Reviews

Down the Hill: My Descent Into the Double Murder in Delphi by Susan Hendricks

reviewsbylola's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.75

namirsolo's review

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4.0

Thanks to the publisher for a free copy of this book!

If you are looking for a deep-dive investigation about the crime, this isn't it. There simply weren't that many facts in it. However, for a summary of what happened and a beautiful portrait of the family and victims, this is wonderful. It really honors the memory of the girls.

mommybookwyrmm's review against another edition

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dark informative fast-paced

4.5

eblankenship23's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

adkwriter15's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

3.0

While I do believe that Hendricks came to care deeply about the family of the murdered girls--and she really does try hard to make this book very family-focused--the writing style of this one is very strange. Hendricks is first and foremost a news anchor, and huge chunks of this book are her reading--I think verbatim--from interactions she had on her news show. This makes for long sections of conversation that made me wonder why she didn't just make a video essay or something with the clips, as that would have been more engaging. This book is also blocked from having a great many details, as they just hadn't been released while Hendricks was writing. It takes great care of the victims' families, but the strange writing style and overall lack of information makes it otherwise skippable for me. 

jagrimm's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

3.5

librarymouse's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

Susan Hendricks uses this book to showcase the lives of Abby, Libby, and their families, and lets their vibrance outshine the normally sensationalized detail on their deaths and the identity of the murderer. While this book works to showcase who the girls were, Hendricks also works to explore the downsides of social media and online sleuthing in murder cases like this one. Overall, a really thoughtful read.
It did feel odd for me, initially, that this book was published before the trial of the accused, however, after reaching the point at which Becky realized that there really is no closure in the possibility of knowing, this choice makes sense.

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allyoopadoop's review

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dark informative mysterious sad medium-paced

3.5

3.5 stars. I have heard about this case on crimetok recently and this book was a way to learn more about the case. As recently as 7b days ago, the case has moved along. I hope for justice for Abby & Libby and their families. I wish this book didn't feel like the author telling the reader facts and that Hendricks could have shown us more than telling us. Not a bad way to spend 4 hours.

brittrichardsofficial's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

Susan Hendricks' book on the Delphi case is probably one of the most respectful and family oriented book about a true crime that I have ever read. Not only did she dive into the case of Abby and Libby's murders, but she got to know the families on a truly deep and personal level. They were the main focus of the book, and I think that is something that is severely lacking in the true crime genre. The book did not go into too much detail about the actual crimes, though part of that could be because a lot of the evidence hasn't been made public, but this book was so well done. I hope that she releases some sort of bonus content once the murderer has been convicted. 

kristif's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective medium-paced

3.0