Cover Image: THE CASE OF THE GOLDEN STATE KILLER

THE CASE OF THE GOLDEN STATE KILLER

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Member Reviews

When I read the first book that went along with this podcast series, I struggled a lot with how the book was essentially just a transcript of the podcast, with no effort to rework the dialogue into actual written prose. This didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book, though, because it still gave some interesting information and was more or less a quick read. Either way, I liked the first one enough to pick up the second one, because I knew that the authors gave good, in-depth information, and it was a case I was interested in. Despite that, though, this book still disappointed, in the exact opposite ways that the previous book did.


The first thing I noticed when picking up this book was that they had changed the style in which it was written. The Case of the Zodiac Killer was just a straight up transcript, which was boring to read. Especially with true crime, I wanted something that was fast-paced, but the Criminology podcast adaptations just seemed to be the exact opposite. Where the Zodiac Killer book just copy and pasted from the podcast, it was obvious that more effort went into the writing of the Golden State Killer book. This one wasn't just a straight transcript, instead all of the facts being written down as if someone were telling it to the reader. This was much better to read, if not a lot longer. At first, I was prepared for this compromise, especially because it gave less personality to the speakers and more life to what was actually being written.


However, this came with it's own issues. And when I say 'longer,' I mean obnoxiously long for reading the same description of events over and over and over again. That's the thing with the GSK: he knew what worked, so he kept doing the same thing over and over again. He broke into the houses in a very specific manner, he had a script that he used, he had a system to things, so that if anything went wrong, he knew to high-tail it out of there. So even though the descriptions and writing got better, you still had to read the same description of events over and over and over again. The authors wanted to get to every single case and victim, which I understand wanting to do, but 50 pages would have 3 victims with the same exact descriptions. Nothing changed until over three-quarters of the way through, when the GSK graduated to murders. This is when the book started going faster and I no longer felt like I was wading through pudding to get to the end of this book.


One thing that I found that I enjoyed greatly in this book was that they included interviews with not just detectives and investigators, but also victims and witnesses and family members. I found these interviews extremely interesting, as it gave another point of view that I wasn't expecting to get. When you read a true crime novel, you're expecting an impersonal description of events in order to get the information across as accurately as possible. But adding this aspect into the book was so helpful to understanding the true aspect of what was going on. Too often people romanticize events like these because they are so impersonal in the way they're told (think Ted Bundy). To me, this was a way to impart the true pain that was caused by the GSK's actions.


Final Rating: ★★★☆☆
Overall?


It's odd, because while they reworked the aspects that I really struggled with in the first one, it seems like they over-corrected. They took away the direct transcription, but the case was so repetitive that it made the book so long and boring to get through. And while I really enjoyed the interviews and all of the information that was given, other things distracted from that. Another thing that I noticed, which may have been because I was reading the e-ARC copy, was the amount of typos. I swear, there was one or two every. single. page.


Would I Recommend?


While I haven't read other books on this case, I almost want to say that I would recommend reading something else. I know that I'll be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara is highly recommended for this case, but I haven't read that one personally, and when I did start reading it, it seemed more of like a memoir on McNamara. Either way, I think this book is a solid choice if you're okay with rereading some repetitive descriptions. The interviews are really interesting, and the last couple chapters delve into the fact that the perpetrator in this case, which had gone 40-years unsolved, was caught in 2018 thanks to forensic genealogy. I thought that this was a really unique area, because how many books about unsolved cases can pop in at the end and say "Hey, nevermind! They got him!"

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Basically a transcript of several seasons of a podcast covering the Golden State Killer, who was recently identified and arrested. Very repetitious. Covers every rape and murder. The killer followed the same script every time.

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I listened to this on audiobook while reading it and it scared the absolute hell out of me. I probably should have started with a tamer true crime before jumping into this.

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True crime is my genre and I am always fascinated how the killer is brought to justice. It took investigators 40 years to identify this particular rapist/killer due to not having DNA available back in the 1970s.
The book is written in the form of a podcast and takes place in California. The rapist is originally called the East Area Rapist and the also the Golden State Killer and it takes years to tie the two together. Many women were raped and many couples killed as the perpetrator moved around. Due to the very nature of the investigation, there is a lot of repetition which does not help the flow of the book. Overall it is interesting, but awful for the victims. Thanks to modern day DNA and the persistence of the investigators, this killer was finally identified.

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First, thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an e-galley of this book.

I enjoyed this book so much! I listen to the Criminology podcast, and have followed the stories of the Golden State Killer. It is so amazing that during the podcast, and writing this book, that D'Angelo was actually caught, and that his DNA matches the DNA that was collected at several of the crime scenes.

If you have any interest in True Crime or The Golden State Killer, this is a must-read!
#NetGalley #TheCaseoftheGoldenStateKiller

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This book was not for me. It was not I had expected and the style of the book left me not interested.

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This is it folks. The astonishing discovery of who the Golden State Killer was. And I like to use the word "was", cause it's all over now, Baby Blue. Thank god.
Extremely engrossing. Very well written. Morford and Ferguson will probably get famous because of this book and that's cool. This is all about the rapes and murders of the 70s, due to one guy who I won't be naming, all up and down beautiful, idyllic California. Except CA isn't really the way it looks, is it?
Terrific non fiction at it's scary best.

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Amazing documentation of one person's commit to truth and justice. While there were a lot of details I sometimes got lost in, it is amazing the access the public has to police records and information about individuals. It is sad that our justice system does not have the means to do this work themselves. Strongly recommend if you are interested in criminal justice, journalistic investigation and commitment to something you believe in.

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The Case Of The Golden State Killer By Michael Morford & Michael Criminology The True Crime Podcast Presents: The East Side Rapist also known as The Original Night Stalker and The Golden State Killer from 1974-1986
First let me say this book broke my heart. The book was informative and put together well, with indepth interviews. I take my hat off to the woman that were brave enough to be interviewed for this podcast. This man was a true monster , how could one person have such a profound effect on so many lives? I had no idea that the ERA had raped teens as well as adult woman. It sickens me that he got away with 12 some say 13 senseless murders and over 50 vicious rapes and went on to live a uneventful life until DNA technology caught up with him on April 2018- his first words were "But I have a roast in the oven"as the swat team was all around his house, we will see what happens to him in court. The lives of his victims and there loved ones were changed forever. It was hard to believe he was a Police Officer taking the oath to Protect and Serve and a Vietnam Vet, he may have even meet some of his victims through his job. The thought of him being in the same house as precious children, using threats saying shut up or I'll kill your child. At the scene of one of the rapes he tied the child to the post of the bed while he raped this young boy's mother. There was a detectives that took his notes to a therapist that stated "This man wants to KILL" before he ever did she sure had her finger on the button. Thank God for DNA technology and them now being able to solve murders and other crimes through Genealogy Sites used by us to trace are Ancestry. They are solving more and more crimes from the past if there is still DNA swabs on hand. The podcast was a great way to give the victims, survivors and family members a voice.

Thanks to WildBlue Press keep up with the informative books
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#amazon
#goodreads

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The Case of the Golden State Killer is the second book in the Criminology series which focuses on different unsolved cases. The first book focused on the Zodiac killer and season two focuses on the Golden State Killer. Criminology is a popular true crime podcast hosted by veteran podcaster Mike Morford, and true crime researcher/blogger Mike Ferguson.

Criminology Season Two: The Case of the Golden State Killer examines the story of the most notorious serial rapist and murderer in American history. Also known as the East Area Rapist/Original Night Stalker, he is responsible for at least 12 murders, 50 or more rapes and 100 home break-ins and burglaries from 1974 to 1986.

The book is a complete transcript of the Criminology podcast with all the 15 episodes but it also has additional commentary, photographs, original handwritten documents, and rare police investigation files. The book also contains some rare interviews & quotes of the investigators, the witnesses and also the survivors. The level of research that has gone into this book is really top notch. This book covers every possible crime committed by the killer in great detail; from the background of the victims to the events as they happened on the day of the crime. It also attempts to find a common link between the crimes committed under different aliases. Even minute details like; letters to editors, a chance encounter with a stranger or even a rare mistake by the killer, which can offer vital clues, are covered, which is really commendable.

Book #1 of the series on the Zodiac killer was one of the best true crime books I have read and this book falls a bit short of the benchmark it had set. It covers every crime in detail (almost 50 odd) and the killer’s MO is so similar you will feel like you are re-reading the same information over and over again. It’s not only repetitive but also disturbing. The authors could have instead focused on the subtle details missed by the readers. The much loved ‘conversation style’ of narration of the first book has been changed. The photos and exhibits are all bunched together at the end instead of going with the narrative flow. A chapter discussing various suspects, like in book #1 was missed.

The best part of the book is the chapter on the killer’s arrest. Thanks to some fine police work & DNA evidence, The Golden Gate killer was finally arrested on April 24th, 2018 at the age of 72. While, he still awaiting trial, the victims can finally expect some justice. The book covers not only how we was finally hunted down but also his whole background and his whereabouts during the crimes, which answers a lot of questions about the case.

Overall, If you like the true crime genre or are interested in knowing more about the Golden Gate Killer, this is one the book you should read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, WildBlue Press and the authors Michael Morford & Michael Ferguson for the ARC.

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I wish you could've seen my face when I saw this on Netgalley. As you know, I have been...we'll go with "very interested" in this case since I started listening to My Favorite Murder and then read I'll Be Gone in the Dark and THEN when he was caught. 

I haven't listened to the Criminology podcast yet, so I don't know how similar that is to this book. On its own merits, though, this book is definitely a must-read. It's more detached than I'll Be Gone in the Dark, and there is new information in this. It also benefits from the fact that we now know who the Golden State Killer is. (Allegedly.)

A lot of the information is the same, granted, but this book has interviews with survivors and investigators (as did I'll Be Gone in the Dark) but it still is a completely different reading experience.

If you have true crime fans to buy presents for, pick this up. Recommended.

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Thankyou to NetGalley, Wild Blue Press and the authors, Michael Morford and Michael Ferguson, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Case Of The Golden State Killer in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
I thought this book was well presented. I really like the way it was set out and found it very informative. A really good example of a true crime book. Will definitely be reading more from these authors.

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I have no words, this book is a fantastic example of what a true crime book should be! The book includes in-depth I formation, from evidence to witness testimonies, a true crime lovers perfect read

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I've read a lot on the Golden State Killer over the last year or so, and even more after he was arrested in April 2018. This book was well-researched and has some new information given directly from survivors and investigators through interviews. It's written almost as a conversation in many places, in much the same way as a podcast operates. This is a truly captivating true crime case - not just for the sheer number of victims (12 murders, 50+ rapes and countless burglaries and other smaller offenses), but for the elusive nature of the killer. His reign of terror began as early as 1973 and continued through the mid-80s yet the police had no clue to his identity until earlier this year. This is a must-read for anyone interested in this case.

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*SOME DETAILS MAY BE CONSIDERED SPOILERS*

The East Area Rapist.

Original Night Stalker.

The Golden State Killer.

However, you know this man, it is sheer terror that he brought upon a 400 mile stretch of California over a 10-year period. Over this timeframe, he escalated from breaking and entering to murder. This killer evaded capture for 40 years!

This book captures the killer's routines, scripts, and planning that went into these chilling accounts. It also includes victims survival stories. It is heartbreaking, terrifying, tragic and horrific.

The book itself was well written, fast-moving. However a bit repetitive at times, but only because of the killers routine and covering different cases, the MO remained fairly consistent.  I could picture the events in my head, and knowing that this really happened to someone, was horrifying.

As I read this book, I couldn't even fathom the fear that these people experienced. The way that the book explains that this perpetrator accessed these houses that were locked,  some guarded by dogs, others that had guns in their nightstands. Yet, he was able to get in without issue and commit his crime. That was terrifying to me and made me wonder how many monsters like this are out there? How many monsters are out there preying on innocent people, that no matter the preparation, the criminal will get access and will commit their crime?  It is a scary thought.

At the beginning of the book, the killer had yet to be caught. However, because of the advancement of technology and the use of DNA to identify perpetrators, he was arrested in April of 2018. His next court date is December 2018.
RIVETING. CAPTIVATING.  HEARTBREAKING.
DARK. CREEPY. INTENSE. TERRIFYING

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This is the true story of a serial rapist turned murderer. With eye witness accounts and survivors telling their story of terror at the hands of this monster.
I found the book too long and repetitive for me. By the middle of the story you begin to lose interest because you know what's going to happen also the flow of the story is off, with it jumping all over the place. The book would be a lot more interesting and attention grabbing if it was shorter.

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This is a very interesting true crime story that was originally a podcast. It is a detailed book, includes many complete interviews. However, the very nature of writing a book from a podcast makes it sometimes difficult to follow the timeline. It does jump back in time, and of course, this is a part of tying the whole investigation together to reach the ultimate outcome. The writing is not smooth, no flow to the story. I sometimes lost interest as I felt I was just rereading the same information. If you love true crime, this is truly a fascinating, detailed look at a man who committed horrendous crimes for 30 years and remained under the radar. True crime book lovers will be the reading group for this book.

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The authors of this book are the hosts of an extremely popular podcast called Criminology, which delves in great depth into some major unsolved crimes. Their first season focussed on the Zodiac Killer and the second, which forms the basis for this book, on the Golden State Killer.

If you haven’t heard of the Golden State Killer, you wouldn’t be alone. Despite devouring many true crime books in my time, this was a new name to me. Reading this book, I was fascinated to discover how it was over twenty years after most of the crimes took place when DNA evidence tied together several different ‘strings’ of cimes; the rapes of the East Side Rapist in northern California and the Original Night Stalker killings of southern California among the most serious.

At times, chapters and sections in the book read almost like repetitions of each other, but that’s because the culprit developed an almost ironclad routine and rarely deviated from it over around fifty rapes… at least until he escalated to killing his victims.

Perhaps the most incredible thing about this account is that while the podcast series on the Golden State Killer was still running, and before this book was published, decades of investigation finally tied the DNA recovered from numerous crime scenes to a single man. Joseph James DeAngelo was identified as the culprit, arrested in April 2018 and is currently in prison awaiting trial for at least 12 murders and many other crimes, despite the statute of limitations having expired on the rapes he committed.

I could wish for a slightly better proofreading - there are quite a few errors in here like ‘blows reigning down on her’ which could easily have been picked up. But if you have an interest in this still-ongoing case, this book will give you some amazing insight into the degeneration of a serial killer, from robberies to stalking, rapes, and finally murder, through a detailed look at his crimes. Unfortunately, we will no doubt have to wait until after the trial and conviction of DeAngelo to discover all the details which are so far not public information. No doubt there will be many other books about the Golden State Killer in the years to come, but I doubt many of them will have so much comprehensive background, including transcripts of interviews with some of his victims.

Well worth a read, but I have to subtract a star for those disappointing proofreading issues. Four stars.

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Having just read Michelle McNamara's "Ill be Gone in the Dark", these series of crimes and investigations related to the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer were still digging deep into my mind. I lived that book, along with it's personal notes, for a week after closing the final pages.
This book, The Case of the Golden State Killer, is essentially from the podcast the two authors cast, which is vastly different from the former book. This book is similar in that it chronicles the entire timeline of what became the Golden State Killer's rampage on Northern California in the 1970's and 1980's. The book is made up of a lot of direct quotes of cops, victims, and survivors of the victims. Interesting, but not compelling.
What this book does include, is a small glimpse into the alleged murderer and rapist, discussing his life and the limited knowledge the authors have gleaned.
It's unfortunate that these authors have released their book after Ms. McNamara's book, as much of it, as one can imagine, is repetitive. Facts and timelines of murders and sexual assaults don't change. What is missing here, is the humanity of the crimes, and how it overwhelms the police and those investigating. It is unfortunate to have to compare the books, as they are written for different purposes, but with the same story.
If you love true crime, you will probably enjoy it. Just don't expect a lot of personal insight a la Ann Rule. It was initially a podcast that the authors put in book form once the murderer was arrested, some 40 years later.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for an e copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I recently read the Michelle McNamara book on the Golden State Killer and was very keen on finding out more about Joseph D'Angelo. Michelle died before he was arrested so was clearly unable to provide such information in her book. When I saw this book was newly released I hoped it would have more details on the Golden a State Killer's crimes as well as new information about Joseph D'Angelo. I was not disappointed. This book filled in a lot of gaps. I would like to see Morford and Ferguson follow the trial and do another book afterwards as there are so many questions that are still to be answered which will hopefully come out at trial.

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