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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
Who doesn't like true crime stories? This book is about serial murders that occurred between 1967 and 1969 in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area in Michigan. I have special interest in these murders because my sister went to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor at the time these were occurring.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
This book is about several vicious murders that took place in Ypsilanti, Michigan USA, in the 1960s. These murders were commonly called The Co-ed Murders, 'cause all the girls were university students. The author used pseudonyms for the killer, and the murdered girls, which I didn't really care for, but it was before the internet, and he was sincerely trying to shield the families. Of course, this was also before DNA, and all the newer whiz-bang forensic tools that we have now.
They were horrific crimes ... violent and sexually deviant. So sad. My heart goes out to the families. I have a daughter ... alive, and well ... which I am thankful for every day.
Here are the real names, for your reference.
John Norman Collins - killer
Alice Kalom
Dawn Basom
Jane Mixer
Joan Schell
Karen Beineman
Maralynn Skelton
Mary Fleszar
Roxie Phillips
3 Stars = I'm glad I read it.
They were horrific crimes ... violent and sexually deviant. So sad. My heart goes out to the families. I have a daughter ... alive, and well ... which I am thankful for every day.
Here are the real names, for your reference.
John Norman Collins - killer
Alice Kalom
Dawn Basom
Jane Mixer
Joan Schell
Karen Beineman
Maralynn Skelton
Mary Fleszar
Roxie Phillips
3 Stars = I'm glad I read it.
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Was definitely written in the 1970s but was thought and interesting, and also very strange to read about murders in your neighborhood
When I saw the opportunity to review this book on Netgalley, I was intrigued. I have always been a fan of true crime, but usually I don’t read about crimes from this long ago. Keyes does an excellent job with both the facts and emotions of these cases. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to live as a female in this region during the time of these murders, never knowing if you would be next.
Reading this true crime book started me on a spree of other historical crime stories. I saw what the police and investigators had to go through to try to get the evidence they needed to find a suspect and then convict him. I wanted to see what other cases in the 60’s and 70’s had to do without the scientific methods that we have now. It really is amazing how much was not known then and how they still got enough to convict criminals.
The key piece of evidence that convicted Collins comes down to hair specimens. At that point, DNA typing was not yet available, so they had to look at the angle of cuts on the hairs, colors, and other characteristics. They had to rely on statistics within the human population to state who these hairs could have belonged to and how they got where they did. While the testimony gets a bit over my head, you are still privy to all that is stated about this evidence.
While I enjoyed The Michigan Murders, I am still sad for the women that were killed. These women were all students, so young and still really beginning their lives.
If you like true crime stories, like those written by Anne Rule, you’ll enjoy The Michigan Murders.
I received a free copy of this book as part of my involvement with Netgalley. All thoughts are my own.
Reading this true crime book started me on a spree of other historical crime stories. I saw what the police and investigators had to go through to try to get the evidence they needed to find a suspect and then convict him. I wanted to see what other cases in the 60’s and 70’s had to do without the scientific methods that we have now. It really is amazing how much was not known then and how they still got enough to convict criminals.
The key piece of evidence that convicted Collins comes down to hair specimens. At that point, DNA typing was not yet available, so they had to look at the angle of cuts on the hairs, colors, and other characteristics. They had to rely on statistics within the human population to state who these hairs could have belonged to and how they got where they did. While the testimony gets a bit over my head, you are still privy to all that is stated about this evidence.
While I enjoyed The Michigan Murders, I am still sad for the women that were killed. These women were all students, so young and still really beginning their lives.
If you like true crime stories, like those written by Anne Rule, you’ll enjoy The Michigan Murders.
I received a free copy of this book as part of my involvement with Netgalley. All thoughts are my own.
informative
sad
medium-paced
I really enjoyed this book, it was emotional in parts, told the story brilliantly. As is with true crime novels, sometimes there are a lot of different characters to keep track of, as in real life things affect and involve many different people. Despite this, I never felt lost and confused even though there is a lot happening in different locations with different people. I imagine if you're familiar with the state then this could be a very rich read for you in terms of it really places you in that time, place and with the people involved.
It's good. I'd recommend.
It's good. I'd recommend.
The writing itself is very dated (I mean, obviously, the book is over 40 years old) and I skipped a lot of the trial because I could not read any more pages cross examining an expert over hair clippings. Overall, I found the book interesting and moreso because I'd never heard of these murders though I grew up about 45 miles away from Ypsilanti. I grew up less than five miles from the prison in Jackson so it was an unnerving thought knowing this man was likely still incarcerated there.
This was so fabulous, as compelling as a murder mystery novel. It tells the story behind a serial killer stalking teenage and young-20-something women in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti in the late 1960s and early 70s. It's really eerie hearing about human remains found just off roads that I drive down all the time, like Geddes and Earhart or College Place and Emmet, or landmarks like Depot Town or the railroad tracks in Belleville.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.