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After Jack the Ripper and before Son of Sam there was only one name their equal in terror: the deadly, elusive, and mysterious Zodiac. Beginning in 1968 the hooded mass murderer terrified the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area with a string of brutal killings. A sexual sadist, his pleasure was torture and murder.
In the summer of 2000, Jane Steare received the phone call every mother dreads. Her daughter Lucie Blackman - tall, blonde and 21 years old - had stepped into the vastness of a Tokyo summer and disappeared forever. That winter, her dismembered remains were found buried in a desolate seaside cave. Her disappearance was mystifying. Had Lucie been abducted by a religious cult? Who was the mysterious man she had gone to meet?
Theodore Bundy was one of the more infamous, and flamboyant, American serial killers on record, and his story is a complex mix of psychopathology, criminal investigation, and the U.S. legal system. This in-depth examination of Bundy's life and his killing spree that totaled dozens of victims is drawn from legal transcripts, correspondence and interviews with detectives and prosecutors. Using these sources, new information on several murders is unveiled.
In 1967, during the time of peace, free love, and hitchhiking, 19-year-old Mary Terese Fleszar was last seen walking home to her apartment in Ypsilanti, Michigan. One month later, her naked body stabbed over 30 times and missing both feet and a forearm was discovered on an abandoned farm. A year later, the body of 20-year-old Joan Schell was found, similarly violated. Over the next two years, five more bodies of female students were uncovered around the area.
This incredible story shows how John Douglas tracked and participated in the hunt for one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history. For 31 years a man who called himself BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) terrorized the city of Wichita, Kansas, sexually assaulting and strangling a series of women, taunting the police with frequent communications, and bragging about his crimes to local newspapers and TV stations.
“Sam, could you do me a favor?” Thus begins a story that has now become part of America's true-crime hall of fame. It is a gory, grotesque tale befitting a Stephen King novel. It is also a David and Goliath saga - the story of a young lawyer fresh from the public defender's office whose first client in private practice turns out to be the worst serial killer in our nation's history. This is a gripping true crime narrative that reenacts the gruesome killings and the famous trial that shocked a nation.
After Jack the Ripper and before Son of Sam there was only one name their equal in terror: the deadly, elusive, and mysterious Zodiac. Beginning in 1968 the hooded mass murderer terrified the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area with a string of brutal killings. A sexual sadist, his pleasure was torture and murder.
In the summer of 2000, Jane Steare received the phone call every mother dreads. Her daughter Lucie Blackman - tall, blonde and 21 years old - had stepped into the vastness of a Tokyo summer and disappeared forever. That winter, her dismembered remains were found buried in a desolate seaside cave. Her disappearance was mystifying. Had Lucie been abducted by a religious cult? Who was the mysterious man she had gone to meet?
Theodore Bundy was one of the more infamous, and flamboyant, American serial killers on record, and his story is a complex mix of psychopathology, criminal investigation, and the U.S. legal system. This in-depth examination of Bundy's life and his killing spree that totaled dozens of victims is drawn from legal transcripts, correspondence and interviews with detectives and prosecutors. Using these sources, new information on several murders is unveiled.
In 1967, during the time of peace, free love, and hitchhiking, 19-year-old Mary Terese Fleszar was last seen walking home to her apartment in Ypsilanti, Michigan. One month later, her naked body stabbed over 30 times and missing both feet and a forearm was discovered on an abandoned farm. A year later, the body of 20-year-old Joan Schell was found, similarly violated. Over the next two years, five more bodies of female students were uncovered around the area.
This incredible story shows how John Douglas tracked and participated in the hunt for one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history. For 31 years a man who called himself BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) terrorized the city of Wichita, Kansas, sexually assaulting and strangling a series of women, taunting the police with frequent communications, and bragging about his crimes to local newspapers and TV stations.
“Sam, could you do me a favor?” Thus begins a story that has now become part of America's true-crime hall of fame. It is a gory, grotesque tale befitting a Stephen King novel. It is also a David and Goliath saga - the story of a young lawyer fresh from the public defender's office whose first client in private practice turns out to be the worst serial killer in our nation's history. This is a gripping true crime narrative that reenacts the gruesome killings and the famous trial that shocked a nation.
Twenty-five years after Richard Ramirez left 13 dead, paralysing the city of Los Angeles, his name is still synonymous with fear, torture, and sadistic murder. Philip Carlo's US best seller The Night Stalker, based on three years of meticulous research and extensive interviews with Ramirez, reveals the killer and his horrifying crimes to be even more chilling than anyone could have imagined.
Prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one of the most baffling and horrifying cases of the 20th century: the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by Charles Manson and four of his followers. What motivated Manson in his seemingly mindless selection of victims, and what was his hold over the young women who obeyed his orders? Now available for the first time in unabridged audio, the gripping story of this famous and haunting crime is brought to life by acclaimed narrator Scott Brick.
A book like no other - the tale of a gripping quest to discover the identity of history's most notorious murderer and a literary high-wire act from the legendary writer and director of Withnail and I. For over a hundred years, the mystery of Jack the Ripper has been a source of unparalleled fascination and horror, spawning an army of obsessive theorists and endless volumes purporting finally to reveal the identity of the brutal murderer who terrorised Victorian England.
Perhaps the most compelling murder case of our day, the death of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey galvanized the nation - and years after it occurred, the mystery still endures. Who killed the young beauty queen and why? Who is covering up for whom, and who is simply lying? In JonBenet, the most authoritative and comprehensive study of the Ramsey murder, a former lead Boulder Police detective, Steve Thomas, explores the case in vivid and fascinating detail.
When veteran LAPD homicide detective Steve Hodel discovered that his own late father, Dr. George Hill Hodel, was the killer in the infamous Black Dahlia murder case, he wrote the best seller Black Dahlia Avenger, a book that convinced even the L.A. County Deputy District Attorney that George Hodel was responsible for Elizabeth Short's gruesome death.
Most Evil II is Steve Hodel's follow-up investigation (2009-2015) into his father's potential murders and introduces new evidence and additional linkage obtained by him over the past six years. Included in that evidence is the solving of the Zodiac's 45-year-cryptic cipher, which gives us the answer to the question asked in Most Evil: Were Black Dahlia Avenger and Zodiac the same serial killer?
Joe Kenda investigated 387 murder cases during his 23 years with the Colorado Springs Police Department and solved almost all of them. And he is ready to detail the cases that are too gruesome to air on television, cases that still haunt him, and the few cases where the killer got away. These cases are horrifyingly real, and the detail is so mesmerizing you won't be able to turn it off.
An account of the crimes of Arthur Shawcross describes how the paroled child killer shot, stabbed, suffocated, and strangled 16 Rochester, New York, prostitutes and examines how the legal system failed his victims.
In the 1950s a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the Gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially integrated, and he was a much-lauded leader in the contemporary civil rights movement. Eventually Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to Northern California. He became involved in electoral politics and soon was a prominent Bay Area leader.
Recounts the tragic events that followed the arrest of Fred Coe, a conservative, clean-cut young man, for a series of rapes committed in the city of Spokane and led to revenge and murder.
The true crime bestseller about Fred and Rose West a couple virtually unique in British criminal history - who loved and killed together as husband and wife. During their long relationship the Wests murdered a series of young women, burying the remains of nine victims under their home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, including those of their teenage daughter, Heather.
The terrifying story of the most monstrous serial killers through history. Serial killers are the most notorious and disturbing of all criminals, representing the very darkest side of humanity. Yet they endlessly fascinate and continue to capture the public's attention with their strange charisma and deadly deeds. From Jack the Ripper to Ted Bundy and the Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, these killers transfix us with their ability to commit utterly savage acts of cruelty and depravity.
The 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short led to an exhaustive and fruitless manhunt in Southern California, and the Black Dahlia case still stands as one of the most famous unsolved murders in American history. Retired LAPD detective Steve Hodel, however, has uncovered evidence that may reveal the mysterious killer's identity: his father George.
Kevin Pierce gives a striking edge to Black Dahlia Avenger, evoking the no-nonsense style of classic LA noirs like Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard. But Hodel's work is all too real, even as the gory and byzantine details of this riveting case seem like a Hollywood tall tale.
For 56 years, the Black Dahlia murder case remained one of the most notorious and high-profile unsolved crimes of the 20th century. Now, Steve Hodel, a 24-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, believes he has finally solved the case. On January 15, 1947, 22-year-old Elizabeth Short - "The Black Dahlia" - was found dead in a vacant lot in Los Angeles, her body horribly mutilated, bisected at the waist, and posed in a bizarre manner. The horrific crime shocked the country and commanded headlines for months as the killer taunted the police with notes and phone calls. Despite the massive manhunt, the murderer was never found.
Hodel began working on the case after he retired from the LAPD when he chanced upon an intriguing piece of evidence that led him on a trail that he had no choice but to follow - since it pertained directly to him. As he dug deeper, he came to believe that the killer was also responsible for over a dozen other unsolved murders in the Los Angeles area around the same time. He also found copious evidence of corruption at the LAPD, leading him to accuse the department top brass of covering up the Black Dahlia murder in order to conceal a deeper conspiracy involving crooked politicians and gangsters.
Despite a lack of physical evidence (which had been destroyed), Hodel is able to connect numerous dots and make a plausible case, complete with lurid tales of wild orgies that were attended by celebrities such as the artist Man Ray, the director John Huston, and a host of other Hollywood elites. He also discloses his killer’s obsession with the Marquis de Sade and Jack the Ripper and how he modeled his own crimes on their behavior. In particular, there is a disturbing connection between the work of Man Ray and the horrific circumstances of Short’s murder. It is doubtful that this will be the final word on the Black Dahlia murder - too much myth surrounds it and much of his evidence is circumstantial - but Hodel’s labyrinthine tale adds much to this intriguing case.
Would you listen to Black Dahlia Avenger again? Why?
Frequently listen to it. Because it is a great true crime book. Well researched and well read.
What other book might you compare Black Dahlia Avenger to, and why?
The other books in it's collection. Most Evil 1 & 2 and the direct follow up to this book.
What about Kevin Pierce’s performance did you like?
Kevin Pierce is always great.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
It's not that sort of book.
Any additional comments?
This book is a fantastic and compelling account of rather infamous murders in LA in the 1940's and 1950's. Extremely well researched and presented. Very recommended if you are into that glitzy time period in LA and true crime.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I am a huge fan of Kevin Pierce's narrations, but this book is terrible. I suppose it could have 'academic' purposes, but as an audiobook, it is boring and predictable to listen to...
A heady mixture of awfulness combines in this book which serves to illustrate how naive and invisible women were back in the 1940' - 1960's That said, it is challenging to accept how so many terrible atrocities against womankind were left, deftly unresolved, to the annals of time by the authorities of the day. Although not religious, I was left hoping that heaven and hell do indeed exist - and 'praying' that the lead sadist in this book (and all his heinous cronies) can now be found languishing in eternal damnation. Sadly, however, even THAT fate seems to good for the sick individuals responsible for these crimes ...
This book is long - but worth the effort. And steel yourself - the details of the crimes are gruesome and difficult for 'normal' minds to grasp. Yet another book about man's inhumanity to man (although it is all women who suffer in this tragic case) ...
Just wish there was a definitive outcome, proven in law. I was left wanting justice to have been served!
What did you like most about Black Dahlia Avenger?
Very interesting book with compelling evidence.
What other book might you compare Black Dahlia Avenger to, and why?
Not sure as it is so unique.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
Dreadful, disjointed reading and mispronouncing words.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I would but not with the dreadful narration.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Would you try another book written by Steve Hodel or narrated by Kevin Pierce?
Not sure about Steve Hodel but definitely not Kevin Pierce!
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Edited a lot of it to make it more succinct. There was way too much boring detail about family members etc. I agree that it was all fairly convincing and I feel 85% sure that Hodel's father was the killer. He probably wanted to put every detail in to convince the reader. But the result was just boring except for certain parts. And I would DEFINITELY change the narrator. His reading was way too slow and ponderous and he paused in the wrong places in sentences a lot, which I found annoying.
How could the performance have been better?
A different narrator! He was AWFUL! I fell asleep almost every time I listened to it and had to keep running it back. I put it onto 1.25 speed and that was a bit better.
Could you see Black Dahlia Avenger being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?
I think it has been already.
Any additional comments?
As I said, the evidence is actually convincing enough (if you can stick with it) and I feel sorry for Steve Hodel who was born into such a weird and horrible family. But a boring listen.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Couldn't even listen to this book due to the absolutely awful narrator! If I could score this zero, i would!
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
I loved the book. What an eye opening series of events. Very well done. I'd recommend this book to anyone that loves murder mysteries or true crime drama books. You won't be disappointed!
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I enjoyed the book. I appreciate the time and effort of the research used to present the evidence. I look foward to the sequel.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
What would have made Black Dahlia Avenger better?
To be completely fair, I only made it nine hours into the twenty hour story before quitting, but this story could definitely use actual evidence, or at least evidence given earlier in the story and with more substance than 'the body was posed like a famous Man Ray photo and George Hill Hodel worshipped Man Ray, so this is 'inescapable evidence' that George Hill Hodel committed the murder'.
What was most disappointing about Steve Hodel’s story?
The first half of the book is essentially a character assassination. Steve Hodel does do a fantastic job explaining what a sick bastard his father was, but a sick bastard does not mean G. Hodel was in fact the Black Dahlia Avenger. The incest trial, the forcing young Steve to smoke an entire cigar, G. Hodel's relationship history, the sex parties, sharing women with Fred Sexton is all very interesting, but after nine hours of that with VERY little evidence connecting him back to Elizabeth Short, I feel as though I've listened to a son only airing out his grievances about the man,
What about Kevin Pierce’s performance did you like?
Kevin Pierce always gives a fantastic performance, but this was not one of his best. I found it halting and a little unsure, as though he were reading the book for the first time or simply had a tough time getting through it.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Black Dahlia Avenger?
MUCH of the beginning. Or at least tie in G. Hodel's many issues with some evidence, so it doesn't feel like I'm listening to nothing but sex scandals when it's supposed to be a book about the murder of Elizabeth Short.
Any additional comments?
It's a shame I couldn't get through this, because based on the aftermath of the novel, a lot of people took this theory very seriously and found it solid, which leads me to assume that there must have been something worth hearing in the second half. But if I were a juror, just based on what I've listened to so far, I would have acquitted G. Hodel because it feels as though the 'prosecutor' is using emotional arguments in place of evidence.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Would you consider the audio edition of Black Dahlia Avenger to be better than the print version?
This made me want to go out and purchase the print version. The photos and diagrams are adequately described, but it would be nice to check them out firsthand.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I admire the author's courage to come forward with his findings.
What does Kevin Pierce bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I felt like I was being officially briefed on the case.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
This book reaffirmed my belief that the world has its own mechanisms to balance things out. (The son seeking justice for the sins of his father)
There is true evil in this world. It hurt me immensely to hear what happened to these women. Being a woman in this world is a scary thing. It shouldn't be, but it is.
Any additional comments?
I feel that the various low reviews for this book are from "armchair detectives" who are upset that their pet theories aren't in the spotlight. This is a solid book. Steve Hodel spent years piecing this together. One or two coincidences could obviously be written off, but this book spins a complex tapestry of them. Considering how old this case is and how most of the physical evidence has since "disappeared", I feel like this is the closest we are going to get to a definitive answer as to who killed Elizabeth Short.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
The first part yes, the rest is just repetitious. Couldn't finish.
Would you be willing to try another book from Steve Hodel? Why or why not?
Not if its like this one.
What about Kevin Pierce’s performance did you like?
He's just easy to listen to. Not the best, but not too bad.
Was Black Dahlia Avenger worth the listening time?
Asked and answered.
Any additional comments?
This is a very interesting case it just could have been told in half the time.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
What would have made Black Dahlia Avenger better?
The author/detective interjected too much of his own opinion and conclusions, which he tries to back up with weakly linked evidence.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Black Dahlia Avenger?
The only actual evidence presented is the writing analysis, which is suspect.
Any additional comments?
I really was excited to listen to this initially. The author is a reputable detective with an impressive record...how and why he ever came to these conclusions and assumptions are simply baffling.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Evidence for any of his statements. This is a classic example of a cop who picks a favorite suspect and twists everything to fit his idea. This is literally thought police. And I'm sorry but that isn't enough for me.
Would you ever listen to anything by Steve Hodel again?
No.
What three words best describe Kevin Pierce’s performance?
Good performance with bad material.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Disappointment. This man knows his father was evil and without any hard evidence he can't prove it, so he'll tell anyone who will listen that his father is responsible for every notable crime of the last 70+ years. Yes, you read the correctly.
Any additional comments?
PLEASE SAVE YOU'RE MONEY. DON'T PICK THIS BOOK.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful
What made the experience of listening to Black Dahlia Avenger the most enjoyable?
The story, there are times when it seems to drag on and I found myself wondering why he was telling us this but in the end it all ties together.
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
The story
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I did shed a tear for Elizabeth when he talks about what her killers put her through
Any additional comments?
I believe Steve Hodel, with all the evidence presented I think his dad did kill her
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
One can only hope that Hodel did a better job as a murder investigator when he worked for the LAPD than he is doing in his retirement. The entire basis on his case comes down to his interpretation of photographs and hand writing analysis of scanned documents--all of which could have been told in half the time, and none of which works as an audiobook without visuals.
His connections are tenuous at best and in some cases, outright ridiculous. His comparison of the crime as his father's homage to Man Ray's Minotaur lacks any reference to what is probably the most notable feature of the work--the absence of the model's head. Would someone who had gone through all the effort to recreate the effect of the photograph (in what Hodel claims to be in intimate detail) and who had already brutally bisected and mutilated a body, then hesitate to decapitate the victim to achieve the full effect?
In addition to the frustrating and gaping holes in the story overall, the first half of the narration is done in such a deadpan and awkward cadence that the listener is often more focused on the reading than on what is being read.
Save your time. After 18 hours invested, I don't feel like I know anything more of any substance in relation to this crime.
4 of 6 people found this review helpful
Any additional comments?
If the author's facts are verifiable and unimpeachable ... case closed. This book stopped me in my tracks. Out of all of the other suspects and theories put forward by different authors and detectives in the past years about who may have killed the Black Dahlia, Steve Hodel's suspect rings the most true. I shudder to think...
3 of 5 people found this review helpful