You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by verkisto
Let's Go Play at the Adams' (Paperbacks from Hell) by Mendal W. Johnson
4.0
It's no fault of Johnson's that I read The Girl Next Door first (the same real-life event -- the torture-murder of Sylvia Likens -- inspired that book and this one), but I did, and it's one of the best books I've ever read. Going in to Let's Go Play at the Adams', I had a feeling I wasn't going to like it as much, simply because I couldn't see it would be as good as Ketchum's dark masterpiece.
Spoiler alert: I didn't. Ketchum's book is still far superior.
Still, LGPatA has its redeeming qualities, and is worth reading if that kind of story interests you. Where TGND is a graphic look at the characters and the events of the story, LGPatA is more psychological. Johnson wants to expose the kinds of people who do these kinds of things, giving us long stretches of insight into how they think, and why. TGND has that, as well, but there's something more clinical in the way Johnson approaches the story than the way Ketchum does. Ultimately, Ketchum's take on events feels more like a story.
Spoiler alert: I didn't. Ketchum's book is still far superior.
Still, LGPatA has its redeeming qualities, and is worth reading if that kind of story interests you. Where TGND is a graphic look at the characters and the events of the story, LGPatA is more psychological. Johnson wants to expose the kinds of people who do these kinds of things, giving us long stretches of insight into how they think, and why. TGND has that, as well, but there's something more clinical in the way Johnson approaches the story than the way Ketchum does. Ultimately, Ketchum's take on events feels more like a story.