This was a well researched, interesting book. It was difficult to read because of the horrors that the killer inflicted on his victims and their families. But Lauren does a great job of leading the reader through the muck.

From the introduction by Michael Connelly, I knew I was in an excellent book. Jillian Lauren's writing is over the top good. I did find the book to be keeping me awake even when I wasn't reading it. When the storyline is about Samuel Little, prepare to lose sleep. The story of America's most prolific serial killer is soundly researched, and I was totally engaging throughout. The saga of Samual Little reads like fiction. With his victim count at 93, his story seems impossible. Samuel Little revealed details of killings he committed to journalist Jullian Lauren. Lauren worked relentlessly with law enforcement to uncover, connect, and confirm the identities of the victims, with information gleaned during visits to the prisons housing Little. Little chose his victims carefully, selecting women in sex trafficking, disenfranchised from law enforcement. How Lauren was able to get through her visits with Sam is its own incredible story. While honoring the dead and their families, the book also gives the reader insight into Sam's history and the twisted criminal he became. Although, this was a hard read, it was a good one. Julian Lauren's contribution to the families of Little's victims who were able to see their loved ones cases move from cold to closed is moving. Easily deserving of four stars

In Behold the Monster, Jillian Lauren looks to discover what separates everyday people from the truest form of the monster, prolific serial killer Samuel Little. She traces back to the night of his birth to understand if he was created like Frankenstein’s monster or simply born a murderer. But Lauren takes it a step further than many true crime writers and befriends Little in jail, even becoming his documented next of kin.

Little is infamous- he targeted marginalized women that society did not miss, landing him with the highest confirmed count of murders in the United States. Lauren uses her relationship with him to not only dig deep into the nature vs. nurture controversy, but also to try to achieve justice for his forgotten victims.

Overall, this was an interesting, extremely well written book. Lauren’s chapter on the murder of Marianne/Curtis was amazingly crafted. And Lauren achieved something close to resolution and (probably) what all true crime authors dream about: she connected an unsolved murder to Little based on information he provided her. It was somewhat hard to keep the narrative thread with shifting topics in each chapter, making it somewhat lose momentum. There also was some context lacking in instances, which interrupted flow- such as when Lauren was stopped by the female guards at the prison with pictures of a potential victim. It was understood that this was an important interaction, but there’s a question as to why and what it meant to show.

I love true crime, and I love crime fiction. I don’t love when the two are blurred together and presented as nonfiction, which is the case with Behold the Monster.

At the start of the book, the author tells us that she included an imagined version of the victims’ lives, in order to “give them back their voices and their names.” Jillian Lauren would have no way of knowing these women’s thoughts, emotions, wishes, dreams, or style of speech, much less what they experienced in those horrific final moments, and so these real-life victims became fictionalized versions of themselves, which to me only further victimized them.

We’re also treated to a fictionalized version of Sam Little’s early life, from the events leading up to his mother’s pregnancy onward. Family members are assigned thoughts, feelings, and dialogue that might or might not be a close version of the truth.

Then we have the twisted, unnecessarily graphic content that doesn’t appear to be from Sam Little himself, but, again, from Jillian Lauren’s imagination. I read a lot of true crime. I’m not squeamish or easily offended. This, however, felt more like a sick fantasy than a serious true crime book.

The major problem with the author adding her imagined scenarios and dialogue is that we readers have absolutely no clue how much is actually fact. The story has no clear indications or divisions between the two.

I wish this issue had been made clear in the book’s description. This is not narrative nonfiction; it’s a sensationalized, fictionalized version of a serial killer’s story.

To further frustrate me, the writing is all over the place. The story isn’t linear. And for some reason we have a lot of unnecessary filler, such as lots of irrelevant information about a lighthouse and memoir-like content about the author herself.

My frustration won out at the 48% point, and I gave up.

DNF

I will automatically pick up anything serial killer related as it's been a fascination of mine since childhood. This is one of the best well written and most informative books of the sort that I have read. I feel like but only did i get in his mind but i got in the mind of the final moments of his victims. I love that it was just as much their story as his... seems strange to develop such a bond with someone so evil, yet you feel it as you read. Loved it

Heavy content warning on this one. The author did a fantastic job researching and covering this dark story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy of Behold the Monster by Jillian Lauren!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy of Behold the Monster by Jillian Lauren!

4 stars

I am rating this book on the research that went into it, and not the content. I like a lot of true crime books /pods / documentaries, however this was a very difficult read for me. So much, that it took an extended amount of time to get through it and sit down to write a review.

The author did a phenomenal job of putting these difficult stories onto paper. She undoubtedly provided closure to many families. Reading the stories of what lead up to the deaths of the women was difficult. Reading how the perpetrator would go home at night and to work the next day turned my stomach...he was living a normal life when he, in fact, was a monster.

If you have a strong stomach then this is the read for you. Again, the author did an amazing job, the subject matter was just too heavy for me.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks, NetGalley, and the author for this ARC.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝔹𝕖𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣
𝗝𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗻
Serial Killers
496 pages

Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs

Journalist Jillian Lauren tells the dark story of serial killer Samuel Little.

Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs

I had a tough time with this one. Reading about serial killers is always dark. This was no different. Jillian interviews Samuel Little and uses those interviews to tell this story. There are so many other things mixed in that it seems like it was thrown together willy-nilly though.

There were lists scattered throughout the book. Lists of names, states, etc. Portions of the story were fictional accounts of the victims’ lives. The investigations are discussed. Going through the court system is in there too. It doesn’t flow cohesively together. Due to that, it didn’t hold my interest.

Those who are very interested in true crime might enjoy this. It is a dry read but includes an incredible amount of information on Samuel Little. Before writing this book, Jillian did a tremendous amount of research, including interviews with Little.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.

Behold the Monster by Jillian Lauren

Like many others, I find True Crime incredibly fascinating but I am not a super fan and had never heard of Samuel Little before.

It was fascinating. I really like Lauren’s voice and presence in the story. Her interactions with Little, law enforcement, survivors, and family made the story more vivid. It’s easy to think of these crimes in the past tense but many of Little’s victims were given as voice.

Thank you @netgalley and @sourcebooks for this advanced reader!

#BookReview #Bookstagram #JillianLauren #BeholdTheMonster #Sourcebooks #BookishLife #Reading #Bibliophile #BookPhotography #BookRecommendations #Instabooks #BookNerd #TrueCrime #NonFiction #NonFictionBooks

(DNF, 30%)

This wasn't for me. I'm (like most white women) fascinated by true crime, but the style of telling the victims stories here felt really weird. It seems to straddle a space between fiction and fact, and I'm not comfy with real people's murders being 'expanded on' like that (I also avoid tv/film dramatisations for this reason)

This almost certainly has an audience out there that will love it, but it's not me

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

A thrilling look into the mind of a psychopath, Sam Little. He was America’s most prolific serial killer. This is a very violent story and has just about every trigger warning possible is present here. Major warning to any with squeamish tendencies.

This was a very interesting book. You can tell it was a well researched book and I learned many new details about this case.

Though this book was not for me, you can see the research and time that was spent. Just a bit long winded.

Serial killers and their brains fascinate and horrify me at the same time. I read lots of dark novels, both fiction and nonfiction, but none have been presented in as unique and tasteful a format as this one.

The author did a fantastic job of using her conversations with Sam Little to give a voice to the voiceless- his numerous victims. I was equally interested in Jillian’s interactions with Sam, as I was getting to visualize what each of his victim’s last moments may have been like.

Parts of this book were extremely tough to stomach, and I think that’s due to knowing these events actually happened. Sam’s life was marked with trauma long before he ever laid hands on a woman, and it felt like each year that passed by he became especially incorrigible. I really couldn’t believe how many other people across the course of his life allowed this evil in him to thrive and go on unchecked.

This book is not for those with weak stomachs, but if you have an interest in true crime / serial killers, you should definitely check it out!

Behold the Monster: Confronting Americas Most Prolific Serial Killer
by Jillian Lauren
3 stars

Jillian confronts a twisted individual to find out more. What might take everyone by surprise is how many women this one man has killed.

This book was just not for me, I enjoyed it a bit here and there. I like watching documentaries of true crime but reading them isn't for me. I love Jillians writing and how she told the story. She included the victims more than I thought would be in the book. For her to go and sit and talk with this guy so much and hear what she heard. I give you all the praises, you are truly amazing Jillian.

Thank you, Net Galley and Sourcebooks for this eARC for an honest review.

Loved this book. I really appreciate the length some writers go to research their subject and you can tell a lot of research went into this book. Kept me interested and I found out a few things I didn't not know about these cases.

I'm in a small group of people who enjoys studying serial killers and learning how their mind works. When I saw this book and what it was about I was excited to read it. Jillian Lauren's decision to "befriend" serial killer Samuel Little and then write about the experience was a wild ride. Their friendship started as a letter and morphed into phone calls, visits, and a docuseries. She was able to get him to talk and keep talking. Some of the details he revealed were baffling and how he claimed innocence for so long is crazy. As I was reading the book I was so glad their friendship formed and she was able to reveal so many things this man did. That she was able to get answers for so many greiving families and help solve cold cases.

If you like true crime and aren't squeamish I think this book is enlightening and in ways inspiring for all of the good that came out of her decision to befriend this deplorable man.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a true crime and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Whoa. A little hard to get my bearings but once I did, wow. As a true crime enthusiast, I recommend this one to everyone in my circle. I was unaware of these crimes but did a deep dive after reading. There were some major discrepancies but overall it was well written.