I'm probably the wrong person to review a book of this nature. After all, Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs was my literal idol. From all the movies and books I read, to the major of Criminal Justice in college, I was always ready to be her. Unfortunately for me I was too sick and couldn't pursue my dreams, but reading a book like this made me feel like I was there with Jillian visiting Sam in prison. Making phone calls, and doing favors for a murderer, just to solve one more cold case, and get justice for another one of his "babies."

This book follows the journey of journalist Jillian Lauren, who helped to bring justice to some of Samuel Little's victims. Sam claimed responsibility for the murders of over 90 women, although it hasn't been proven for all the victims he talked about. Some bodies have names and some don't. Jillian and several other detectives across the US have worked to match unidentified bodies with the accounts of the murders and body dumping that Sam did. Thankfully he remembered things in detail, and there have been many victims identified and at the very least their families have closure and know what happened to them.

The work that Jillian did to help get these women justice, in combination with the work of detectives all over the country, should be applauded. What they have undertaken is not easy, and yet they have succeeded in doing so much for these families and victims. Definitely a book I would recommend reading, although it isn't for the faint of heart, and there are some trigger warnings too.

Jillian Lauren's "Behold the Monster: Confronting America's Most Prolific Serial Killer" isn't your typical true crime shockfest. Instead, it delves deep into the psyche of Samuel Little, a prolific killer, while weaving a narrative that breathes life back into his forgotten victims.

Lauren's writing feels almost like a conversation, drawing you into the chilling world of Little and the investigation. It's both unsettling and strangely intimate.

Lauren avoids sensationalizing the crimes. She paints a picture of the victims, not just as statistics, but as real people with stories and loved ones. This makes the tragedy all the more impactful.

The book offers a chilling glimpse into the mind of a killer. Lauren doesn't glorify Little, but allows readers to understand the twisted logic that fueled his actions.

"Behold the Monster" is a powerful read. Lauren's conversational approach makes the horror all the more real, but it's her focus on the victims that elevates this book beyond a standard true crime story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the chance to read and review.

Being a true crime junkie, I really appreciated the way this book was written. It felt like I was in the room with Jillian Lauren as she interviewed Samuel Little. While it did feel a little hard to get into as the view point does jump around once I was in I was hooked. Learning about the "why", and the methods used to pick victims was absolutely intriguing. Also the way that Jillian Lauren makes it a point to give a voice to the victims by speaking with their families and discussing those hard feelings. I really loved this book and its one that will stay with me as a reader.

The content was hard to read at times. I would’ve preferred this to be fully nonfiction & with less hoping around.

Thank you Net Galley & to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

True crime is extremely popular but I found this book to be dull. I appreciated learning about Littles childhood. What I didn’t like is how the author added her own prospective. I would rather read nonfiction crime without the authors opinion.

Wow...this was a big look into Samuel Little. I had only heard of him in recent years, although I am a huge true crime fan. It was interesting to learn his childhood issues and wasn't hard to see why he became a monster. He is the true definition of a narcissistic psychopath. This book has very heavy language and often vile, disparaging remarks about women, but they are coming from the mouth of Samuel Little himself. If you are into true crime, you must read or listen to this. I was appalled at just how many victims were tied to him and there are countless possible others that they will never know for sure as he died in 2020 from COVID complications. This man started his crimes in 1970 and did not stop until 2005. He confessed to 93 murders in vivid detail!!! Don't miss this one if you love true crime.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for a copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

This book is a great blend of facts and fiction, allowing you to get into the mind of a serial killer & his victims without being voyeuristic. While it toes the line at times, Jillian Lauren clearly spent a lot of effort to try and not glamorize what happened during the decades Samuel Little was murdering people. This book is graphic, and so it can definitely be triggering to read, so be warned on that front. I think it was a fascinating way to get inside the psyche of someone who committed heinous acts, and Jillian is a great storyteller at weaving this narrative in a way that doesn't feel like a textbook. There were moments where I wasn't sure if it was truth or fiction with the narrative, but overall it is a great way to learn more about this person without feeling too voyeuristic. 3.5/5

Like other reviewers, I had difficulty finishing this book due to the writing style. I wanted to learn more about Samuel Little and his victims, but portions of this book felt more like fiction versus true crime.

I was completely riveted when I started this book, but to be honest my interest waned as it went on. I appreciated that author Jillian Lauren shared the victims' stories -- most being told for the first time -- and her writing is very interesting to get lost in. However, as far as true crime nonfiction goes, this work leaned a lot more towards literary nonfiction than true crime. I felt the author took a lot of liberties in her writing, including victims' supposed thoughts and feelings as they met their tragic ends. To me, that just felt "off". I would have been more interested in hearing about the victims through the people who knew them, or even diary entries, letters, etc., than the author crafting scenes where she pretends to know what the victims were feeling, thinking, or experiencing as Little took their lives. The book also jumps around quite a bit, in my opinion, which made it more difficult for me to follow.

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

A very interesting case and thanks to this book I have done more of a deep dive. I love True Crime it gives us so much more than we would get from even an episode of Dateline

I don’t mind when people write books about serial killers or famous criminals. I don’t mind when authors insert themselves into nonfiction or journalistic narratives. But I mind when it feels like the author is more interested in sensationalizing murder rather than offering a voice to victims. That’s the case for me here. The way that the author re-enacts situations with details she couldn’t possibly know, and recreating scenes with details that I’m certain she must have gotten from Little, but only serve to create a lurid story, make this incredibly disturbing and disrespectful to me. I did not feel like I learned about the victims or even about Little’s pathology. I felt like I learned a lot about the author.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up !
I love how this book started with an animated map entitled “Sam Little’s USA”. It was even more horrifying to see his crime spree visually!

I love that the author expressed in the beginning that it is impossible to know the victim’s thoughts and she tried the best she can to give them a voice with her creative liberties. I can’t stand when authors add in fictionalized commentary from the victims in true crime novels and don’t address it from the start.

This novel does jump around quite a bit in the timelines, but I found it surprisingly easy to follow. Jillian does a great job of truly putting you inside his head. This novel almost reads like fiction because of how well Sam Little was actualized and this is why I found it so captivating. I particularly loved the chapters on the Mansfield Reformatory as I have been there!!Also, the chapter on everyday sadism was fascinating and my favorite of the book.

As captivating as it was, I did at times find my mind wandering and that is why I didn’t give it more stars. I think part of this is because of how heavy the content is and partly because of how repetitive it could be. That is not the author’s fault- as his crimes followed very similar patterns over and over. I also found chapter 20 “Marianne” a little confusing. This victim was transgender and as a result the author wove in both her names (Marianne & Curtis) and found myself getting confused.

Overall a solid true crime read that is very informative on the atrocious crimes of Sam Little. Needless to say - I will never look at a neck the same again.

📖 ʜᴜɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ @sourcebooks ᴀɴᴅ @netgalley ғᴏʀ ᴛʜɪs ᴀʀᴄ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ɪɴ ᴇxᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴀɴ ʜᴏɴᴇsᴛ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ 📖

I liked this book. Was hard to get into at first but then I stuck it out and glad I did. I learned so much about Samuel. Crazy how one reporter that was persistent could gain the trust of a killer and he confessed to many crimes. Hopefully some family’s found answers. From writing letters, to hours of visiting to outright confessions was sad and interesting at the same time.

This was a hard read - mostly because of the heavy topic, but also slightly because of the writing. It was incredibly detailed, so look for CWs. I think anyone who is interested in true crime would enjoy this book.

I wanted so badly to love this book. Sam Little is a terrifying person, and I was hoping this book would be more Stranger Beside Me and less a middling attempt at The Fact of A Body/The Last Victim. Alas, the writing is just not up to par with any of those other titles, and I felt like I was trudging through to the finish.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy I received. This was an interesting and uncomfortable read. I do sometimes find multiple viewpoints to be off-putting or confusing if not executed well, as it requires me to reread certain sections to make sure I'm understanding the content correctly.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. A must-read for true crime fans. This was an eye-opener and an interesting read, very well written.

I am absolute sucker when it comes to true crime documentaries so when I saw this become available, I knew I had to devour it.

Learning more about Samuel Little was disturbing, appalling and so intriguing. Jillian was able to deliver this in such a painstakingly beautiful way that I'm still in shock from it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Jillian Lauren (and team) for an advanced eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I have been on a nonfiction kick recently and the complexity of this case really stood out to me. The author captured my attention immediately and held that attention which can be difficult in books like this.

The concept of this book is intriguing. I was really looking forward to reading it but the subject matter ended up being to triggering for me. Typically I am able to read books of this genre and topic but this didn’t work for me. Thank you for the opportunity.