True Crime Book Reviews

This book is a real page turner stranger than fiction. You'll feel you almost know family members Bledsoe richly brings to life as he deftly portrays how their lives intersect and clash in mysterious deaths. Delores Lynch is a rags to riches, southern spitfire who is known to voice her opinions and dominate her household. When Delores and her daughter are found dead in their home - no one knows who could have killed them.

Her former daughter-in-law, Susie Sharp Newsom Lynch, is a from a proud and respected southern family. After her divorce, a bitter custody battle drags out. Susie finds support from her first cousin, Fritz Klenner. Fritz tries to follow in his fathers footsteps in hopes of becoming a doctor but his odd character goes full blown nutso and his dad may not be the great physician the locals praise him as. Find out how keeping up prideful blue blood appearances can explode in the faces of 4 generations.

He looks like a respectable business man, good family guy, upstanding member of his community. But with John Edward Robinson, looks can be very deceiving. Talk about a shocking double life! Robinson runs the gambit from petty con man to full blown sexual sadist. There is no limit to the lengths his lack of conscience will run.

Robinson uses the internet as a hunting grounds for his sickest cons yet. His victims are not only the women he kills, but also an infant he places with adoptive parents that will surprise you. A fascinating story about a serial killer's complex manipulations.

Former police officer, Joanne Cordova had made a nice life for herself but a few bad choices cost her her career and lead her to hit bottom as a crack addicted prostitute. She crosses paths with Robert Lee Riggan Jr., a john who takes her shopping and on a trip to the mountains. Joanne might be a crack head but she is nobodies fool. Luck is on her side though it runs out for Anita Paley, who also crosses paths with Riggan. Her trip to the mountain ends in a murder so brutal that it even stuns the experienced coroner.

Is Riggan a victim of strange circumstances or a sadistic sexual predator, warped by his neglectful childhood, surrounded by a family full of child molesters? Rough Trade explores Riggans life, as well as that of Joanne Cordova, the woman who helped bring him to justice. A good read, with an interesting look into the complexities of the justice system. Riggan was sentenced in 1999 and remains in Colorado corrections.

Years after 2 extremely violent, unsolved murders in Michigan, Jeff Gorton is living a quiet life with his wife and kids until DNA evidence catches up with him. It's another one of those tales where the neighbors are shocked and everyone says what a nice man he was.

Margarette Eby beloved mother, college professor, very active in her community with a busy social life, living alone until she comes home one night in 1986...

Nancy Ludwig, happily married flight attendant laid over at a hotel, between flights in 1991...

Jeff Gorton was not the man he appeared to be. His brother nicknamed him the pantie sniffer. I suspect there was a lot more to him that we will never know. Although this is an interesting book, Henderson could have done more research and some interviews. It seems he just read court documents and news reports.

This is a gut wrencher of a book. Amy and Becky Burridge go to the store for a few groceries for their mother in 1973 where they run into Jerry Jenkins and Ronald Kennedy. These life long losers commit crimes so brutal, you'll wish you could lynch them yourself.

The premise for this book is unique, in that the author is from the same small town as the victims and killers. He knew the girls growing up and has a special passion to add to the story. He brings Casper, Wyoming to life, past and present.

Franscell takes us face to face with rare insight into the victims experience from start to finish through the words of Becky. It was tough to read some of the heartbreaking moments. I won't forget this book.

I skipped over about 70 pages at the end because he includes the jailhouse memoir of one of the murderers. This piece of fiction only exists in Kennedy's warped mind and isn't worth my time to read.

It was 1997 in a small southern town in a county known for its high crime rate. A very colorful cast of characters lives converge as one family destroys a son and another tries to save him. Jerry Scott Heidler came from one of the most messed up trash kind of families you can imagine. They say don't trust the quiet ones, and in this case it's true. When Jerry's pot finally boiled over he took down innocent lives with him. I'm not sure i've heard of a murder that wasn't senseless but this one takes the cake.

Crandell put this tale together well and it is one of the better true crime books I have read. He could have interjected his opinions a little less for my taste but it didn't detract much from the writing for me.

Through telling the story of the Daniel's family, we see how strained the foster system is by too many neglected kids and not enough good foster families to take them in.