Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
Reading a book about bodies that were found in your hometown is odd. Not sure if I found this interesting because it had people/locations I actually knew in it or if it was actually well written..
Investigative reporter Robert Kolker dives into the unsolved mystery of multiple escorts on Long Island during the 2007-2011-ish time period. This supposed serial killer has never been found, but the remains of at least five women were found along the Long Island coastline. Kolker explains how the victims began prostituting and escorting, and through that examines the dangers of the online escorting business and how young women get trapped in its vicious cycle.
I applaud Kolker for spending so much of this book talking about the victims. Yes, they were escorts, but you really understand how and why they got into that business—and the friends and family who, unfortunately, facilitated their work—and why some of them eventually wanted out.
However, this book felt disjointed to me because Kolker mostly wrote about the victims’ personal lives, the intricacies of the Oak Beach community (where most of the bodies/remains were found), and the social media dramas that took place after the girls were discovered dead. There isn’t much detail about the police investigation, and while some of the facts suggest who the serial killer might be, this is ultimately still a batch of unsolved crimes.
What I learned most from this book was how Craigslist revolutionized the sex work industry back when it allowed adult listings. There’s some truly fascinating history there, especially when it’s shown through the eyes of the escorts who actually used the service. If you understand that going into this book, you may enjoy it like I did. But if you’re looking for a juicy true-crime book, I wouldn’t recommend this one.
I applaud Kolker for spending so much of this book talking about the victims. Yes, they were escorts, but you really understand how and why they got into that business—and the friends and family who, unfortunately, facilitated their work—and why some of them eventually wanted out.
However, this book felt disjointed to me because Kolker mostly wrote about the victims’ personal lives, the intricacies of the Oak Beach community (where most of the bodies/remains were found), and the social media dramas that took place after the girls were discovered dead. There isn’t much detail about the police investigation, and while some of the facts suggest who the serial killer might be, this is ultimately still a batch of unsolved crimes.
What I learned most from this book was how Craigslist revolutionized the sex work industry back when it allowed adult listings. There’s some truly fascinating history there, especially when it’s shown through the eyes of the escorts who actually used the service. If you understand that going into this book, you may enjoy it like I did. But if you’re looking for a juicy true-crime book, I wouldn’t recommend this one.
It's an interesting story that needed to be told. But it got very long and sort of repetitive. I think it might have lacked a focus.
A lot of good information, but very information dense. If that is your thing, you'll love this. He spends a lot of time building up the victims and showing that they were real people, which again if that is what you're interested in, you'll love it. If not, you'll be skipping around some
This is a bit different than the true crime novels I usually read. It’s a bit more of a mix of true crime AND biography than just a straight up true crime novel. At first I was a little annoyed by that but I quickly got into it as a learned more about these girls and my heart started feeling for them. It also didn’t have all the trial and conviction details that most true crime stories have seeing as it’s still unsolved despite a pretty evident suspect. But I enjoyed the fresh spin on a true crime novel, getting to know the victims and their families so well was both heartbreaking and yet so rewarding. My only complaint is how we were first introduced to each character under her real name one by one and then reintroduced to them under her sex work name one by one. It made things a little bit confusing and hard to keep track of, I almost found myself wanting to take notes. Other than that minor detail it was a really captivating and heart breaking story I won’t soon forget.
I admit I didn’t finish the book. I think the author thought he was being unbiased but his own prejudices shined through. He included a lot of unnecessary details about people’s weight and appearance and the paternity of themselves and their children.
This casually racist description pushed me over the edge “Tall with a mustache and beard, Steve was white but dressed and talked ghetto”.
Where are the editors? Why did this guy get a book deal? I think he’d say he was impartial and sympathetic to the victims but his tone and word choices really show who he really is.
This casually racist description pushed me over the edge “Tall with a mustache and beard, Steve was white but dressed and talked ghetto”.
Where are the editors? Why did this guy get a book deal? I think he’d say he was impartial and sympathetic to the victims but his tone and word choices really show who he really is.
The missing persons/murder cases were interesting. I felt the book went on a little too long and dove a little too deep into the surviving family members' lives. The author had a good reporter-style writing voice.
Trigger warnings: murder, drug addiction, alcohol abuse, sex work, violence, mentions of child sexual abuse, poverty, strangulation, mental health.
This is a very difficult book to read a lot of the time because of the subject matter that it deals with. But at the same time, Kolker spends about half of the book talking about the victims and focusing on their lives, and the other half focusing on their families and what happens after the various women go missing. And I very much appreciated that it's a book about the disappearance and murder of women dealing with poverty and addiction and sex work that focuses on their lives and shows them as human beings rather than just a string of names.
The murders remain unsolved, and as a result there is limited focus on the actual crime side of things. But I actually very much appreciated that - it reminded me of Hallie Rubenhold's The Five which I LOVED. I definitely didn't see the afterword coming, that's for sure. But this was very compelling and wonderfully written.
This is a very difficult book to read a lot of the time because of the subject matter that it deals with. But at the same time, Kolker spends about half of the book talking about the victims and focusing on their lives, and the other half focusing on their families and what happens after the various women go missing. And I very much appreciated that it's a book about the disappearance and murder of women dealing with poverty and addiction and sex work that focuses on their lives and shows them as human beings rather than just a string of names.
The murders remain unsolved, and as a result there is limited focus on the actual crime side of things. But I actually very much appreciated that - it reminded me of Hallie Rubenhold's The Five which I LOVED. I definitely didn't see the afterword coming, that's for sure. But this was very compelling and wonderfully written.
LISK is my "white whale". We need to catch this person! Then I would love to see this book written with a new ending.