As the blurb says find out what it was like to be charmed by a serial killer who escaped justic for many years. This account is a fascinating insight from a person close to one of the most evil people in Americas history, The Golden State Killer.
Well written and an interesting read.

An excellent true crime novel. I was unaware of this crime spree and found the story compelling and well written. The characters were well developed and interesting. A great read for those who enjoy this genre.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting insight but not particularly well written book by the brother-in-law of The Golden State Killer. I do believe this book was self-published.

Between 1975 and 1986 Joseph James Deangelo killed more than a dozen people and raped at least 50 across California between 1975 & 1986, but what about the killer's personal life, or how he managed to keep a normal family life, during his nefarious activities?

In 2018 author James Huddle was shocked to discover that his brother-in-law could be guilty of such crimes. With the gift of hindsight, could he have spotted anything suspicious in his old confidante's background?

It appears that Joe's criminal activity began before the murders and is suspected of local cat burglaries near his flatshare between 1973 - 1975 and unlike a lot of psychopaths, he also had a degree in criminology, eventually becoming a police officer during the time of his alleged crime spree. By 1977, the man is now known as the 'east area rapist' having raped at least 17 women and the attempted rape of another. By now, Joe was also married to the author's sister, and a few small ' red flags' were apparent. Fired from the force in '78 over a bizarre shoplifting incident, the murders continued to tally up, and now couples became the targets, double murders across several states. Fast forward to September of 1981 and JOe's daughter is born, the killings seem to stop at this exact time and it not until 1986 that the final east side rapist aka golden state killer is committed. The murder of a teenage girl, bearing the hallmarks of his previous work and the police again retrieve DNA from the scene. it matches previous cases but they still haven't found their man. James continues his friendship with Joe, building model planes, shooting guns, and the one-time killer shows little evidence of his murderous hobby or sinister personality traits. Do you think you'd recognise a killer in your family? I imagine for most people this would be unthinkable, never mind remotely unimaginable. Following the arrest, James often wondered if he'd missed any 'red flags' during his time with the killer but I imagine he will never know for certain.

By 1991 Joe and James' sister were heading for the divorce courts. although they never did it officially, I imagine it was a relief for him not to be associating so closely to a lawyer, however, he was keen on the status that his legal eagle wife gave them. It wasn't until 2018 once he'd been arrested that proceedings were in place, more of a paperwork issue than anything to do with his nefarious behaviour. In the decade before his arrest, James does mention that some distance suddenly became between the former friends, was he hiding guilt, acts of crime, or something just as sinister? Joe evaded capture for more than 40 years and even the FBI put out a £50k reward to find him but to no avail.
After his capture, former friends, neighbours, colleagues (he worked as a mechanic after his time in the military and the police) spoke of the kind and generous man who showed no signs of dangerous behaviour. The police would soon find him and it was down to the DNA they had collected from the hundreds of crime scenes the killer had fled.

James Huddle writes short sharp chapters offering a genuine, unique, and rational insight ion the golden gate killer but what was it that made Joseph James DeAngelo into such a heinous beast? As this case is still relatively fresh*, James Huddle concludes the book by giving us an insight into notorious serial killers of the 1970s that were also active across the USA.

A case I wasn't aware of, this is a very good first-hand account of a serial killer’s life and is a genuinely good read.

Most true crime books focus on an exploration of the perpetrator from a third-party or victim point of view. However, Killers Keep Secrets tells the story of a serial killer and rapist (Golden State Killer) from the perspective of the perpetrator's family.

James Huddle discusses how a family can have no idea what an individual is doing, even when that individual is committing heinous crimes. Huddle describes his relationship, as well as that as other members of his family, with Joe, the Golden State Killer. He discusses the relationship before the crimes began, during the crime sprees, after the crime stopped, and after GSK's arrest. Huddle explores his personal journey to reconciling the man he knew with the man they call the Golden State Killer.

Killers Keep Secrets provides insight beyond that given in most true crime books, podcasts, documentaries, etc. For instance, Huddle discusses when Joe was arrested in 1996 as a part of a sting telling individuals with warrants that they'd won Super Bowl tickets. Joe fell for it and was arrested (but he had not committed the crime alleged and was released without taking a DNA sample).

Huddle's book provides valuable insight into the effect of a criminal on the criminal's family.

While I enjoyed this book, the writing is fairly bland and conversational, which is the reason for three stars. The book reads like having a grandparent tell you a story.

I’ve been fascinated by the Golden State Killer for a few years now, so it was definitely interesting to read about this man from the point of view of his brother-in-law. We all want to think we’d know if someone so close to us was such a horrible person…but would we? They often hide it well.

This book was a short, quick read – and it actually could have been shorter as the author seems to have run out of things to talk about in the end (instead, he starts to go over various myths about serial killers and some other notorious serial killers that were active around the same time as GSK). I find all of this interesting, so it didn’t bother me too much, but I’m sure others would want more of Huddle’s POV on his brother-in-law – and I admit, that would have been nice – but I think the idea was for Huddle to kind of break down what he knew about his brother-in-law (especially in relation to his victims) and that was done well!

The narrative is well written and flows in a chronological order. The details focus on who the man was more so than the details of the crimes. The crimes are alluded to as a backdrop to the life of the criminal. A short, quick read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I was thrilled to see this book available on NetGalley! I devoured every word. It was morbidly fascinating to read the details about the Golden State Killer’s“other” life from someone who knew him.

For years the brutal murders and rapes in California remained among the most notorious unsolved crimes in the US. Now we not only know his identity but the details about his odd personality and weird idiosyncrasies. As many serial killers seem to be, he was also a symbolic good deed doer. See what a great guy I am, everyone?

It’s sickening how he was allowed to live out his happy life all la de da, while causing so many others such agony and suffering. I also have sympathy for the author and the killer’s family.

The family pictures were interesting as well.

Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. is an American serial killer, serial rapist, burglar, and former police officer who committed at least 13 murders, more than 50 rapes, and over 100 burglaries in California between 1974 and 1986. "Killers keep secrets" is the story of his crime and murder spree as told by his ex-wife’s brother.

The Golden State Killer was truly a master at hiding in plain sight. He was able to hide his secret life for decades and fool even those closest to him into thinking he was a normal person. "Killers keep secrets" is one mans reflections on his interactions with a serial murderer and rapist. It begs to ask and answer the questions Do we ever truly know someone? How is it possible that we can have a killer lurking within our own family and never even know it?

"Killers keep secrets" is a fairly simple book as far as true crime goes and its a quick read. Most of the book is consistant with showing the reader who "Joe" appeared to be to family and friends more so then delving deep into his crimes.

I recieved a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a good book well written and very informative...I've always loved a good true crime novel

It’s very rare that you’d find the best friend of a serial killer that would freely tell their story in such detail about their relationship and experiences with someone that is a serial killer. Most people who know me, know that I love true crime. I have read a few novels of interviewers and serial killers. This is another level, James Huddle was friends with the Golden State Killer and lived with him at a point in his life and at no point did he suspect his friend of being the golden state killer. When reading or watching true crime, sometimes it’s easy to say ‘it’s obvious’ but this real and raw account of Huddle’s relationship with Joseph DeAngelo proves the reality of how psychopaths know how to hide themselves.

https://snipnstuff.wordpress.com/2020/07/08/killers-keep-secrets-by-james-hubble/

While there is no great expansion on the information about the crimes themselves beyond that which is already in the public domain, this book brings some fascinating personal perspectives. Hearing the story from the perspective of a close friend - and one who clearly feels betrayed by the killer - is fascinating, You can really feel the confusion - how could I have been so wrong about someone? It’s a perfect story of a psychopath’s ability to fool everyone around them. It’s well written - simple and accessible. Definitely one for the true crime aficionados.

I absolutely love all things murder mystery. When I saw there was a book on people who had first hand accounts of the EBR I absolutely had to read it and it did not disappoint. I couldn’t put it down. Was so pleasantly surprised at the end with the compilation of murderers and mysteries that have occurred as well. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Killers Keep Secrets is a page turner! I stayed up all night to finish it. I love true crime, but I rarely read true crime books because I tend to find the story slower in novel form versus podcasts. However, Killers Keep Secrets does a great job of explaining the crimes of the Golden State Killer while also respecting the lives that were altered or taken from us too soon. I was simultaneously horrified and intrigued as James Huddle told the story of a man he considered a brother, only to find out he is one of the most notorious rapists and murderers in American history. Huddle explores the turmoil he and his family went through/are going through, knowing they considered this man a member of their family for years without ever knowing about his crimes. I highly recommend this book!

When I first heard about the Golden State Killer I was intrigued that someone so vile could get away with so many wicked things. I remember listening to a podcast called Casefile and lingering to every word the host spoke about the cases. I couldn't believe someone could do the things that this killer did. To go from simply robbing, to raping, and ultimately murdering. Listening and learning all about the climb in the severity of his crimes was interesting to me. At the time I learned about this serial killer I also learned that the person had never been caught. It had been over 35+ years and police had never caught the guy. In 2018 that all changed.

The book Killers Keep Secrets by James Huddle is a tale of the Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo, from the eyes of his ex brother-in-law/roommate/friend. I was intrigued by the idea of this as it's so rare that you get a real look into the life of a serial killer from someone that truly knew them well and even lived with them during the times that some crimes were commited. My hopes going into this were that I'd learn something about DeAngelo that the press hadn't already revealed or that I'd have a better understanding of some things I'd read. Sadly, this wasn't the case.

Usually I'm one who is able to read just about anything and get some kind of enjoyment from it. With this book, I sadly felt that I was having to force myself to continue. While there were some good stories from Huddle about his days and trips he'd taken with DeAngelo, a good portion was filler information about serial killers not even related to this case. I'd honestly say about 1/3-1/2 of the book is information put in simply to make the book seem longer and not actually information that pertains to the Golden State Killer at all.

It was interesting to hear Huddle talk about some of his memories with DeAngelo and how looking back on certain events now was like night and day, but it honestly just felt like an attempt at profiting off of the situation. The writing was all over the place and stories intertwined with no commonalities. I honestly don't feel like anything that was said really added to my knowledge of DeAngelo at all. It was a lot of "hear say" and even uncertainty about what he was saying from the author himself. I've read books by family members and friends of serial killers before and I wouldn't put this book into the same category of them at all. I believe the information in this book could have easily been put into a magazine article instead, and probably would have made the front page of whatever publication it was in. But for a book, it just doesn't make sense.

We are all interested in serial killers, right? There's some kind of a paradoxical attraction to them while hoping to never meet one! I love true crime, in any form, be it books, articles, movies or docs. But I had never heard of the infamous Golden State Killer before, it's strange. But the title of the book, the cover and also the subtitle made me want to read this one.
It is an easy and quick read, you could binge it in one sitting really.
I liked the book, even tho it was a merely loose recollection of memories it still had some detailed memories of the killer and also the not so subtle red flags which did not add up to anything while the author was friends with the killer but as he recalls them now, he can connect the dots together and see how wicked and cruel Joe had really been in the past at some points. The book has a unique POV. I'd always wonder what happens to the family and friends of the person who is suddenly no longer the person they knew, who becomes a monster overnight; and considering this I believe the author did a really good job to go through all the memories of his life with a man who he considered a brother and a friend only to find out that he had been ignorant of all the red flags along the way; which honestly it could happen to anyone, the killer hiding in plain sight is scary inside but innocent looking and a generally good guy outside!
I liked the record of other killers active at the same time as Joe, and also all the forensic information he provided.
I was kinda jumpy throughout the book so you better read it in daylight ; )

We are fascinated by serial killers. There are shows, books, movies and more - all about them. We think we'd spot them, hope we never meet one, can't understand how those around them didn't know. This is a compelling story, told from a relative's POV about the Golden State Killer. The narrator met Joe, the suspected Golden state killer, when his sister brought home her new boyfriend. He was friends as well as family with him for years, going on multiple hunting, fishing, driving and flying trips. It's a compelling and easy read. I was interested to see where the author, James Huddle, would take the story and appreciated the addition of the statistics, information about other serial killers and even the details about DNA collection. I also liked the author giving is his her personal POV. It was an all around great read and I'm so glad I gave it a try!

This is a really interesting account of life with the Golden state killer, before his conviction.
Told in the first person by his brother in law, this book gives a new insight into the life of Joseph De’Angelo before, during
and after the long and terrifying spate of rapes and murders he committed.
Well written and interesting.

An interesting spin on a true crime book about Joseph DeAngelo, also known as the Golden State Killer or the East Area Rapist, infamous in the 1970’s and 80’s. Huddle knew him well as his sister was once married to DeAngelo, The book explores his memories and recollections of times spent together and questions whether he should have been more attuned to things he now sees as red flags. While I appreciated reading about his connections, to me there wasn’t enough depth for a novel. At first I thought that interviewing other family members, especially his daughter, would have been powerful but the author did state that he was ready to talk about DeAngelo but some of his family wasn’t in the same place on the continuum of dealing with the notoriety as he was. I was dismayed to read the synopses of other serial killers that were operating during the same time frame as I feel it detracted from the book. Many thanks to James Huddle and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read this arc of this just published book.

Absolutely fascinating! I was hooked from page one. It was like I was watching a true crime. The book was quick and flowed well! So incredible.