Let me start out by saying: As a survivor of domestic violence and after having been married and happily divorced since 2013 to a malignant narcissist after being raised as a 'scapegoat' from a family of narcs the best thing I can say on this topic is -Do Not Feed the Narcs!
These individuals need attention, they need a source of supply, they need people to feel for them to take away the compassion for their victims whom they killed!
The last thing these MONSTERS need is a book about their actions as KILLERS!
They prey upon the unsuspecting targets -Women- and often these women are bottom feeders that are seen as easily disposable. Sadly, those women are often prostitutes or drug addicts whom these disgusting men whom attack and or murder for their own self pleasure.
The main problem I had with this book is the fact of these women didn't ask for this type of abuse. They didn't deserve to be killed, mutilated, or destroyed and tossed away without a moment's hesitation.
For me books like this shouldn't be written as they honestly stir up more controversy than assitance to those left behind or those studying serial killers.
I honestly am not fascinated by the minds of such ill individuals but thought perhaps this would be written in a manner conducive to learning and educating the public and less about the personal interest or lack thereof from the mind of Sam Little.
Thankfully, he perished in prison but not before tax payers dollars were wasted upon him to keep him alive.
This is a fine example of why we need to utilize the death penalty upon this man known simply as, "The ultimate psychopath."
Sexual crimes and crimes of passion such as this should not be spotlighted but rather condemned. The world today allows societal norms to be moved farther and farther away from human conscious and psyche and because of that we no longer uphold the rights of every man, woman, and or child.
Instead we view people in general as disposable and it's why we are seeing the escalation of said 'hate' crimes and 'crimes of passion' being committed.
Thank you for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

This was an interesting read for anyone who loves true crime! The author goes into great detail describing all of the victims, which I appreciate because it shows that they were real people with stories and lives. You can tell the author spent a lot of time writing as this book is very detailed. The drawings at the end really added an interesting element as well.

I received a free copy of, Behold the Monster, by Jillian Lauren, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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.

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.

I am a huge true crime fan but this jumps around so much and makes it hard to follow.
Surprisingly , I had never heard of this case, this author gives excellent insight into this killer. 3.5 stars. Thank you for this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley, for an advance copy of this book. I was not familiar with Jillian Lauren and had not seen her documentary Confronting a Serial Killer when I read this, nor had a heard of Samuel Little. Ms. Lauren did an outstanding job of presenting Samuel Little as a real person, while never losing sight of the fact of the evil he possessed. I really admire the way she didn’t try to make him seem less bad, or pure evil. Even more impressive was the way she presented many of the women that Samuel Little killed as relatable, human beings who didn’t deserve to die - she largely kept the focus on these women and their families, rather than writing a book glorifying a killer. She clearly did years of research and thinking about this subject, which resulted in a book I hope to see emulated.

Behold the Monster tells the story of a reporter investigating Sam Little, one of the country's most prolific serial killers. This book is unlike any other true-crime story that I've read, in the way it alternates perspectives. In particular, this book takes you into the victim's perspective; the author speculates on what they must have been feeling, and the result is powerful. I enjoy that approach, but understand it may not be for everyone, so be aware! I personally think the victim's perspective is forgotten too often in the true-crime genre (books, podcasts, etc.) so any attention paid to that is good attention, imo!

Thank you to Jillian Lauren, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley for allowing me an ARC.

This book is intense and messed up! This book takes you on a wild, demented ride. The author tells of the most prolific serial killer in US history, Sam Little. I could only read this book in small chunks because it’s so well done that it messed me up, so if that intrigues you then this book is for you!

Sam Little is a serial killer of 90 ppl and a true monster. Get into the mind of a serial killer. Very chilling and haunting till the last page.

I'm going to be honest I did not finish this one. I am giving it 4 stars however because it was well written and informative. I couldn't finish it because for me I felt uncomfortable with the speculation of what the victims were thinking/feeling. The author clearly states at the beginning that she will be writing it this way and mentions talking with the victims' families about doing so but it still made me a bit uncomfortable and therefore I did not finish the book. I may give this one another shot down the line because as I said it really is well written.

It’s hard to say you enjoy a book about a dark, twisted killer. That being said, this was absolutely an interesting read. Sam Little is not a name that I was familiar with before reading this book, but I’ll remember him now. He was a mad who preyed upon the vulnerable and strangled and killed them. He had a creepy neck fetish and abnormal/non-traditional sexual desires.

The dramatizations of the murders were well done. The author does a good job articulating the stories while still depicting Sam as the evil person that he is. Lauren also does a great job sharing the legal side of things (and Sam’s incredibly lucky way of avoiding punishment for his crimes.

The book had no central focus. It should either have been all about the author’s experience of investigating and interviewing this monstrous serial killer or about the law enforcement officers who captured him. However, by jumping around from her life, to the lives of the victims and to the life of the killer, the book lost all of its flow. There are also several factual items in the book regarding the Green River killer, Gary Ridgway, and Ted Bundy that are incorrect. These items should have been left out of the book altogether or better researched. Readers of true crime will immediately recognize these errors. Overall, I cannot recommend this book. What should have been a very interesting and compelling read turned into a disarrange jumble of facts, reminiscence and speculation.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the arc. I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

A must read horrifying documentary on the most prolific serial killer.

Sam Little is a serial killer and a total psychopath. He has admitted to nearly ninety deaths, making him the most prolific serial murderer. However, he was able to get away with his actions for years because he flew beneath detection. This book is not for the faint of heart since it contains unsettling narratives of these visits and phone calls that include assault, racism, molestation, rape, alcohol, drugs, mental illness, and suicides. This villain and his deed will completely horrify you. At the conclusion of the book, there are images and dates of those who perished to Little for reference, and I experienced shivers when I came across those pages. It made you realise that this is a true story.

This book was very interesting. It's horrifying to think that someone could have a rap sheet like his including many violent crimes and serve almost no time for them. The author says that at this time it wasn't viewed that prostitutes (especially Black prostitutes) could not be victimized. I would like to think that this has changed. Samuel Little is an example of the existence of evil. I hope that the time spent with him trying to understand his motivations helps law enforcement to stop something like this from happening again.
Thanks to Net Galley for the book to review.

“The most common question asked of me is simply what was it like? What was it like to spend time with a psychopath can be summed up in this single, simple story for me…”

Behold The Monster is a powerful true crime book about America’s most prolific serial killer, Samuel Little.

This was a truly fascinating book, the author did a fantastic job with it. It definitely shows how much time and energy she spent working on this book. It was written with true respect for the victims of Samuel Little, they were more than just victims, Jillian descriptions bring them back to life.

This is an absolute must read to anyone interested in true crime, serial killers or in Samual Little. I highly recommend reading this, it was brilliant!

It also includes Little’s drawings of the victims, some with their real photos.

Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcebooks for providing me an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

💫 Publication Date: July 18, 2023 💫

“Behold the Monster” is a very lengthy, very detailed, true crime novel about the horrific acts committed by serial killer, Samuel Little, and the many female victims that died at this monster’s hands. While I applaud the author for her hard work and dedication to bringing this little-known story to light, I did struggle to get through this one. I prefer less investigative procedural elements and more insight into the killer’s mind. That said, the author did take liberties pertaining to the victims’ final moments, but I didn’t mind this at all. It helped to make the victims “real” for me, reinforcing the gruesome nature of this killer’s crimes.

Sam Little is one of my ( I wouldn’t call him a favorite or interesting) but something about his story always gave me pause. I never understood how someone could get away with murder for so long. He caught my attention 2 years ago and I believe this book gives his victims their voices back. It allows their stories to get out.

I really struggled to get through this book, but I'm also not one to not finish a book either. There was so much unnecessary detail in this book, like a high school student trying to make word count for an essay they weren't interest in writing. The content matter was interesting and Samuel Little was a sick and twisted man. But, the dramatization of the victims attacks, the incorrect pronoun uses for a transgendered victim, and the constant use of the word "ho," so describe these poor women was very disrespectful to them and their families. If you wanted to use the language that Samuel Little used to recount these attacks and murders, that I recommend using quotes or providing the accurate dialogue from the conversations/interviews with him. If the book had stuck to the facts, instead of random tangents that added nothing to the story, it likely would have been an easier (well, obviously its gruesome), read.

The facination with serial killers takes on a new viewpoint with this startling account of obsession and detective work. I enjoyed the style of writing, as we follow the investigation of Jillian Lauren. We experience with her the pull to find justice for the victims - a pull that turns into almost relationsips with those slain by Little. If you love serial killer podcasts and stories, this is a good one to add to the list!

I give this book 3.5 stars. I love true crime, I consume it in a variety of medias so I'm very familiar with the genre. For me, it was very hard to follow. The constant bouncing back and forth made it hard for me to follow at points. The story itself was fascinating - I'm surprised I've never heard of considering how horrific his crimes were. But it took me much longer to read than I had planned. I truly wanted to love this book but the writing really made it hard for me to do so.

***** I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book. I am a big fan of true crime. It has the title and the information to be great. It just wasn’t. I struggled to keep reading. It didn’t hold my interest. They way it was written bounced around so badly that I would get lost and wasn’t able to follow.