True Crime Books

Superthief reads more like a self written biography than it does a crime/suspense story. Porello explains that Phil's 1200 page manuscript was the basis for this story and In my opinion, it really shows. The book recounts phils' life story in a "and then, and then , and then" fashion. We don't get much build up to the bigger moments, little to no foreshadowing, and details that seem very important are completely glossed over. A decent story which really suffers from poor writing and editing, you would be better off catching similarly themed books "Killing Pablo" or "The Ballad of the Whisky Robber"

Christopher is an older guy from my neighborhood.....I grew up in Collinwood near the end of its salad days........we used to go on vacation without locking our doors. The place is all but gone now to the blacks.........mostly thanks to white flight and the old desegregation order of the 70's

Originally drawn to the Las Vegas-style book cover, I discovered that the story itself lived up to the bling of the high rolling art work of the cover design. This book is what I used to call a "good subway book." In other words, one that makes the train ride go quickly. It is a snappy, fast story of one man's first-person account of his criminal activities. It can be argued that remorse is not high on mob associate Phil Christopher's list of moral imperatives. But a criminal who shows no remorse is much more typical, and realistic, than one who sheds crocodile tears in a bid for sympathy made after-the-fact. The author seems to know his subject and brings to the story, much personal experience with life in an Italian-American neighborhood. This book has so much flavor, you can almost smell the meatballs frying and the Sunday gravy sizzling.

This is the highly engaging and very readable life story of master burglar/drug trafficker Phillip Christopher. Through the frequent use of the first-person, author Rick Porello provides a look inside the mind of a professional criminal. We are treated to the details of Christopher's life -- from his Catholic, blue-collar upbringing in the Collinwood district of Cleveland, Ohio, through his spectacular criminal successes and equally spectacular blunders, to his declining years as an easy target of state and federal law enforcement -- in what is purported to be Christopher's own words.
We share Christopher's real-life experiences in family, business, underworld and prison situations. His lengthy and continuing rollercoaster ride through the criminal justice system is particularly educational. Christopher seems to have encountered every unfair advantage and unfair disadvantage built into that system.
Due to its frank handling of its subject matter, I suspect this book will cause those who have invested in electronic security systems to lose quite a bit of sleep. The thwarting of alarms, the acquisition of secret allies among security company employees and within local police departments and the prying open of safes and vaults are all discussed in detail. Porello-Christopher stop just short of providing a primer for aspiring safe-crackers. The various elements of the 1972 burglary at the United California Bank in Laguna Niguel, the biggest bank heist in U.S. history, are expertly rendered.
Those are the book's positives, but unfortunately they are not the whole story. While I enjoyed Superthief and remain a Rick Porello fan, there are some noticeable flaws in the book.
For one, it is difficult to accept many of Christopher's statements as fact. Examples: his Robin Hood-like escapades as a child thief, botched jobs that were always someone else's fault and the high esteem in which mob bosses, union leaders and even prison personnel universally held him. Porello provides little obvious help as we strive to separate the wheat from the chaff. There is rare corroboration in the form of a quote from a girlfriend or a law enforcement officer, but Christopher's story appears to have been left pretty much just as he told it.
Another problem stems from Porello's inclusion of the word "Mafia" in the title. Phillip Christopher was never a "made" guy, and the Mafia has a very small, supporting role in the book. Some of the more interesting Mafia episodes of the time/place are tossed in as asides, though Christopher had nothing to do with them. The Mafia remains off in the distance and out of focus.
Though Christopher spent a lifetime living this story and Porello spent five years writing it, what lies between the front and back covers seems thin and could have been better crafted. A bit of narration in the middle chapters could have helped drive home the importance of the Laguna Niguel heist. The reader is liable to plow right through it, judging it to be a disappointment. Insight also is lacking. While we are thrust inside Christopher's mind, we find little in the way of illumination there. He committed burglaries, he repeatedly tells us, because he wanted a lot of money. (Willie Sutton reborn.) We're dragged along into deceit, infidelity and murder without knowing why. We readers are left in the uncomfortable position of being within the mind of a person we cannot understand and do not like.
At the bottom line, this is a good story, entertaining and informative, requiring minimal effort and investment from the reader. It should someday become an exciting movie. However, it falls far short of its considerable potential as a window into the mind of a career criminal.

I could not put this book down. I loved reading what goes thru a thiefs mind, and then reading some background and filling in some of the questions that would come to my mind that the author seemed to anticipate. Just a great read. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading the other books authored by Rick Porrello..

Every once in ahwile I read a true crime story just to mix things up. As I read this story I was most amazed that something like this could happen so easily. It wasn't the best story I have ever read but the pages did fly by pretty quickly.

We should add Kristen Heather Strickland Gilbert to the list of sociopathic narcissistic murderers who are female. She is cold-blooded, calculating, manipulative, controlling, obsessive and possessive over her husband, her children, her boyfriends and friends. Kristen comes across as the angel of death but she suits her nickname. As a nurse in a veterans hospital, she would claim several lives through poisoning and rare medicines misused on purpose. She has a terrible attitude and discards everybody around her as easy as the needles that were filled with poisonous injections. She would finally get justice and be sent to Texas to remain a federal prison for the rest of her life. Despite a near death sentence, she is probably far away from Leeds, Massachussetts and the terror that she caused while as a nurse on duty during the graveyard shift. The patients were much better off being neglected than meeting with the angel of death who caused such terror, heartache, and misery where ever she went.

I HAVE GOT NOTHING DONE FOR THE LAST THREE DAYS. THIS BOOK HAD ME WANTING TO KEEP READING IT EVERY SECOND. GILBERT WAS REALLY, REALLY A SICK, SICK PERSON.

In PERFECT POISON, M. William Phelps has written a very good true crime story. Phelps has dug up another of those sociopaths he apparently has no trouble finding, this time a criminal and narcissistic nurse named Kristen Gilbert, who, while intelligent, is, in typical narcissistic/sociopathic fashion, not as smart as she thinks she is.
The book's positive points are very strong. Phelps, as he proved in his EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE, is an intelligent, diligent, and professional writer.
He has chosen an interesting story, and he moves the narrative along well, even in the last third of the book which is the often tedious trial segment. Phelps' research is impeccable and he clearly spent a lot of time
and energy on this book.

There are several reasons why I do not think PERFECT POISON is as good a book as EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE and why I rate it 4 rather than 5 stars:

1. PERFECT POISON at 474 pages is too long. I attribute some of this
to Phelps' apparent inclusion of every possible scrap of
informations he found, some of which is irrelevant, uninteresting
and occasionally just nonsense. I personally don't care to know how
lawyers, detectives, etc., are dressed, and certainly not more than
once. On page 232 Phelps spends two paragraphs describing a
building's parking garage, and states "Guards sit in tiny wooden
kiosks and take money as people exit the parking garages." Somehow I
just don't see this as unique. Did Murphy (page 287) really "put
out his first cigarette and prepare to light another."? While
discussing his trial strategy with his detectives, did D.A. Welch
(page 307) really "raise his eyebrows." Cynical,lazy, incompetent
writers of true crime use this device to fill their pages. Phelps
is clearly too good and too thorough to be so all inclusive for
this reason, but the book could use some editing.

2. I believe that in the best of true crime writing an author
as good as Phelps will basically write as a reporter, skillfully
presenting the facts and allowing the reader to form his own
opinions. Phelps does not do this. The tone of PERFECT POISON
is dramatic rather than objective and Phelps' writing in the trial
section is clearly biased toward the prosecution. On page 132,
Phelps writes that the result of an audit of drug security at a VA
hospital indicated that there was no accountability. He then
repeats, italicized, in his very next sentence, "There was no
accountability." On page 66, he writes that "most of the codes
were being called during the busiest times...and, lo and behold,
on Gilbert's tour of duty. Phelps is a talented enough writer
that it is irritating when he uses italics and "lo and
behold"s to emphasize what his narrative has already made crystal
clear, particularly since I would assume that most of his
readers are adults.
In the trial section, Phelps has defense attorney Miles
"delivering a diatribe" and classifies a cross examination of
some government witnesses, which, though unsuccessful, does not
appear to have been especially stupid as "Another misguided
claim by Gilbert's defense." Prosecutor Welch, on the other hand
"had come from the old school of law where litigation was all
about information - possessing it, controlling it, managing it,
and using it effectively." While I'm not sure that statement
has any actual meaning, its tone lends Welch a biased dignity and
competence not found in objective writing.

I present these flaws, as I perceive them, because I think Phelps is an excellent writer who can do better than PERFECT POISON. But even so, it is still a very interesting and well researched story. I'm happy to have read it and think most true crime fans will love it.

The story of Kristen Gilbert, as told by M. William Phelps, is something that hits so close to home. Is there one of us that has not placed our care into the hands of someone who we trusted would ensure our safety and well-being, such as a nurse or doctor? This was the case of many VAMC patients, and their families, who thought they were being treated for their ailments, but instead died of sudden cardiac arrest as a result of EPI posioning. And Gilbert was not discriminate in her victims as they ranged from their thirties to those well into their golden years.

What was the most fascinating aspect of this book is to see the clear evidence of psychosis in this young lady and to ponder how she was able to hide her insanity for thirty plus years.

I found that in the third portion of the book it became a bit redundant with the information regarding her trial. However, there were still many aspects of the trial that were newly presented and attention catching.

M. William Phelps is perhaps the best true crime writer today. His books, just as this one, are well researched, provide indepth information, and, overall, are fast paced and attention grabbing. Just as I have recommended his other books, I highly recommend this one too!

This started out promising, but I found the author's ego got in the way of what should have been a very moving storyline. He related several job-related incidents of working in the coroner's office of New York City, and then switched to the upheaval of 9/11. At this point, he seemed to be a one man savior for the identification process, and never missed a chance to question his superiors, or note the time he personally spent. With the exception of mentioning a very few co-workers, which he recruited, he barely mentions the huge staff effort to accomplish the identification of 9/11 victims.

Incredible insight into the untapped world of a medical examiner's work! I loved this book because although the subject can sometimes be morose, it was still written in a lighthearted manner with dashes of humor and intense detail. Shiya Ribowsky unveils the mysteries of how so many people who've lost their loved ones to tradgedies, can once again be at peace after determining who these unknowns are and where they came from.

Dead Center covers a lot of ground - it's a compelling first-person account of the aftermath of the World Trade Center disaster, from scientific, professional, and personal levels, but also illuminating in its description of the Medical Examiners Office, forensic methodology, and relations between that department and the police. It does have a lot of material included for shock value, but it's not as much gruesome as breaking of taboos about discussion of these sorts of thing - and there's a fair amount of objectification and humor in those descriptions.
There's also the occasional policy discussions on current practice and law regarding mortality reporting and other issues that relate to forensics - buried in the text but worth consideration. Recommended.

I was captivated by this book from the moment I turned the first page. Mr. Ribowsky's experiences at the New York Medical Examiner's Office were gripping and most fascinating. The author shared an insider's view of a place most of us know very little about. Though sometimes graphic, the details were nevertheless riviting. From the harrowing descriptions of real life crime scenes, to the compassion Mr. Ribowsky showed the families after the horrific events of 911, Dead Center was hard to put down.

I thought this book would be about how the NY Medical Examiner's office reacted to the events of 9/11. But it isn't. It is about the author's journey to becoming a medical examiner, written in the first person, and it is poorly written, pendantic and over-arching. The first chapter(s) are spent letting us know of his personal career journey, which as far as I can tell consists of him trying to make a doctor's salary without being a doctor. The rest of the chapters then tell us about how we, the general public, could never do his job because death is something we really can't deal with. Only one chapter chronicles 9/11. Sorely disappointing book clearly written to captialize on 9/11.

I read another reviewer point out that the title of the book should be
"How I tried to outwit Bundy, and lost". in my opinion, there couldn't be a better title. There are so many logical fallacies in the book that it really makes Keppel look quite unprofessional. He makes assertions and states as fact, information that is nothing more than suspicion speculation. Some of the information in this book has been proven completely inaccurate since its publishing date. All I ask is that a non-fiction writer present me with a review of the FACTS...NOT long winded, delusional, self promotion. One of the last things Robert Keppel writes is something about Ted being a truly insignicant creature. Well, the fact that you've written books about the guy would indicate otherwise, BOB!

Seattle was gripped with another serial killer in the mid-eighties which wouldn't be solved until about twenty years later. The killer was known as the Green River Killer and he killed about 50 women who were mostly prostitutes and drug addicts. At first, nobody seemed to notice these missing transients. As they piled up in certain spots, the Seattle Task Force had another monstrous serial killer on the loose and didn't know who it could be without the use of technology or DNA evidence. Anyway, Keppel who wrote this book gets the most unlikely help and assistance from somebody who knows about serial killing, Ted Bundy, on death row in Florida. Despite the obvious reasons that anybody would associate with Ted Bundy, Keppel has his reasons and motives to get inside the mind of a serial killer without going insane and to prevent an end to the murders. Bundy is useful with some of his ideas. He calls the victims in the Green River cases as bottom-feeders. Most of Bundy's victims were not prostitutes or drug addicts but college students, wives, and pretty young women. Bundy does confirm that the Killer and himself were involved in necrophiliac acts on the victims after their deaths. The murders were not so much the act as to get the victim. For Bundy, he needs to possess them. For Ridgway, he doesn't clarify his actions. The book is well-written, researched, and graphic at times. It's not for children or adults who get sqeamish at such acts of horror.

in reality, keppel was at best tangential to the hunt for the green river killer. this book comes across as nothing more than a self-aggrandizing attempt to milk some personal publicity out of a horrific murder case. those expecting for details about the search that ultimately led to the arrest of gary ridgway will likely be disappointed. those interested in ted bundy or bob keppel will fare better. sadly, i was not one of those readers. the title is misleading, and i was one of those suckered in. oh well. one star it is.

In this book Kepple kind of goes off on a tangent, more about Bundy rather than the Rivermam himself who is the title of the book. It may have been more aptly named "my interviews with Ted Bundy". I guess I cant blame him though, he persued Bundy for a long time and his blatant dislike (to put it mildly) of the man shows through, thus objectivity is not something to be expected. I much better liked his book "Signature Killers" there his experience and wisdom of the subject shows through making it a very enlightening read on the subject. I found Riverman to be more drawn out, and somewhat more disorganized than "Signature Killers". Kepples treatment of his subject is more personal but for anyone studying serial murder it is still a worthwhile read.

The reason that this book was written was to teach. I am finishing up a class taught by Keppel, and it is called Serial Murder. When I read the book for the first time, I thought it was bland and fragmented as well. But that is becuase he wrote it not for the general public but for those learining about the investigative aspect of serial murder, and what the Bundy-Ridgeway-Keppel connection could bring to light in the criminal justice world. When he implemented the book into his lectures, it all made perfect sense. In actuality, if you paid attention to the book, and knew enough about criminal investigations, you realized that Bundy was actually giving the criminal justice field valuable information on the way a serial killer thinks. The book was a little tough to get through, but if you go through and read it a second time, and watch the TV movie on A&E, its really a fascinating subject.

This is a truly fasinating account of what really took place on Alcatraz. It not only told about the inmates but about the families of the guards that actually lived on the island. Having grown up in San Francisco during the time that the author writes about, I remember the "rock" as always being this quasi mysterious island that seemed to be so close to the mainland and yet held some of the worst criminals. I thouroughly enjoyed getting an inside look at Alcatraz from the eyes of someone who actually lived there.

Barbara Birchim, author of Is Anybody Listening? A True Story About POW/MIAs In The Vietnam War

I think it was a great book. I would reccomend it to everyone. People of all ages would love this book and could probably get more into knowing about Alcatraz.

I got this book from Mrs. Babyak herself while visiting Alcatraz. I always believed or had hoped (based on "Escape from Alcatraz") that Frank Morris and company made it. The facts show they did not.

One thing is for sure is that they got off the island. After that it is pretty certain that they drowned. Mrs. Babyak pointed out to me that some folks still commit suicide of the Golden Gate Bridge quite frequently yet their bodies are never discovered. This is the result of certain factors, such as the cold water will make a lifeless body not so buoyant.

Also, because of the confining of the prisoners to small cells in which they only had one hour a day to get out of them, you can imagine how sore they must have been doing all they did just to get out. Mrs. Babyak makes a strong case of this and other reasons convincingly that in all probability they drowned in the Bay that night.

The attempt reminds me of what people are willing to do when any chance of hope dissipates in one's life. Men will pay any price. I still kinda wished that they made it but the odds are against it.

i think that this is a good book i would reccomend it to all.

While I do think this is a good read with plenty of information, I can name two faults. First, the author uses italics to guess what the people are saying. They are not quotes, but her thoughts of what could have been said. This is a flaw in accuracy because you have to remind yourself that, while it could have been said, it also could not have been said. Secondly, the book was sloppily written. I found numerous spelling mistakes and typos. Overlooking those, it was a good read.

I read Monsta Kody's autobiography first and it was good, then I read this cause Monsta is on the cover. It's hella weak. The author is a white lady, now there is nothing wrong with this until you start reading and you see the "N" word used incorrectly over and over. Anybody that has any sense know that street cats use that word 100 times a day but it is pronounced Nigah. She doesnt get it tho, it is spelled out the way a racist would say it with the "ER" on the end of the word. I aint saying that she is racist but to me it's a sign that she wrote a book about something that she didn't understand...so how can the book be all that good. She isn't naming sets, she is calling Ese's "Essays", the stories are not that interesting...maybe if I woulda read this before I read Monsta's book it woulda been readable. If you are interested in this subject and you have have limited funds buy Monsta Kody's book instead.

Plain and simple, this book is terrible. The fact that the author went through the hood of L.A did not make up for how poorly this book was written. I can tell off the bat that this book was written by a white author who knows nothing about gangs. Advice: do alot of research first then the interviews. (She lucky it wasnt after the Rodney King incident when she stroll through the hood). Would you buy a documentry book about the stock market written by a gang banger?

The characters that were the voices in this book were very interesting and had great stories. There was everything to wannabes, baby homies, OGs and those on their way up to OG status, ex-homegirls that were blinded by being shot in the neck, a young teenage lil' homie who drove himself to the hospital after being shot in the stomache, and the families that lived with 'em. I really liked hearing their dialogue, a brief history of how gangs may have came about, and a listing of the different sets over the different streets. The narrator was a strange element to the story because she was just a white older lady that obviously had never done anything remotely gangster in her life. However, she was non judgemental, caring, and sincere, so I couldn't be too upset about that. All in all, great book.

Pretty good book. I enjoyed reading. Author could have done a better job translating text. Ex. "What's up my Nigga" vs What's up my Nigger"

Inspite of all the hype and controversy centering mainly on Leon Bings race and sex, this book is an valuable resource for gang research if for no other reason than it was the vehicle which led to the Monster Kody autobiography. There are many holes in the structure of the book in relation to use of slang but that is understandable considering the author was obviously out of her element with this project. Once again I would suggest reading this title for the early account of Monster Kody who was just emerging from one of his many jail stints. The interview with Kody is far and away the highlight of the book even if the cover photo is a pathetic attempt to portray the danger of a murderous gang member as sexy.

In 1973 in Casper, Wyoming, the paths of two twenty something lowlifes, Ronald Kennedy and Jerry Jenkins, intersected with that of two half-sisters, eighteen year old Becky Thompson and eleven year old Amy Burridge. None of their lives would ever be the same again. Becky and Amy had just finished up some last minute grocery shopping at a local store, when they realized that they had a flat tire. Kennedy and Jenkins offered to help them and give them a ride home.

Once they were in the car, however, it was clear that Becky and Amy were going to be taken to hell and back again. The upshot is that they were abducted and ultimately driven to the North Platte River where Amy was thrown from a bridge that spanned a gorge into the river over a hundred feet below. Becky was then raped by Kennedy and Jenkins, and then she, too, was thrown from the bridge into that same river and left for dead. The only difference is that she physically survived her ordeal and lived to tell the tale.

The author divided the book into three parts. In the first part, the author takes great pains to describe the town and the people who played a part in the unfolding drama. He also paints a poignant portrait of the two girls who had been abducted and treated so cruelly by fate. He also describes the details of the events that led up to the crime, the crime itself, and its immediate aftermath.

In the second part of the book, the focus is on the prosecution of the case. Again, the author gives much detail on the individuals who were going to be involved in the prosecution of the case, as well as those who were to be responsible for the defense of Kennedy and Jenkins. The author also gives details from the trial itself, in addition to the outcome.

In the third part of the book, the author details what became of Becky Thompson and notes the impact that this singular event had on her life. He also details what happened to Jenkins and Kennedy. The reader also discovers what became of the families of the victims, the families of the defendants, and those who were involved in the trial process. He also includes portions of a memoir written by Kennedy, which the author expertly dissects and analyzes. This is, however, the Achilles heel in the book, as the self-serving drivel served up by Kennedy made this portion of the book drag somewhat.

This case was big news when it happened, and it shook the town of Casper to its core. In fact, the author knew Becky and Amy, as they were his next door neighbors in Casper, Wyoming, where he grew up. He was a junior in high school at the time that the crime occurred, and he recalls the impact that the crime had on not only the community but on his family, as well. This personal connection explains the well-spring of deep sadness that resonates throughout this well-written book and speaks to the reader. Meticulous in his research, it is clear that for this author this book was a labor of love, as the author brings to life with his prose all those whose lives had been touched by this heinous crime.

This book has been released as a paperback under the title: The Darkest Night: Two Sisters, a Brutal Murder, and Loss of Innocence in a Small Town".

Franscell does a masterful job of recounting the tragic crimes in his hometown, Casper, Wyoming. His writing is superb.

This is excellent. I live in Casper when it happened and was really
outraged at the two men who could do just a thing. The book was well
written.

This is an excellent book. Few true crime novels manage this level of polished writing, careful and skillful storytelling and sympathy for the victims. Truly a tragic story, but so vivid and powerful I couldn't put it down.

The opening few pages of this book are as gripping as they come. Becky has been hurled down a huge cliff by her rapists. Unbelievably, she survives the fall, but seems on the brink of death. "Dragging her deadened legs out of the black water into the black night, she wormed across the sharp stones, naked below the waist, beaten and bruised, in shock" (p 4). Far above her, she can hear her would-be murderers chat. Will they realize she has survived? Will they come down to finish the job?

The story of what happens to Becky and to the rapists is a true page turner. I won't reveal what eventually happens to Becky, but is utterly shocked me.

Franscell is an excellent writer. Beyong the story of the true crime, he always delves into the consequences of evil. An evil that sends waves through the lives of hundreds of people, for years and years beyong the actual crime.