An intimate, gory, graphic and chilling true crime book. The biases are clear, so I suggest reading with a critical lens, but I enjoyed this one!

When I started with the prologue, I was a little terrified that this book is going to be more gory than I imagined. What I got was, instead, the account of sexual fantasies gone wrong.
I don't condone what Valle did on the websites he frequented, but through his account, I got the sense of a normal human, struggling between his dark and light sides. It was terrible that other people judged him a little too quickly, and the evilness of some people in this book can turn you off.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. For one, it made me question about the meaning of judging people.
*I got a free copy in exchange for an honest review on NetGalley

I got this ARC from Netgalley and Wild Blue Press.

From the previews, I could tell that this book was going to be unusual, and it sure is one heck of a journey. The changes happen so fast that it feels like a demolition derby at times. A real life wild ride written by Gil Valle, a NY cop who has a new baby he's crazy about and is going through a rough patch with his wife, who has moved out for a while they work on things. He likes his job and is feeling he's becoming good at it, when one one day he is surprised by a bunch of cops as he's getting ready to leave for work. He's taken for questioning about his dirty little secret habit of going onto the Internet and looking at porn while talking about twisted fantasies with others who share his interests. He gets honest with them after seeing they know a lot and to his shock, he's arrested, not for these things he's only thought about and talked about...but for actually kidnapping women and doing horrific things to them that were only fantasies that he'd made up. So they charged him with being part of a conspiracy. This book shows that thought crimes can and do happen and did happen to this ex-cop in 2012. There is graphic adult language. Very eye opening about intellectual crimes.

Before you read the title and run for the hills, it is not what it seems to be. Yes, Gil Valle was a NYPD policeman. This is a bizarre true crime.. one that no one would ever have believed possible in this day and age.

Gil knew as a young boy that he was somewhat different. Sexually, he had fantasies involving women who were tied and gagged. As he got older his fantasies changed, got a little more violent. He found a place on the web where like met like. Made-up fictional stories were shared.. stories that become dark.

Please understand ... this man did not attack women, he did not kidnap anyone, he did not kill anyone, and he certainly didn't eat anyone. Much like someone reading about serial killers or writing stories about a mass murderer .... does not make me a serial killer or a mass murderer.

When Gil's wife sees what he's doing on the computer, he does try to explain. But his wife took everything as truth and she went to the police with her worries.

In 2012, he was arrested and charged .. basically for 'thought' crimes. Now most of us understand that we cannot be imprisoned for thinking whatever thoughts happen to cross our minds.

Gil spent 2 years in jail for his "crimes" . Can you imagine what he went through in jail? Cut off from his family and friends, a cop who had to be kept in solitary for something he thought about.

The legal aspect of this case is what really held my attention. The first portion of this book describes the things he thought as a child, the secret he kept from his wife and co-workers. His trial, as such, left me angry .... angry that in this country, an American citizen can be held in jail for a crime that was never committed.

WARNING: This book contains graphic fantasy material of a sexual and violent nature. It is intended for Mature Audiences.

Many thanks to the authors / WildBlue Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this most interesting true story. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

A sincere thank you to Gil Valle for having the courage to share his story. This book was not at all what I expected. It was a lot more! When I requested the book I was expecting a story with lurid and graphical sexual scenes and details. The more lurid and gruesome a story, the more I am drawn to reading it. Would I ever personally engage in this kind of behaviour? No! In this sense I was completely able to relate to Gil's story and the divide between 'morbid' attraction/fantasies, and real life. Gil's story really touched me. It wasn't a story about sex. It was his story - his life and the horrific ordeal. I sincerely hope Gil is successful in all the lawsuits he is currently pursuing. Mostly I hope he gets to reconnect with his daughter!

He's the kind of guy who speaks just to hear himself. Sadly an actual writer wasn't able to lend direction.

It seems that other really enjoyed this book, but I had trouble getting into it. Something about the writing style maybe. I made it about half way through and let weeks and weeks pass before I finally decided to let it go.

This book is not for everyone. Right from the prologue you can tell that you are in store for a sick, twisted, perverted tale. Told in his own words, this book recounts Gil Valle's side of the story in this bizarre case, which proves that truth is often stranger than fiction. The main point he sets out to investigate is this: "when, if ever, does 'thought' cross the line and become crime?"

What is so interesting about this case is the fact that everyone - the judge, the US Marshalls, the prison guards, fellow prisoners, members of the media, and even people within the US Attorney's office - thought that the trial was a sham. The only people that actually thought is was true and just were the prosecutors. The US Attorneys in this trial exhibited gross misconduct, going against the judge's pre-trial orders several times. But it is never mentioned why the judge chose to allow it time and again. Maybe he felt like his hands were tied?

Valle sums the situation up nicely in the afterword: "I have come to realize how important the “thought crime” angle is, and how it relates to all of us in society. How full would our prisons be if the government could jail us based on our thoughts, or even upon Google searches when not accompanied by any actions? How many people do you know that have fantasized about doing something that was against the law?"

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of true crime and anyone interested in the shortfalls of the criminal justice system. I received this as a free ARC from WildBlue Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A detailed account of the infamous "Cannibal Cop" case. A quick read that true crime fans will enjoy.

It was a great read and really refreshing how Gil honestly told his story and didn't sugarcoat the gory bits or add any pretentiousness to the book. He has a problem and talks very openly about it. Not something I would recommend for someone under 16, but a must-read in my opinion.

A quick read about a bizarre and complex case. Sure, it's biased to Gil Valle's side, and it's clear that there are some things he's playing down, but it did make me think differently about the issues. However disgusting I find Valle's fetish, it's hard to argue that he's actually done anything wrong. We all have strange thoughts and desires – how would we feel having them revealed to the whole world?

If you ever saw the Tom Cruise movie, Minority Report you probably left the movie, going wow. Thought crimes. Pretty scary that the government could arrest a person based on the belief that a person would commit a crime. But then you just shook your head, realizing it was a sci fi movie. No way that could happen in real life. (Cue the creepy twilight zone music.) Stuff just got real!

I work in law enforcement. When I originally heard about this "Cannibal Cop" case I thought, WTF? Crazy psycho deserves to rot in prison for planning to kill his wife (mother of their child) and various other women. Lock him up and throw away the key. But then I got this book. What an eye opener! I'm shocked by how many laws the US Attorneys told and scared and shocked even more how a jury could hear both sides of this fascinating case and still conclude that Gil Valle was guilty.

Don't get me wrong. Gil's fantasies are twisted! Some of the stuff I read in this book made my stomach turn, but when I really stopped to think about it I realized it was definitely no worse, in fact it was probably tamer than some of the things Stephen King and Jack Ketchum have written about and those two make a lot of money off their novels. As an aside to Gil, maybe take some of those chats and your innate story telling skills and write some horror novels.

I'm glad Gil has been released. I sincerely hope he's able to get his life back in order and try to put this insane, horrible experience with the justice system behind him. The title is perfect. He really did get a Raw Deal. Good luck Mr. Valle.

The book is fascinating. It's a quick read. Biased to Gil's side of course, but after the blatant lies from the attorneys and FBI someone needs to come to Gil's defense. I'm glad he told his side of the story and I enjoyed the book. Definitely recommend to any true crime fan.

Netgalley ARC received for an honest review.

Fascinating look into thought crimes and one man's fight against his conviction.

I first off have to say iv never read a book like this, whilst I read a lot of true life books this is the most intimate one iv read.
It really got me thinking if everything we thought in our head was public knowledge wouldn't we all be in prison at some point? ( Iv certainly thought about of running over people who annoy me ) but to have your sexual fantasies ( however strange) made public then end up in prison over them although they were never acted on is horrifying.
This book certainly gets you thinking both from a moral and legal point of view.
Would recommend to everyone.