A Serial Killer's Daughter by Kerri Rawson is an incredible look into the lives of a serial killer's family. What they knew and what they didn't know and how they deal with the aftermath.

I loved this book as it gave information about BTK but it also focused on the family and how they reacted, how they dealt with everything. A lot of books about serial killers focus on the victims but often family members, spouses, children of the killer are also victims. This story brings them to light.

A must read for anyone into True Crime.

So, I was not into this book. I wanted it to be so much more than what it is.
I would definitely say DO NOT read this if you are not super religious. I must have missed that memo, and In turn, was pretty uncomfortable with all of the scriptures and prayer.
I was expecting more info about the actual case, and that was my bad.
I will say that I enjoyed the chapter that outlined the hiking trip in the Grand Canyon, that seemed like a good time.
I feel for Kerri, and I know that she has been through Hell. I appreciate the opportunity to read into her life.
Thanks #netgalley.

Kerri Rawon details the trauma she faced when she learns the man she knew as her father turned out to be a serial killer named BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill), who killed at least ten people over a thirty year span. The book goes into great detail about her faith in God, which, personally, I don't think she should have included in the book. I know some people are religious and like to include their religion in every aspect of their life. With that being said, the title of the book is slightly misleading because of the amount of religion she includes in the book.

This review was written for NetGalley and Nelson Book. I received a free copy for an honest review.
What is it like to learn that your ordinary, loving father is a serial killer? Kerri Rawson writes an insightful and honest perspective of another side of her father, the BTK killer. She relates her growing up years with her father and shows a couple of traits that could have been clues but also shows a man of master deception. I was happy to see how supportive her husband was and how he helped her to overcome her PTSD and gave her the courage to go on with her life. I found the book hard to put down and I would recommend it to those who love true crime stories.

We never really consider what the evil person's family has to go through after their act. Interesting read that gives us a look at what the loved ones of a killer deal with. Kerri does a wonderful job of dissecting her feelings and emotions after finding out her fatther was BTK. Parts of the book dragged on and probably couldn't been shorter to keep the reader engaged. Thank you netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

I liked the idea but the religious aspect was a bit much for me. I know faith was mentioned in the subtitle but I didn't realize how much would be in the book. I feel bad for her and if she needs fairytales to get her through, I get it but it wasn't terribly interesting.

First, I want to say how brave I think the author was to write this book. You rarely hear from the family of people convicted of violent crimes, especially serial killers. It was interesting to see inside her life growing up, and what kind of father BTK was. But, at times, the book was a little slow. For example, I think too much time was devoted to the Grand Canyon hike, and I hard a hard time muddling through that.

I had never thought of what the family was going through as PTSD or of all of the therapy they would need to get past their family member's crimes and especially the day they found out who their loved one really was. Makes sense to me now, but just had never thought of it as PTSD!

Through the support of an amazing husband and her re-found faith in God, Kerri Rader Rawson has been able to make a wonderful life and family for herself. The journey was harder than many of us could endure, but she has come out of it with a very fulfilling faith and life.

Like so many i've always had a fascination with serial killers. What happened to make them the way they ended up, what goes through their heads etc. I've never really given much thought to the family they leave behind and the mess the family then has to deal with. This story is about the daughter of the BTK killer and her life with her Dad along with the aftermath she had to deal with it. It did touch on her faith but I didn't feel it was a religious book with preaching but rather touched upon her journey with her faith and how it helped her through the after and touched on her struggles.

As a reader readers I think this title is misleading. Yes Kerri is the daughter of a serial killer but this story lacks the true crime story line was promoted to readers. The story lacks focus and long winded stories. The story is more about Kerri Childhood and when she found out about her father being a serial killer but moves quickly though parts of the history quickly when true crimes would be more focus on the crimes instead of her memories.

If this story was promoted more as a religious memoir I think the author would be able to find a different audience. Thank you Netgalley and publisher Thomas Nelson for Kerri Rawson A Serial Killers Daughter.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

I probably should have paid more attention to the title of this book because it is exactly what it says it is...a story of faith, love and overcoming. The author's father is the BTK serial killer and I read it hoping for more background on the dark, sinister side of the author's father. Learning about the family dynamic was really interesting, but I wanted more of that. There is a fairly heavy focus on religion which wasn't as much of an interest to me, but I could see that appealing to other readers. Kerri is a really good writer.

Note: This book is categorized as a Netgalley Review. I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and Thomas Nelson in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I was browsing through Netgalley one morning, requesting advanced copies of various books that I was looking forward to, when I came across Kerri Rawson’s memoir, A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming. See, Kerri Rawson’s dad is Dennis Rader, known more commonly as the BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) killer. I’ve never hit the “Request” button so fast in my life.

I don’t know too much about BTK, but I certainly didn’t know he had a daughter, and I was really excited to read her perspective on what it was like to grow up with a dad like that. I was expecting an interesting true crime memoir. Instead, I read a moving story of forgiveness and moving on from tragedy.

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TW: violence, descriptions of murder, emotional abuse, physical abuse, anxiety, depression, PTSD

Kerri Rawson’s world is turned upside down on February 25, 2005, when an FBI agent appears on her doorstep in Michigan and tells her that her father is BTK, who has been terrorizing Wichita, Kansas. Kerri tries to place the loving, adventurous dad she had known her whole life alongside this man who killed and tortured ten people.

In her memoir, she talks about her experience growing up with her dad and how her life changed so dramatically when he was arrested. Kerri writes honestly about trauma, guilt, her struggle with mental illness, and her journey to forgiveness.

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Rawson starts the book by talking about the day her dad was arrested. She then moves to the beginning—how her parents met and her own childhood. I was surprised by how absolutely normal her dad seemed, given what I knew of the violent nature of his crimes. Near the end of book, as Rawson looks back, she talks about remembering some times that her dad was more violent or emotionally abusive to her, her mom, or her brother. While I was at first surprised that she didn’t put these recovered memories in chronological order in the narrative, it makes sense. Things can seem fine or normal in the moment. It’s with retrospect that you can see the damage.

The writing is really conversational. It felt like sitting down with a friend over coffee, listening while she told you about her life. Given the content, the book was easy to read and I got through it in a day. Rawson has a good sense of when to linger in a moment and when to move on.

In the last part of the book, Rawson details the aftermath of her father’s arrest. She shares some letters that they wrote to each other while he was incarcerated and she doesn’t shy away from her brutal anger at him or the way PTSD flashbacks debilitated her. Rawson is a Christian and she is very open about how hard it was for her to forgive her father for the way he broke apart her family with his actions.

That part was hard to read. As a Christian myself, I tend to struggle with forgiveness, and Rawson’s testimony was inspirational. I don’t know if I would make the same choices she does (like continuing to write to her dad), but this is her life, not mine.

This book is interesting and challenging, less a biography of BTK and more of the story of a woman trying to come to terms with the way a man ripped her family (and so many others) apart. I can’t recommend it enough.

I will admit it: I am a true crime addict. Books, documentaries, articles....you name it and I will devour it so it really takes a lot to make me sit down and think twice about something. Kerri Rawson has made me think.

Of all the books I have read about serial killers and mass murderers (and it's kind of a lot) I have never read a book written by the child of one of those killers until now. I am in awe at the strength this woman must have to be able to put so much into writing this book. Every honest and raw detail is right there for the world and it is incredible.

The first half of A Serial Killer's Daughter mainly focuses on Rawson's childhood and her misplaced faith. Honestly that wasn't the book I was looking forward to reading so even though it does give some interesting insight to her relationship with her father and God, I didn't feel that pull I was expecting had to question the reasoning behind the book. I started getting the impression that Rawson was simply writing a memoir and using her father's crimes to sell it, rather than telling the story the book had advertised. Honestly, I thought about simply putting it down and calling it a day.

Don’t pull out the pitchforks yet…I’m not finished.

I was compelled to continue the book. Maybe it was the constant foreshadowing at the end of each chapter (which drove me absolutely insane, by the way) but something was telling me that this was a story I needed to read and I had to keep going. Whatever that something was…was right! Once I struggled through reading about Rawson’s childhood, the father she had known growing up and her losing battle with her faith I flew through the remainder of the book. It facinatined me to have that inside look at Rader’s arrest and how the family dealt with the notoriety that came with it. We always think about the victims but never realize that those the criminal left behind are victims too and Rawson really opened my eyes to the other side of this story. She doesn’t go into great detail about the murders her father had committed over the years, which is fine, the book isn’t about him anyway, but she does give a very real and honestly account of how she felt and managed during this time of her life.

Very real and incredibly raw, Rawson brings every skeleton out of her closet in A Serial Killer’s Daughter. Although I am not a religious person, I respect that she brought her struggle with her faith into the open as well. She has a story to tell and this is a must read for crime addicts as well as anyone struggling through life. Honestly, everyone can take something beneficial away from this book.

I have, and will continue to, recommend this book to everyone looking for something a little different to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to read and provide my honest opinion.

A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love and Overcoming by Kerri Rawson is by a woman who is the daughter of BTK. Given this occurred in Kansas, I was quite familiar with Kerri's father's crimes. However, this story, above all else, was about Kerri. It was about the before of her life and then the after. Before, she was living a relatively normal life, as she went to school, college, got married, etc. Then, there was the after as she discovers (along with the rest of the world) that her father is Wichita's most notorious serial killer. Everything she thought she knew is different now in an unimaginable realization. Throughout, Kerri tells a honest and authentic story. She shares the depths of her emotions as she reflects on the before of her life, and then had to process everything that was revealed about the man she thought she knew. This was an incredibly powerful read as she centers her story in a reality that she could have never imagined. She shares how she struggles, especially with her own mental health and grief, and she also shares where she found comfort and even forgiveness. it was an emotional read, but again, it was Kerri taking ownership of her story and showing how she has found a way through it all.

I've always enjoyed reading about the lives of serial killers and to find a book about one of the killers I find the most interest was amazing. This book was really good however because it wasn't another account of what Dennis Raider AKA BTK did. It was partly that but it was mostly about how his daughter viewed it, and how
she reacted to the news that her loving father was a serial killer. It was very sad to read this book because you can tell that the woman loved her father because he was her father and she had fond memories but you can also tell from her words how much she hates what he did. I can't imagine having to go through something so terrible. I found this book very interesting and I had to see what happened. This book was also good because of
all of the emotion that was in it. It wasn't just a factual retelling it had a lot of feeling put into the pages. Great book you won't want to put it down once you open it so get ready for a marathon read.

This was really boring. I kept losing interest. I didn’t need to know the minute details of a summer camping trip in the early 90s to understand that BTK masqueraded as a good father for decades. I wanted to hear about the process of reconciling the father and the serial killer. That’s why I wanted to read this book. However, I don’t need the author’s entire life story to get there.

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I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.

Real. Raw. Brave. Startling. "A Serial Killer's Daughter" doesn't hold back any of the feelings of Kerri Rawson as she lived and survived learning of the horrors committed by the father she truly loved. Thankfully not overly descriptive or gruesome, but a fact-filled account of the BTK serial killer's impact on his family. How two very different men could live in one body and murder children and adults alike and remain free for so long is difficult to comprehend. Kerri describes her actions, her her thoughts, conflicts and doubts with raw emotion. She also shares her spiritual journey and how she draws strength from the Lord through it all. A five star book for Christians and non-Christians alike, I found it difficult to put down and when I did, it remained fresh in my mind. Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy to review.

An interesting, personal story, providing insights and perspectives about what it means to discover your life has been basically a lie. Some of the narrative is inconsequential to the author's thesis, but an interesting read about one woman's overcoming trauma and startling revelations.

When you find an FBI agent outside your house you would probably think the worst but nothing could have prepared Kerri Rawson for what she was about to learn. Raised in a Christian household, close to other family members on her mom and dad's side she spent most of her time with them and outside if she could. Although Kerri and her brother knew to keep on their dad's good side their lives were pretty good but all this meant nothing when she learned her father was a serial killer, having been arrested and identified as BTK, someone Kerri had been more than aware of all her life without realising she actually lived with him.

I wasn't sure what to expect as Kerri was not only so closely and personally linked to such a sadistic killer, but also was a committed Christian, something I most definitely am not. What I found was a book written in an easy, open manner by a woman not afraid to show how her life had been shattered without feeling sorry for herself or forgetting that the families of her father's victims had suffered far more.

There is a strong message of hope within this book and I really wanted Kerri and her family to emerge the other side of their nightmare with the courage to live their own lives in the way the majority of us wouldn't give a second thought to. That she struggled with her faith, her ability to forgive, to even get out of bed in the morning wasn't hidden or glossed over in any way and I admired her and her fortitude far more than I thought I would. I finished the book hoping she can find a lasting peace, for herself and those who have suffered alongside her.

I was able to read a copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and the publishers and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys true crime biographies or books with a history that has to be overcome through personal strength and faith of some kind.

When learning about a serial killer - do you ever wonder about his friends and family? Wonder what it was like for them to learn this about someone they loved or if they had always known there was something off? Kerri Rawson gives us the answers of her experience in this book - learning she is the daughter of a serial killer.

The book starts on a cold February day when an FBI agent shows up at Kerri’s apartment to tell her that her father is in custody and to question her. On that day, Kerri loses a sense of the self identity she has always known and gains a new identity - BTK’s daughter.

Kerri is very honest in her book of all the complicated feelings that come at every part of learning that someone she loved very much had a secret second life going on that none of them had any clue about. She shares stories from her childhood - seen now through a different lens - like learning her father committed a murder just a month after a family vacation.

In college, Kerri called her dad for advice on whether to move to a certain apartment. It had a sliding glass door which made her nervous since when she was little she heard of a neighbor who was killed after someone broke her glass door with a cinder block. Kerri’s dad told her the apartment looked safe and she moved in. Later she learned her father was the killer who had broken that neighbor’s glass door.

After learning the full extent of her father’s crimes and the 10 people he killed, Rawson wrote:

“Seven families were destroyed by my father, never to be the same again. Eight: his family — my family — too. My family — not his, no longer his. No longer his.”

Thank you Kerri for sharing your story and all the complicated feelings of your world being turned upside down on that February day that divided your life into Before and After. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for providing a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.