This is the true story of Ronald Joseph Dominique, a prolific serial killer who is almost unknown outside of the Southern United States. Between 1997 and 2006 Dominique raped and strangled at least twenty-three men, most of them young, black and gay.

While the crimes were truly awful the story, as told here by author Fred Rosen, isn't very interesting. I know how that sounds; terrible, horrible crimes that are kind of dull? But it's true. I don't know if it is because killer Dominique is so bland as a person or because there are so many victims that it becomes just a blur of names and dates, but the story never really got my attention. There didn't seem to be a focal point for the structure of the narrative.

The two lead detectives on the task force - Lieutenant Dennis Thornton of Jefferson Parish and Detective Dawn Bergeron from Terrebonne Parish - were remarkable individuals who possessed "...advanced college degrees, allied with street smarts and a healthy lack of prejudice.." and the times when the author focuses on them are usually the more intriguing parts of the book.

The Bayou Strangler: Louisiana's Most Gruesome Serial Killer reads like an extended newspaper article. I don't know that I would recommend this book to anyone other than the most avid true crime aficionados.

***Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this title.

This was a hard book to read, the fact that those who were being killed were homosexual and not worth the bother in the eyes of the law at the time upset me. Knowing that being different made you less of a human being, and less of a priority, when others of the same orientation were being systematically killed was just wrong. I do not remember any of these murders being mentioned on the news during that time, showing even more, that the men being killed didn't matter. It's horrible that it took so long for the various police agencies to work together. If they had maybe they would have stopped the killings sooner. It's definitely worth the read for the true crime lover who hadn't heard of this episode in hate crimes.

Excellent book on Ronald J. Dominique, a little known serial killer in Louisiana. He was there during the time that Todd Derrick Lee was, so he was overshadowed. However, th is book is worth the read! It is very well researched and written. I had a hard time putting it down. If you enjoy reading about serial killers, especially ones that are not so popular or in the public eye as much, this is for you! Great book!

I have listened to Dan Zupansky's podcast, True Murder, for a long time now. Fred Rosen has been interviewed by Zupansky several times and he is always my favorite author. He is very thorough and quite animated. I was looking forward to reading this book and, as always, Rosen does not disappoint. This is a chilling account of a serial killer and murders that took place in the New Orleans area. If you like books of true crime, this is a good one and highly recommended!

Ronald Dominique was a Patti LaBelle impersonator, meter reader, pizza delivery guy, rapist, and serial killer. This is a look at his crimes, his confession and his sentencing.
When I read true crime I prefer a more matter of fact and less sensationalized approach. I would have liked to know more about his family and what drove him to these crimes and less about his "pulsating" slang for male sex organ. Not much of his family life was disclosed other than he may have been molested by a priest or he may have lied about it, and that his relatives made fun of him for being gay. Out of respect for the dead I would have liked to know more about his victims, other than some of them were gay and some of them were straight, and that most of them were seedy characters. I never felt fully engaged in the story due to the strange writing style. It seemed a bit awkward and clumsy.

The author's note states: "This story is based on primary, on-the-scene reporting in the bayous of Louisiana; the investigative transcript of the case; and extended interviews with the primary detectives."

This book tells the story of Ronald J. Dominique, who killed more victims than any other serial killer in the United States during the past two decades. His reign of terror took place around the same time frame that Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer, was on the loose in Kansas. However, Dominique's choice of prey kept his crimes low on the radar. The detectives that put the case together soon discover that when the victims are prostitutes, society, including law enforcement, really doesn’t care that much about them.

If Dominique had only chosen different victims, whose lives were more valued by society, then the state might have acted earlier to assemble a task force to track down this serial killer. Once the case broke open, the anonymity of the task force was whisked away and the public, the media, and the justice department demanded answers. Through it all the original detectives trudged along and slowly and methodically built their case and saw it through until the end. When all the dealing is done, Dominique's “kill total” was up to twenty-three, only three serial murderers were worse: Juan Corona, who killed twenty-five ranch laborers; John Wayne Gacy, who murdered thirty-three boys and men; and Ted Bundy, known to have murdered thirty-five women.

Part one gives background and focuses on majority of killings. Part two focuses on the relentless investigation. Part three focuses on building a case, tracking, and capturing Dominique. The investigative reporting and interviews from the primary detectives really add a lot to the content of this book.

I would recommend this book to fans of true crime. I received this as a free ARC from Open Road Integrated Media on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you like True-Crime this one is for you. Ronald J. Dominique was a prolific serial killer that had killed over twenty men during the late nineties and ending in 2006. I’m still scratching my head trying to come to terms as to how this man got away with his “kill-spree” for as long as he did. Dominique was sloppy, he would dump many of his victims in plain sight, not to mention he had narrowed his hunting grounds to such a small area that when a body was recovered several of the same investigators were called out to the scene. I refuse to think that his targeted victim was the main reason he wasn’t caught sooner, they were young gay black men. The youngest victim was in his late teens and I believe the oldest was in his early forties, they were all black but not all of them were homosexual. Dominque had several lures that he would use if they weren’t interested in having sex for money. This was very disgusting, he would have a photo of a young girl in which he would promise them they could have sex with back at his trailer. While he was prepping this would-be victim before he brought this “young girl” out the man got a good look at Dominque’s trailer of Terror and escaped. There are so many things about this case that baffles me like why didn’t one of these men turn the tables on this pudgy man and kill him instead?
As the body count kept rising, two ambitious investigators knew they had a serial killer on the loose and were able to form a state-wide Task Force. This would free them up to devote more time to go back re-interview acquaintances and family members of some of the victims. They found several common denominators in the case that led them to Dominque who had previously been jailed for a sexual offense before the killings began. They brought him in for questioning and he submitted a DNA sample which linked him to one of his first victims.
I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to write this review without going on a full rant. If you aren’t a real True-Crime fan I would pass on this one. It left me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, everything about Ronald J. Dominique just made my skin crawl. Mr. Rosen did a great job writing this book when it can make the reader feel such intense feelings of anger.
I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-galley in exchange for my honest opinion.


1 like

How was this man's crime not as well known as other serial killers? Was it because of who his victims were? Very interesting read, could not put down. What a monster Ronald J. Dominique. Please read this book. Everyone should read this book and realize what kind of people are in this world. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Very creepy. That was one icky guy. Well-written and researched. There was maybe a little too much liberty taken with internal thoughts and mannerisms, which made it somewhat campy at times. Otherwise, very good.

Here's the strange but true story of a white Louisiana serial killer that was roaming free for ten years killing mostly young attractive gay black men, more than twenty of them. And most of us will never have heard of him before. His name is Ronald Dominique. And we still wouldn't know about him if not for two super dedicated cops that went above and beyond to work to catch him.

While at roughly the same period in time, Derrick Todd Lee, an African American man was killing white women in the same state and he was on the news. There seemed to be no problem getting a task force up to go after him. Most of us knew about him and his victims. The sex and gender of the victims should not make such a big difference in when and whether these killers are caught. Or in whether the public should know about the crimes going on. People should be warned for their own safety when these guys are actively killing, so they can at least take some precautions. I was given an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.

This is a fascinating book about a serial rapist/strangler who preyed mostly on young gay black men although he did include some straight black and straight white men. He lured the men into his vehicle, bound, raped and strangled them. Thanks to two detectives from different precincts, the case was finally solved when they found someone who had managed to escape from this monster. This was a real page turner and I highly recommend it.

Ronald killed 23 m3n, tragically luring them to their death and yet the media virtually ignored the story of modern day evil because the victims were "family of the fringe", or nobody. Really as always with the media if there are not $$$ involved there is no outrage! This is an intense story of intense evil that you have probably never heard of. Lock your doors, cut on all the lights and don't forget; IT IS A TRUE STORY.

The Bayou Strangler is an engrossing real life story about the search for and the capture and conviction of a serial killer in Louisiana. I have received an advanced reader copy in exchange for a fair review. I have posted this review on Goodreads. Amazon will not accept my review until October 5,2017. I will post at that time. I'm sorry, I don't know how to find or post the links.

Very interesting!! Mr Rosen did a wonderful job written this book.

3.5 Stars.

Ronald J. Dominique....THE BAYOU STRANGLER....Never heard of him....And now I know why........

RJD was a serial killer who worked his evil in the state of Louisiana preying on young gay black men killing twenty-three between 1997-2006 before he was finally apprehended due to the perseverance of two law enforcement officers.

A gay man himself, Dominique lured his victims with promises of money and sex...and sometimes even a photo of a pretty girl, and after the act, proceeded to strangle, murder and dump his mark like a piece of trash....with no remorse.

"Only three serial murderers were worse: Juan Corona, who killed twenty-five ranch laborers; John Wayne Gacy, who murdered thirty-three boys and men; and Ted Bundy, known to have murdered thirty-five women."

AND, even though THE BAYOU STRANGLER killed more people than any other serial killer in the last two decades, the media types were just not interested in male on male rape or the murder of gay black men especially with the Kansas killer on the loose simultaneously pursuing white middle class.

Find out more about the two lead detectives of the task force, the investigation and the killer's unbelievably calm and unemotional confession during interrogation in this informative read.

Warning to those sensitive: the narration does include crude language and descriptive sex acts due to the nature of these horrific crimes.

Thank you NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.