booksamongstfriends's review against another edition
3.0
Do you ever struggle to finish a book but finish it anyway so you can say you got through it? That was me with The Man from the Train.
While I love all things True Crime, I highly regret not getting this as an audiobook. It at times felt repetitive with the information, especially in the way it's written.
Because of this, the book could've been a lot of shorter.
With that being said, if you enjoy true crime I would recommend getting this book on audio. It's very well researched and there's so many historical details. It's truly crazy reading along and acknowledging just how many people fell victim to one man! And not just by his hand directly but indirectly by being wrongly accused for his crimes. Wild.
While I love all things True Crime, I highly regret not getting this as an audiobook. It at times felt repetitive with the information, especially in the way it's written.
Because of this, the book could've been a lot of shorter.
With that being said, if you enjoy true crime I would recommend getting this book on audio. It's very well researched and there's so many historical details. It's truly crazy reading along and acknowledging just how many people fell victim to one man! And not just by his hand directly but indirectly by being wrongly accused for his crimes. Wild.
phoebeonthehill's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
Having read some very negative reviews, I would say I liked this book. The author has a very casual writing style that could rub someone the wrong way but it did not offend me. I, personally, liked that he would go on long tangents about the aftermath of each crime, how the small towns would deal with a horrific crime. I also liked that he would spell out all the facts, even the ones that would mean the Man from the Train did not commit the crime. It made me feel that I could make my own informed decisions about each case.
For such a research heavy subject, I would have appreciated footnotes. Attempting to always put the source in the text -like he said he wanted to- didn't happen and, if it had, would have been very annoying to read. He definitely took some liberties describing what was going on in the murderer's mind or sometimes the victims. While that's not the worst thing, it got a bit silly in my eyes.
Over all, not perfect but a wonderful overview of a very interesting subject. I would reccomend to people who love true crime and don't mind the casual writing style.
For such a research heavy subject, I would have appreciated footnotes. Attempting to always put the source in the text -like he said he wanted to- didn't happen and, if it had, would have been very annoying to read. He definitely took some liberties describing what was going on in the murderer's mind or sometimes the victims. While that's not the worst thing, it got a bit silly in my eyes.
Over all, not perfect but a wonderful overview of a very interesting subject. I would reccomend to people who love true crime and don't mind the casual writing style.
christie_esau's review against another edition
4.0
A very long and very detailed read, but fascinating and specific and terrifying.
kaelino's review against another edition
3.0
There's a compelling case presented here, and a pretty convincing one. The details are laid out well, and the author(s) did a great job building out the multiple events taking place in the Northeast, South, and Midwest of the United States. The book gets repetitive, which is rather the point, and it perhaps could've been cut down a bit while still getting the key points across, but the details and connections made are still interesting to read.
The author(s) present characteristics that more or less link over 30 different axe murders from the late 1800s into 1912 to one potential suspect. The Jameses capture the flavor of small town life in logging and mining towns and highlight the rarity of family murders, as well as the inability to connect these cases due to lack of newspaper presence and the differences in literacy and education in the South versus the North during that time. I appreciated the exhaustive research, especially as locating information on many of these crimes was no easy task.
What I didn't particularly care for was the author's antagonistic comments sprinkled throughout the book. (I know there are two authors here, and I think it's Bill James who writes most, if not all of the main part of the book, with his daughter Rachel as a researcher, but I don't know for sure, so I will say he for the sake of consistency). It was as if he was arguing with the reader while making the case, when there really wasn't much need to, and it kind of took away from the narrative. I get that he was anticipating possible arguments or objections for why this person did this or did not do this, etc., but his statements just came off defensive and rather off-putting. Few examples:
"The most famous of these crimes are the murders in Villisca, Iowa, but it is apparent to anyone who will take the time to look that the Villisca murders were a part of a series of similar events...
We never dreamed that we would actually be able to figure out who he was... Skeptical? Of course you're skeptical. You're either skeptical or you're stupid, and you don't look stupid. But hear me out. Have I got a story to tell you."
OK, so right on the second page, there's kind of this haughtiness or defense he displays for the reader, and it shows up again, like I said, throughout the book.
Some phrases just seem like they're cut from another book and sound, just, strange:
"You think it is easy to break into somebody's house in the middle of the night, kill eight people, and get away with it? You think that is something that just anybody could do? Pardon the scatology or skip the rest of the sentence, but I'd shit my pants if I found myself breaking into somebody's house with an axe. Almost all of us would."
OK... I get the author is showing some of his personality, but it often just feels pushed on you, unnecessarily, to make a point that doesn't really need to be made or could be made in a more subtle, non-bumpy way that doesn't disrupt the narrative. One more...
"And as to the Reverend Kelly being a pervert... well, let me make this argument. It is actually quite common for men to like to look at young women naked. There are whole industries built on this fact--lots of them. It's pretty much universal. All men are creeps; didn't your mama ever tell you that? What is unusual about Kelly is that he was so bad at it."
Yeah... what? How young are we talking about here, regarding the women..? And all men? Well, maybe, but even if I might agree with that, which I'm not saying I do, it just sounds creepy, which maybe proves his point, I guess, that all men are creepy? But aside from that, it also sounds condescending too.
I don't mean to rag on the author too much for these quotes because I did enjoy the book, and I found it pretty convincing and admire the research. Had it not been for the style I would probably give it 4 stars. The premise was very interesting, the connections made across all of these cases are hard to ignore, and again, the authors took on a huge amount of work in their research. I really wonder if they did not truly solve this mystery. Seems more than likely they have.
The author(s) present characteristics that more or less link over 30 different axe murders from the late 1800s into 1912 to one potential suspect. The Jameses capture the flavor of small town life in logging and mining towns and highlight the rarity of family murders, as well as the inability to connect these cases due to lack of newspaper presence and the differences in literacy and education in the South versus the North during that time. I appreciated the exhaustive research, especially as locating information on many of these crimes was no easy task.
What I didn't particularly care for was the author's antagonistic comments sprinkled throughout the book. (I know there are two authors here, and I think it's Bill James who writes most, if not all of the main part of the book, with his daughter Rachel as a researcher, but I don't know for sure, so I will say he for the sake of consistency). It was as if he was arguing with the reader while making the case, when there really wasn't much need to, and it kind of took away from the narrative. I get that he was anticipating possible arguments or objections for why this person did this or did not do this, etc., but his statements just came off defensive and rather off-putting. Few examples:
"The most famous of these crimes are the murders in Villisca, Iowa, but it is apparent to anyone who will take the time to look that the Villisca murders were a part of a series of similar events...
We never dreamed that we would actually be able to figure out who he was... Skeptical? Of course you're skeptical. You're either skeptical or you're stupid, and you don't look stupid. But hear me out. Have I got a story to tell you."
OK, so right on the second page, there's kind of this haughtiness or defense he displays for the reader, and it shows up again, like I said, throughout the book.
Some phrases just seem like they're cut from another book and sound, just, strange:
"You think it is easy to break into somebody's house in the middle of the night, kill eight people, and get away with it? You think that is something that just anybody could do? Pardon the scatology or skip the rest of the sentence, but I'd shit my pants if I found myself breaking into somebody's house with an axe. Almost all of us would."
OK... I get the author is showing some of his personality, but it often just feels pushed on you, unnecessarily, to make a point that doesn't really need to be made or could be made in a more subtle, non-bumpy way that doesn't disrupt the narrative. One more...
"And as to the Reverend Kelly being a pervert... well, let me make this argument. It is actually quite common for men to like to look at young women naked. There are whole industries built on this fact--lots of them. It's pretty much universal. All men are creeps; didn't your mama ever tell you that? What is unusual about Kelly is that he was so bad at it."
Yeah... what? How young are we talking about here, regarding the women..? And all men? Well, maybe, but even if I might agree with that, which I'm not saying I do, it just sounds creepy, which maybe proves his point, I guess, that all men are creepy? But aside from that, it also sounds condescending too.
I don't mean to rag on the author too much for these quotes because I did enjoy the book, and I found it pretty convincing and admire the research. Had it not been for the style I would probably give it 4 stars. The premise was very interesting, the connections made across all of these cases are hard to ignore, and again, the authors took on a huge amount of work in their research. I really wonder if they did not truly solve this mystery. Seems more than likely they have.