A review by serenereadssally
The Nightstalker by Philip Carlo

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

4.0

A spellbinding descent into the very heart of human evil. Thirteen left dead, others tortured and brutalised at the hands of one of history’s most infamous serial killers.

I must begin this review by saying this is a book of two halves and my review really is for the first half of the book. As a true crime fan I usually limit myself to watching TV series and listening to podcasts and prefer to read fiction so wasn’t sure if I’d like the book. I did. I found it as unnerving and disturbing as I thought it would be and the story of the killers childhood and his crimes kept me enthralled right up to his capture. 

Unfortunately from then on I literally couldn’t read it. The trial was lengthy and the entire second half of the book was focused on this. Real trials aren’t like TV trials and it was full of technicalities and back and forth and how a trial works and it didn’t hold my interest at all, so I skimmed to the interview with Ramirez at the end and also with his numerous ‘groupies’. 

I was astounded to read of the women that were obsessed with this evil psychopath even including a jury member, and how they were in love with him! That was as uncomfortable to process as his heinous crimes.

My 4 stars are for the first half of the book and the interviews. The trial I felt could have been condensed and we didn’t need the minutiae at all, then I might have read that part. A great insight into a sick mind.