"A Serial Killer's Daughter" by Kerri Rawson is the story of Kerri, not just her dad who is the convicted BTK killer. Before you throw this book out saying oh she is just trying to make her dad look no that is not it at all. She is sharing how she grew up with a man as a dad that she had no idea led a behind the scenes life of being a serial killer. It does start out with her giving some history of her dad's life before he married her mom and their life together before she was born. But most of the book is about her life with her dad and how she thought he was a normal dad. I chose to read this book because we have a tendency as a society that serial killers also create victims of their family. What do I mean by that well their families think everything is normal and that serial killers are someone else. They have hopes and dreams of a normal life and the serial killer especially when they are caught have killed their hopes and dreams. She writes on how she was broken by her dad's arrest and how she did at first did not think it could be true. But over time she had to come to terms with how her dad is a psychopath and that she was also a victim. She never glorifies her dad she just talks about him like he was any other dad but she does realize as the years go on past his arrest that he was emotionally abusive to her family and that was a hard pill to swallow. I liked this book as she focuses on her faith helping thru things and it was a reminder to me not to treat the families or friends of serial killers horrible as most of the time they had no idea and they are victims of the killer themselves. I highly recommend this book especially since we never truly know every person in our lives.


I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Chilling horrifying heartbreaking read.Kerri Rawson discovers that the father she loves is a serial killer the infamous B.T.K. Killer.She shares with us her real raw emotional journey.She is an amazing young woman this is a fascinating read.
#netgalley #nelsonbooks

As a true crime lover, I found this book to be interesting and offered up a truly unique perspective on a very famous case. It’s so important to give voices to the victims but we often forget that the family of the perpetrator are victims too. Some people had said that the book was super preachy but I didn’t think it was.

I can only imagine how shocking it would be to learn your own father had murdered ten people!! Kerri has done a good job of showing how her shock, pain, and just incomprehension of the father she knew being a killer hit her hard and affected her life.

The writing is pretty good - very descriptive - but seemed a bit repetitive at times. For me, the book bogged down in the middle with so much time and attention going to the hiking trip with her father, brother and cousin. I can see where she wanted to show how he was as a father, but that could have been accomplished in less words and time.

Knowing how the media latches on to any story like this, it would probably be even worse for the family if this had happened now rather than years ago. I felt so sorry especially for Kerri's Mother. The whole family experienced such a loss - of their husband , father, brother, son - and of their innocence. Something like this would make you second guess everything you remember about your past and question how you couldn't have known what he was like. In retrospect, they realized there had been signs of Dennis's abnormality - his sudden anger, choking Brian twice, etc. but no one could be expected to leap to the conclusion from those incidents that he was a serial killer. The family was in no way at fault and yet they suffer for his crimes.

The religious aspects of the book might turn some people off, but they were a saving grace for Kerri.

Kerri grows up with her parents & brother in Kansas during the time that the BTK killer terrifies their neighborhood and surrounding community. Years later, Kerri finds an FBI agent at her door in Michigan, and learned that her father was arrested as the BTK killer, and he confessed to the murders. Kerri explains the utter confusion and dismay that their family goes through - her father committed his first murder before she was even born. She openly shares about the PTSD and emotional struggles that she has encounter since her father's arrest. The book was interesting though it's so hard to comprehend what they had to go through, as well as what the families of the victims went through. The flow of the book was a little jagged for me with some flashbacks to youth that seemed a little disjointed to me.

Wow! That is all that I can say about this book. I read this and was amazed at the inner strength that the author possesses. I do not think I would be as strong as her if I found out I was related to a serial killer. This was such an interesting and unique read.

This book is written by the daughter of Dennis Rader, the notorious BTK killer from Wichita, Kansas. Kerri Rawson details the father she thought she had: a protective, church-going, compliance officer through her childhood and early adulthood, until, one cold February day, she is told that her father is a serial murderer. One wonders how the family survived this mind-boggling revelation.
Rawson does a good job of explaining the aftermath of her father's arrest, and how she and her family coped.

As someone who has lived in Park City, KS for the last twenty years, I couldn't not read this book. I've been a true crime reader for 30 years, long before I moved to the area, and having BTK arrested in a place that was home to me was jarring. Reading this book -- one of dozens of true crime books I've read over the years -- and knowing the places she mentions and having lived much of the same life made me think and evaluate. However, I would not actually classify this as true crime, but more of a memoir of a person who in unfortunately thrust into a true crime world. I'm not a devout Christian and much of the faith based parts of the book were not my thing, but the author writes from the heart and gives you her authentic experience. It's great that she was able to finally found peace through her beliefs. This is a story of a childhood, a betrayal, and how she came to be able to find a life with the knowledge of that betrayal. Not necessarily a must read if you're looking for true crime details, but it's an interesting journey to take.

Thank you to Net Galley, Nelson Books and the author for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I will say that I'd purchased a copy, then, the same day received the ARC. I should also say that I am an online sleuth, so I'm more than picky about true crime. That said, I'm afraid this book will be a bit misclassified. If true crime scares you, this won't. I'm also seeing it classified as Christian. Yes, she references God, but I wouldn't call it a Christian title. I think, forced to choose a genre, I think I'd have to go with Memoir. This book touched me to my core. It's so easy to stand on the sidelines and wonder how a serial killer's family "should" have known, or why it happened, but Kerri shows us that it's not as black and white as you'd think. As a daughter, how in the world do you now live your life, knowing your past really was a lie? I hope that Joseph DeAngelo's daughter's (the Golden State Killer) get a chance to read this, or connect with Kerri, because they are all part of a horrifying club you can't wish away. This book is honest, and raw, poignant and well done. Highly recommended.

This is such a sad story. This was a truly inconceivable story. When we watch the stories of Serial Killers, we forget that they not only have parents, but some may even have children.
This is the story Kerri Rawson tells of her life with her father Dennis Lynn Rader, the BTK Killer (Bind, Torture, Kill) He killed ten innocent people, two of them being children over three decades. During this time, he is the head of a family. Loving to his wife, Paula; to bring his daughter Kerri “to ease” when she needed to be soothed, and caring to his son, Brian. Kerri was never uncertain of her father’s love for her.
While she struggles with her faith throughout her life because their family suffers so much loss and their grief is huge, she tells us the story about how she dealt with her life and how her father seemingly dealt with the same circumstances.
You learn that the BTK Killer left behind more then ten victims. His entire family suffered the consequences of his actions.
The question is; will they recover?

A Serial Killer’s Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming

I approached this book with my mind and feelings completely open and was really surprised how much I came away with from it. Kerri Rawson is fresh and likable as she tells her story of growing up in her family in Kansas. She describes it as just a totally normal, semi-dysfunctional family who works, goes to school, has vacations. Pretty typical family, it seems. She comes across very real as she shares her story and I find it like reading something a friend could be relating about what a really awful period in their life was like. The situation is just so unimaginable, and I just felt horrible for Kerri and her family, and all of the families.

It gets a little bit repetitive on a few things, the spiritual theme, and other items that come up repeatedly perhaps after a while, but if that helped her get through all of what she describes well, more power to her. What I didn’t expect were some of the stories of situations she ended up in growing up with her dad that turned harrowing that she shares. In hindsight, she, of course, sees them differently after she learns of his killing past. I found this book better than I expected and well laid out. I’m glad I purchased this very heartfelt book, as it told so much more than just the BTK aspect of the family. They became real people to me by the midst of the book, not just headlines, due to her writing.

Kerri Rawson gives a unique perspective as the daughter of a famous serial killer. Her story will send chills up your spine. To her, he was her father, but he was actually an evil killer. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in true crime.

“A Serial Killer’s Daughter” is a courageous memoir by Kerri Rawson who is the adult daughter of Dennis Rader. Rader is the notorious serial killer known as BTK.

Rawson’s memoir is hard to put down and I really am impressed with her honesty and bravery.

The book focuses more on her spirtual journey to find forgiveness for her father than I was expecting. Still, this is a good read.

Kerri Rawson has shared a heart wrenching story that we could never imagine. To have woken one day and the idea of a perfect childhood with a doting Dad. Vanished. She learned the truth. Her beloved Father was the BTK killer. A remarkable story about seeing the cold hard truth and not letting it make you a hardened person.

Brilliant book.. couldnt put down. In fact read in one night.. daughter so brave telling her story..

It took courage for her to tell this deeply personal story. I feel she actually wrote this book herself, which gave me a more personal feel, but also left some of the finesse and polish from the book stylistically. I think it could have done with a better editor to make the story stay on track better and just to make it a more well-rounded novel.

When I first picked up A Serial Killer's Daughter I thought I would be in for an interesting read. What I hadn't counted on was a thrill ride that grabbed me from the first page. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to finish this book. Ms. Rawson writes so well that it was easier to get a grip on the pain she has felt from her father's crimes. Fortunately, she has an ace in the hole with her faith in her heavenly Father to sustain her.