"I cannot rave enough about this book which does an amazing job of taking the reader through the brutal history of the serial killer Samuel Little. If you are not a usual reader of nonfiction but often read thrillers I suggest this book. I had to remind myself multiple times that this book contained a very real history and real people. If you find this book at your local bookstores pick it up, it took me through many emotions and deserves for people to read it." - My Goodreads review

Outside of what I said on good reads I very much think this book has an important story to tell and is so far made as possibly the best book I have read this year. It is hard to comment such positive things given the information within this book however my praise is for what I feel is an important story for others to read and for the author themself.

This is a deftly written and thoughtful story about the sick psycho who was Sam Little. He is currently pegged as the most prolific serial killer in the US with 93 victims. Lauren got the unimaginable scoop by being able to visit Little in prison and interview him extensively. Included are many of Little’s drawings of his victims, some with their real photos.

A harrowing account of a sadistic, sorry excuse of a human who confessed to murdering over 90 women & the sad truth of how the US justice system failed them over and over and over again.
It would be many, many years, through bullheaded diligence & admirable determination, before this animal finally landed in his forever home, the California State Prison, where he also died in 2020.

Samuel Little, with his soft hands, who never worked for anything. Self righteous, degrading, intelligent and completely out of his damn mind. He just took what never belonged to him, but claimed as his own anyway. Lives included. Lives, especially.

In ‘96, he murdered a woman in the small city where I was born and raised. I had not known this. Actually, I hadn’t known most things about Little, or his trail of death and destruction until now...

Lauren spent so much time with Little, picking his brain, searching for answers, justice for the victims, that when he died, she was notified as he'd listed her as his NOK. She still has his ashes.

To the true-crime junkies, this one’s for you!

Thank you NetGalley & Sourcebooks for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Pub date: 7/18/23

5⭐

"I live in a deeply divided city. I do not know if Samuel Little was the criminal we deserved. I know he was the criminal we allowed."

I'm giving Behold the Monster five stars, which feels weird, because it feels like applauding Sam Little's story. When in fact this book does an impressive job giving a voice to the victims, and those that worked hard to finally get this monster behind bars.

This was a hard read. It obviously dealt with dark and disturbing subject matter. The murders are described in overly graphic detail, the conversations Jillian has with him made my skin crawl, the graphic description of sexual assault on a child made me have to step away from this for a few days. But what I struggled with most was injustice shown to the victims of his crimes. The hard to wrap your head around knowledge that he could have been stopped sooner, had someone just given a shit. That these women, all someone's daughter, we're brutally murdered and tossed aside like garbage then had to be re-victimized by the very people meant to protect them. It's maddening. It's disgusting. It's heartbreaking.

I enjoyed the chapters where we follow Jillian into the prison. As a true crime fan that's not something I'll ever be able to experience. It was nauseating, but fascinating to read his own words. Jillian's deep research made this book far more informative than your average true crime book. This was welcomed, but I found also bogged down a few paragraphs. I love her writing style, it felt candid and fresh, and I really enjoyed it. But again, what I appreciated most, and is something I require in the true crime podcasts I listen to, she gave the victims a voice. The spotlight is always so focused on the killer, that the victims are forgotten, especially the "less dead" demographic.

I absolutely recommend this book to those used to reading true crime, but even then, have a strong constitution. This book is not an easy read. It's not a cutesy podcast. But it is a very skillfully written book, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Book : Behold the Monster
Confronting America's Most Prolific Serial Killer
Author : Jillian Lauren

Thanks so much NetGalley for an advance read in exchange for this review!

Let’s start with the cover! This cover is very eye catching. I love a good cover that is going to start off the books journey.

I am a massive true crime junkie and when I was given the opportunity to read and review this book about the #1 most prolific serial killer I was anxious. I knew baseline information about Samuel Little but this book outlined the details and went into the lives & stories further of the cares and victims. Thank you to the author for taking so much care and time to piecing it all together for this.

This book will be sought after by true crime and crime junkies throughout and I feel as though this book should be on every crime junkies shelf. These women’s stories need to be heard as hard as they are to hear. They heartbreaking and I always sit and wonder if he gave up all of his victims. I am happy to see that hundreds of cases can be laid to rest and families have answers. This man was a very terrible man.

Solid four stars from me! This book is a must read for those who follow true crime and unsolved crime alike.

I read about 50%. Jillian Lauren has a unique and beautiful style of writing and the only reason I stopped reading is because the darkness and pain of this story were too much for me. I enjoy non-fiction when the author inserts themselves in the story so this is the style of book that I do like to read, and the fictional chapters were a fascinating element but for my mental health I needed to stop reading.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

A Tragic And Horrific Story With A Lot Of Horrific Acts
This book Behold the Monster by Jillian Lauren was an excellent read. Sam Little is a serial killer and a true monster. This is the first book I have read on Sam Little, and it certainly did not disappoint me. The amount of detail Jillian Lauren has written, after spending a year going backwards and forwards to visit Little and from letters and interviews with Little is absolutely chilling to read.

Little has confessed to over 90 murders and becomes the number 1 Serial killer.
Little got away with his crimes for years which is maddening as he flew under the radar. This book is not for the faint hearted as You get to read the haunting accounts of these visits and the phone calls which contain Violence, racism rape, molestation alcohol drugs mental illness and suicide.
You will be thoroughly horrified by this monster and his deed but
This is a very interesting book about innocent women murdered by Sam Little. There are photographs and dates of the murdered women at the end of the book.
A fantastic true crime read! Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Behold the monster is a decent true crime read. With some quirky writing from Jillian. This book gives a lot. And it's pretty creepy.
Definitely worth a read
I received a copy of this book from Netgally for an honest review

As a huge true crime fan, Samuel Little has been on my list of cases to dig into for years. This book is amazing for just that. The amount of detail Jillian Lauren has written, and to know it came from letters and interviews with Little is chilling. A fantastic true crime read!

Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks for the opportunity to read Behold the Monster in exchange for an honest review.

First, I am so thankful to Jillian Lauren, NetGalley, and Sourcebooks Landmark for granting me digital access to Behold the Monster - a deeper dive into the families and lives of the victims of Samuel Little, who to this day is still on the most notorious serial killers. Cold Case filing and evidence is a crazy thing because, as an avid True-Crime follower, we only recently knew of Samuel Little a few years ago. After all, he was flying so far under the radar that the rest of the world was unaware, outside of the missing person cases. I'm glad to have gotten the chance to consume this information because it's so educational, and hopefully, more unsolved cases can be put to rest, with justice served rightly going forward.

"My only source was not just unreliable. He was terrifying."

A wild ride of a book that takes the breath from your lungs while diving deep into a tragic and horrific history.

This book describes horrible, terrible things. However, it does so with true respect for the victims of Samuel Little, and with insight into the human mind. Jillian Lauren really did her homework on this and it shows. I think this will be a defining work of true crime fiction.
There were stories that made me cry- Ninah, Alice, Aggie. There were also moments that made me laugh, like when Lauren sings "Misty" for a man who wants to murder her while on speakerphone with the Texas rangers. As she is taking us into the story of Samuel Little and the stories of many of his victims, Lauren also shows us her life. The overall effect is poignant.
I took away .25 of a star because there were times she gives too much background or detail. Overall though, if you have any interest in true crime, serial killers, or Samuel Little, you have to pick up this book!

Star Rating: 4.75/5
CW: Violence, SA, rape, molestation, language, racism, drugs, alcohol, suicide, mental illness, death of dog, pretty much everything you can think of

One of the beat books I have read so far this year. Ever since I heard of Samuel Little I have wanted to know more about the case and this finally gave me what I wanted. Definitely one of the scariest men to have been around in recent memory.

This was bone chilling good!! And it's True!! Holy crap I read this so fast because I had to know more! This was a great job!!
I just reviewed Behold the Monster by Jillian Lauren. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I received a free copy of, Behold the Monster, by Jillian Lauren, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Sam Little is a true monster, a serial killer, as bad as they come. The poor innocent women he killed, all the times he got away with his crimes, its maddening. This is a very interesting book about innocent women murdered by Sam Little.

3.5 stars

This book is a lot! Like a lot, lot.

What you have is an author who quite obviously has done her research and knows her sh*t. It was a bit tedious after a while, but it is a dark subject, so that is to be expected.
The writing os done well, and it doesn’t feel like a money grab on the backs of victims. It has heart and morals.

This book is a LOT .. a lot of information, a lot of details and a lot of horrific acts. I was about 1.3 through it when I realized that I had read it before: it was originally released in 2021 but is now out again...maybe to overcome the COVID slump so many businesses and publishing houses went through??

You will be thoroughly horrified by this monster and his deeds: this is not a casual read but great for lovers of true crime and law enforcement.

On a side note, it was neat to "meet" the woman behind Renee Ballard in Michael Connelly's Bosch-verse books.

#shortbutsweetreviews

note: there are two links to the GOodread reviews as one book is "stuck" under Michael Connelly as the author and I cannot change it there. Have put in a request, though.

If I can guarantee one thing about Jillian Lauren's Behold the Monster is that you will not feel like there is too little. This book is a lot of everything. Lauren documents her relationship with the most prolific American serial killer, Samuel Little. It also documents Lauren's interactions with various victims, victim's families, and law enforcement members. It is, at all times, interesting for various reasons.

I should point out first that there is a set of true crime readers who want their books to stick to the facts and only the necessary facts when telling the story of a crime or criminal. I would suggest to this subset of readers to look elsewhere for a book on Little. Lauren will intersperse her own experiences, will partially invent scenes, and will introduce people who will show up once and never again. She uses various narrative points of view from chapter to chapter. Her use of language can be both crass and vicious. If any of this sounds like it will drive you insane then go ahead and skip this one.

If you want your true crime to feel lived in and don't mind the author inserting themselves into the narrative then you will probably enjoy this immensely. Usually, I hate anything which is invented by the author in non-fiction. Lauren has an interesting enough perspective to make these scenes feel emotional rather than exploitative. She raises poignant ethical questions about herself without trying to force an answer. I will admit the book lost some steam at the end when it should have been reaching a crescendo but overall I enjoyed it.

(This book was provided as an advance read copy by Netgalley and Sourcebooks.)