I'd give it 2.5 stars. It wasn't a bad book just not informative or relevant. This book felt like he wanted to profit off of knowing a man that he really didn't know that much. There was a lot of detail of each of the killings but you can get that information from almost any book, I was looking for a personal perspective and this wasn't it. It felt like he wanted it to be personal but just couldn't get it there unless he was talking about himself. It's hard to explain what was lacking because it wasn't an awful book but it wasn't great either. Thank you NetGalley for the book.

I had no idea who this serial killer was, but it intrigued me to read about the neighbors /good friends perspective- as really you never truly know who your dealing with.

Decent read.

This book gives real insight into the ordinary lives of serial killers and the moments of opportunity that they expose their dark sides. Terrifying and fascinating.

This book fell flat for me. The writing was not the best which hindered the reading. The premise was a good one, just was not well executed. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving this book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book.
This is a deep dive into the life of a serial killer’s family. Between looking back on the odd behaviors that didn’t make sense until later and grappling with the fact that someone they love has done very bad things, the families of serial killers are often forced into difficult situations. In this book, we get to see the timeline of killings and normal life align for the Golden State Killer. This story is interesting as true crime and as a representation of how difficult it can be to reconcile the life of a murderer with that of someone you love. I enjoyed this book, although some spots were redundant. It has great, captivating writing that will keep you reading to the end.

Killers Keep Secrets sounded like it would be right up my alley. I am always interested in the stories of families or victim's families of famous crimes. We hear so much about the killers but I am always interested in the people impacted by them, so I often gravitate towards books like this. Unfortunately, this book didn't exactly deliver what I hoped it would.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy of this one - all opinions are my own.

This one was a little on the disappointing side - you can tell James Huddle is not a writer, and the story itself really doesn't offer much more insight into the home life of the Golden State Killer. It has potential to really delve into the interactions between James and his brother and law, but I would imagine that because the family did not support this book it limited what he could or could not share (fair enough).

An easy enough read however, one that you can fly through in a few hours for some easy entertainment.

Well written really interesting look at the GSk.The author was really informative kept me turning the pages very well written true crime thriller.#netgalley #killerskeepsecrets

This book is about the Golden State Killer; who is one of the more interesting killers in modern times being that he was only caught in 2018 in an really unusual way which I won’t ruin on people unfamiliar with the case.

The book is written by his ex wife’s brother, who spent a lot of time with him and considered him family. The fact the book is written from this perspective is the most interesting thing about the book, unfortunately once it goes over the family aspects the book sort of runs out of steam which is unfortunate as this is an extremely interesting case.

It’s a compelling and easy read, but a bit short.

This book was very imformative for someone who didn"t know that much about the Golden State Killer. Seeing Joe from Jame's perspective was vey interesting because there were so many red flags that were ignored. If Jame's had mentioned or shared some of the red flags he was seeing than maybe Joe would have been caught sooner and there would have been less crimes committed. I liked that at the end of the book we got some information on other killers who had similar trates.

I am fascinated by the Golden State Killer, thanks to I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, so when our thriller book group chose Killers Keep Secrets, I was thrilled. The prospect of reading about this serial murderer who went undetected for so long from the vantage point of a family member was exciting. Admittedly, I learned a few additional intriguing facts from reading James Huddle's account--only someone who knew him well could have some of the information shared here--but overall the book was just ok. Huddle is of course, not a writer by profession, and thus the story is not a read I would recommend unless you truly want to uncover every detail about this loathsome murderer.

3.5 stars. It was an interesting quick read. I wish there had been a little more to it about the GSK but I suppose he can only write about his own experiences. Nonetheless, it’s worth a read.

This was a really interesting look into what it's like to be the relative of a convicted serial killer. There is so much information out there about serial killers themselves, but it's rare to get a glimpse into how it impacts the family members, especially when they had no idea of the killer's double life.

It was very interesting to learn about how Joseph DeAngelo seemed like a normal husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend, all while terrorizing, raping, and killing people. It's hard to wrap my mind around how one person can live two totally different lives.

While this wasn't the most well written book in the world, and it certainly dragged through the middle (when the author detailed each and every crime), I overall found it to be a quick and engaging read that I think any true crime fan would enjoy.

Written by the brother-in-law of the, now caught, Golden State Killer, James Huddle recounts his time with Joseph James DeAngelo. Huddle discusses the GSK, life during that time, and how anyone could hold dark secrets. I read this story in a night and found it interesting to read about how a family learns and feels about having someone like DeAngelo in their family. I also found it interesting how Huddle discussed similarities between DeAngelo and other serial killers while also dispelling common myths about these types of people. Check this one out if you are a true crime fan or just want to learn more about horrible people like the Golden State Killer.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for the e-galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is written by the brother-in-law of the Golden State Killer. I had high hopes for the book - the title made me feel like I was about to get juicy insider gossip about DeAngelo. While the author was able to share some personal insight about his time of knowing DeAngelo, the book was a let-down overall.

Huddle spent so much of the book talking about himself, with things that did not even involve the GSK at all, and speculating about the GSK but then backtracking on his speculations. At the time it was written the GSK had not been convicted, so I'm sure that limited his writing quite a bit.

The writing was hard to follow throughout. The sentences were incredibly short and the writing jumped from topic to topic without transitions. I felt that much of the book was filler - there last 20% of the book was an overview of other serial killers with one to a few paragraphs per infamous serial killer - it just wasn't necessary. Huddle detailed the crimes of the GSK very strangely - for pages and pages he went on and on about the crimes with only 1-2 sentences per crime. I felt that his overview of the crimes was a disservice to those that lived through the crimes and their families.

I stuck it out with the book hoping that it would eventually give true insight into how Huddle reacted to his brother-in-law being arrested and accused of the crimes, but I don't feel he ever fully articulated it. I do hope that Huddle accomplished what he hoped with this book - getting his thoughts and feelings out into the world so he could stop fixating on every detail of his history with DeAngelo and instead go back to living his own life.

I would not recommend this book. I usually try to be generous and kind with reviews but this one needs a lot of editing.

I think this was an ok book, it gave a little bit of a peek into the home/family life of a serial rapist/killer. The writing was choppy and almost disconnected (for a memoir) sometimes it read more like a list or outline of thoughts and memories. I think it would of benefited from a ghost writer or more polishing/editing.

i thought this was a really well done read, you could tell that the author had done the research and had a passion for the topic. It always kept me interested and reading till the end.

I loved this so much more than I'll be Gone In the Dark. The insidious nature of this really captures you and doesn't let up. Hearing from a family member really drives home the point that these psychopaths hide in plain sight. They have families, jobs, lives even friends, yet underneath lies a darkness and violence you can't wrap your head around.

I know these stories can be controversial in seemingly glamourizing murder and providing these killers with fame and more notoriety but I found this to be done tastefully and from a perspective we rarely get. The one off statements made, intimating at violence, gave me actual chills that its no wonder they stayed with Joe all this time. The timing of this book given his capture and plea also makes this particularly impactful. I highly recommend this to anyone who has read or followed the case or who is interested in true crime.

I really wanted to learn more about this killer. What was he really like? Were there any signs that he was doing these things?
You won't find those answers here. Sadly, the book was hard to follow, and very choppy.
A rather large part of the book is spent talking about the author himself. A separate part of the book dedicates a few paragraphs each to various serial killers throughout history.
Apparently killers do keep secrets because you won't find much

Killers Keep Secrets by James Huddle

 

Synopsis: The Golden State Killer operated in California between 1974 to 1986. In 2018, years after the last murder, Joseph James DeAngelo was arrested. DeAngelo was 72 years old at the time of the arrest, and a former police officer. Huddle, DeAngelo’s brother-in-law shares accounts of DeAngelo throughout the 48 years he knew him.

 

Review: This book was insane, throughout the book Huddle describes situations which looking back were red flags, just no one caught on. I wish we learned more of an insight to DeAngelo’s life, there were a few however, I expected a lot more based on the title. The research at the end of the book was great, he compared DeAngelo with other serial killers. Although it was filler, it was very interesting. I really enjoyed the myth section.

 

Thank you Netgallery for this ARC in exchange for an honest book review.