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A review by angleon13
The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez by Philip Carlo
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
4.0
This book consists of three parts: the killings, his upbringing and early life, and the trial. It’s equally great for people who are already familiar with Ramirez or are new to his crimes. For those not interested in the criminal proceedings, be warned because the last third of the book details Ramirez’s trials and the fanatic worship by women and even jury members during that time.
I went into this book already knowing a great deal about Richard Ramirez and this rounded out that narrative. I was especially interested to read about his upbringing and family as that was not information I knew beforehand. Admittedly, I am not usually a fan of books that write a first hand narrative of real people. Meaning, they describe thoughts and emotions of real people despite likely not actually knowing what those people were feeling at the time. Carlo writes in this way, telling us how Ramirez, his family, the victims, and even admirers felt during the events outlined in this book. As a reader, it is generally difficult to tell if those are based on real accounts or the creative license of the author. That being said, I am sure much of this book is based on actual interviews and first hand accounts, so I wasn’t too frustrated with this choice.
For those a bit squeamish, the author goes into the injuries sustained by the victims, but he never treads into gore-ish. He writes in a frank, matter-of-fact way about the injuries and doesn’t linger too long. As someone who likes knowing all the details, I maybe could have used a bit more but I think the book did a fine job at providing detail while being respectful of the victims and readers.
I went into this book already knowing a great deal about Richard Ramirez and this rounded out that narrative. I was especially interested to read about his upbringing and family as that was not information I knew beforehand. Admittedly, I am not usually a fan of books that write a first hand narrative of real people. Meaning, they describe thoughts and emotions of real people despite likely not actually knowing what those people were feeling at the time. Carlo writes in this way, telling us how Ramirez, his family, the victims, and even admirers felt during the events outlined in this book. As a reader, it is generally difficult to tell if those are based on real accounts or the creative license of the author. That being said, I am sure much of this book is based on actual interviews and first hand accounts, so I wasn’t too frustrated with this choice.
For those a bit squeamish, the author goes into the injuries sustained by the victims, but he never treads into gore-ish. He writes in a frank, matter-of-fact way about the injuries and doesn’t linger too long. As someone who likes knowing all the details, I maybe could have used a bit more but I think the book did a fine job at providing detail while being respectful of the victims and readers.