True Crime Books

I find this book an incredible model of premier investigative reporting. How Dennis can write so well without personally knowing his subject I'll never know. I enjoy a well-written novel also, but combining these existing facts with well-crafted writing is genius. This book informs whatever the reader may have heard or read before, bringing to life an individual's aberrent world. The author's comprehension of the antisocial mind is brilliant.

Dennis McDougal has not done his homework on this one. This book came out too soon, and all the facts were not known at that time.

I used to live 2 doors down from the Stayner family when they lived in Atwater, California. WOW. Del and Kay were very nice people, pretty much kept to themselves. I lived there when Steven was killed, it was SO SAD.
I found the book to be quite interesting since I lived in that area. It is just too crazy to me that someone could commit such horrific crimes. My heart goes out to the victims, their families, and Cary's family. Senseless murder is just something I will never understand. I don't normally read crime stories, but read this one because of who it was about...... I will be following the trial in the newspaper.

McDougal digs deep into the heart with his descriptions of the gruesome murders. The beginning of the book fools you into thinking that McDougal will keep descriptions light, while covering all the necessities. However, as you read farther you find insignificant details. While some may find it helpful to know the full background of Cary Stayner's childhood, I failed to make a connection between what the kidnapping of his younger brother had to do with the murders the elder Stayner child committed. It seems as though each time McDougal introduced a new character, an in depth background was required. I feel as though the writer was merely trying to make his book appear longer by adding pointless details. The details did come in handy, however, when he described the murders. Over all I enjoyed the book, but found it tedious. I found myself skipping parts of each characters background in an effort to find the "good" part of the book. I doubt I will choose to read another True Crime book by Mr. McDougal.

While This Book Is well wrote,I feel that it consentrated more on the the FBI,and inside the lives of each victim rather then the actual murders themselves.probably 4 chapters out of the entire book focused on cary stayner and the yosemite murders.The rest of it is full of eulogies and talks about the victims families. It just did'nt focus on the crime enough for me.Not exactly a good read if your looking on the subject at hand.

So just what is going on here? How can teenagers be so gullable and what's with this fascination with firearms? Whatever happened to playing varsity and intramural sports, going to Friday night dances and trying out for the school play? For me the harrowing events depicted in Kathryn Eastburn's "Simon Says" serves as a stark reminder that evil really does exist in this world and that young teenagers are a prime target for those who seek to spread it. You will find yourself just shaking your head again and again when you learn about the senseless murders of three members of the Dutcher family in the remote hamlet of Guffey, CO in the wee small hours of New Years Day 2001. Incredibly, the individual who ordered the "hit" on the Dutcher family and the two young men who carried out the bloody deed were all students at Palmer High School in Colorado Springs. "Simon Says" is a chilling tale that brings to mind the likes of Charles Manson and the Reverand Jim Jones.
Author Kathryn Eastburn does a marvelous job of portraying the young men who would become caught up in this tangled web. The leader of the group was a young man named Simon Sue. Simon had moved to Colorado with his parents from his native Guyana. He was a natural born leader in search of malleable young minds to exert influence over. Sue was fascinated with guns and with the military and bragged to whoever would listen that he was part of a secret paramilitary group known as the OARA. In the fall of 2000 he found a pair of recruits in 15 year old Isaac Grimes and his older pal Jon Methany. Later on another young man named Glen Urban would join the group. Just a few short months later, Simon Sue would order his troops to kill the Dutchers and his willing accomplices carried out his wishes.
Of course, "Simon Says" offers comprehensive coverage of the investigation into this heinous crime and of the subsequent trials of these young men. You will meet the detectives who finally managed to ferret out the facts of this case and the lawyers who argued for both sides during the interminable proceedings that would follow. Then you will learn how each of the families, the students at Palmer High School and the community at large tried to cope with these sensational events. There are so many issues to ponder here and I am sure that each reader will attempt to make sense of it all. But in my estimation this is simply not possible. At the end of the day far more questions than answers remain. Despite Kathryn Eastburn's best efforts to help us to understand I don't believe that anyone can present a rational explanation for what went down on that cold January morning in the Rockies. Nevertheless, I found "Simon Says" to be an exceptionally well written book that managed to hold my interest from cover to cover. Highly recommended!

Kathryn Eastburn is at her best with the telling of this tragic tale. She approaches the subject with a reporter's objectivity, yet true to form with all of her writing, there is an underlying humaness that refrains from stooping to sensationalism or lecturing.

Make sure you have a significant amount of time available before you start to read this book, because you will have a difficult time putting it down. I read it in two sittings. It rates right up there with Judgment Ridge, the story of the two Dartmouth professors who were murdered by two Vermont teenagers less than one month later in January of 2001. Simon Says is an appropriate title for this new book because it is the tragic story of a very controlling and charismatic high school student named Simon Sue who manipulated those he saw as vulnerable into doing whatever he demanded. If they failed to do his bidding the threat of death to themselves and family members was made to appear real. One of the vulnerable boys, Isaac Grimes, murders his former best friend, Tony Dutcher, by cutting his throat as he slept while another, Jon Matheny, murders the boy's grandparents in their home by shooting them to death. The book covers the boys' relationship with charismatic leader Simon Sue, the murders, detective work needed to get confessions, the guilty pleas of each of the defendants, and subsequent appeals. This is a book filled with tragedy not only for the boys involved, but for other family members as well. It is a story without any winners. The only redemptive feature is a forgiving relationship between Isaac Grimes' mother and the mother of Tony Dutcher, the boy who Isaac murdered. It is the tragic story of an individual with a controlling and charismatic personality preying on vulnerable and younger individuals who otherwise would have never have become involved in such tragic behavior. The books' cover says it quite thoroughly, "A True Story of Boys, Gun, and Murder." I definitely got the feeling the boys, however belatedly, appreciated the beauty of their Colorado surroundings and would now not be able to enjoy the freedom they once had.

The shocking teen violence and depravity in this country that a decade ago seemed like a horrid anomaly, unfortunately now seems to have become a weekly occurrence. On New Year's Eve 2000 in the rural countryside outside of Colorado Springs, just twenty months after the Columbine massacre, a Grandmother, Grandfather and their fifteen year old Grandson were brutally and senselessly murdered.

The investigation that followed revealed that four teenage boys with ages that ranged from fifteen to nineteen years old were involved in committing the murders, planning the murders, and destroying crucial evidence. One of the boys, fifteen year old Isaac Grimes, who was later convicted of murdering fifteen year old Tony Dutcher by slitting his throat from behind with a knife in such a heinous way as described in the court records: "at issue, is the brutality with which the defendant killed Tony. The autopsy showed he sawed back and forth." "The D.A. demonstrated a sawing motion with his hand against the loose skin of his own neck." "He severed the spinal cord, not just the spinal column." What makes this repulsive crime even more incredulous is the fact that Isaac and Tony used to be best friends.

The Grandparent's Carl and Joanna Dutcher were slaughtered in a salvo of bullets. But the backdrop of this horrendous crime that joggles the imagination and all human sensibilities, is the relationship and "pecking order" of the four teenage criminal sociopaths Simon Sue, Jon Matheny, Isaac Grimes and to a lesser extent Glen Urban. (He destroyed evidence.) Simon at nineteen was the oldest high school student and he filled the role as a "Svengali" like leader. His parents were originally from Guyana a small South American country. None of the future criminals had many real friends, so Simon targeted them to become part of a non-existent "secret" paramilitary organization, "Operations and Reconnaissance Agents" (OARA). Simon said "OARA stood ready to serve should a coup arise against the standing Guyanese government, the People's Progressive Party. Under Simon's tutelage the boys learned to assemble and disassemble weapons, practiced shooting and planned and carried out burglaries. All without any of their parents knowing what was going on. When Simon demanded they murder Tony Dutcher and his Grandparents while Simon was conveniently out of the country, the other boys followed orders, later saying Simon's threats to murder their families kept them from telling anyone.

After the murders the police and CBI (Colorado Bureau of Investigation) during the course of their investigation turned up among other things at Simon's house alone; THIRTY SIX GUNS, MOST OF THEM MILITARY ASSAULT RIFLES, WEDGED INTO A CLOSET... THEY TAGGED UZIS, SKS,'S AND AK-47'S. As heart wrenching as the murders themselves are, the domino "death-affect" tremors of loss to all surviving family members is just as important in the telling of this tragic senseless crime. Charles Dutcher alone lost his son and his Mother and Father. The authors writing style is not poetic, nor does it revive memories of Hemingway or other famous authors. But what the author does succeed at is terrific investigative reporting. There is not a wasted chapter or a wasted page. The reader is taken step by step through this entire sordid mess. She cannot give you the big answers, because that's the problem with this heart-breaking catastrophe, no logical person with a heart beating with even an ounce of humanity can answer the questions that this story and far too many stories like this raise. As many scientists state: "THE BEST EXPERIMENTS CREATE MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS" AND PERHAPS THIS BOOK SHOULD BE FILED UNDER THE SAME HEADING!

And this is the whole point of this book, nevertheless interesting and well written : Interviewed are only CIA former Directors. So it's really the Bosses pont of view rather than the field operative's one. Mislead by the title, I was not that impressed by the book content. Most of the stories are already old news (some interviews have been published at length), about overtold events such as JFK's assassination or the Bay Of Pigs. If you wanna hear it from the guys doing the actual work, stay away.

I wouldn't have bought it if I had seen it on a shelf. But I guess it's one of the risks of online purchasing.

I suppose all I have ever thought of the CIA is the mysterious "wet ops" assassination stuff. This book certainly gave me a LOT more insight!

Considering that I used to live in the Twin Ports--I lived in Superior, Wisconsin, but the news was mostly from Duluth, Minnesota and surrounding area--this book about the Glensheen murders and events following it was something I just had to read. When a friend of mine asked me what I wanted when I was in the nursing home recently recovering from an accident, I told her I wanted to get "Will to Murder", so she brought it to me as a gift! I had heard Gail Feichtinger discussing the book with one of the reporters on WCCO-TV out of the Twin Cities earlier this summer, so I just knew I had to read this narrative of one of the most famous murders of the northern Midwest.

Although I still wondered about some of the evidence that was found at Glensheen, the discussion of the DNA testing in recent years could have been a sure thing for the prosecution to win the case compared to the faulty evidence that was used in court the first time. It's quite obvious to see how new methods of testing evidence, especially the method of finding DNA on most anything, has turned many cases around. Even if Roger Caldwell didn't do the crime, there were a lot of events that certainly pointed to him. The most glaring scene right after the murders was when all the missing jewelry somehow showed up in Marge Caldwell's possession. How could she have lied so blatantly about her mother's jewelry? I often wondered, as I continued reading this book, how one person could continue to dish up the lies, find more ways to spend money which she didn't have. It just sounded like a spoiled child that never grew up!

Since I'm not much of a crime story reader, I sure kept glued to this book since it was about a murder that actually happened right across the Lake (Superior) from us. The history of the family just made it that much more interesting, and the author(s) gave details on the psychological basis for Marge's behavior, too, so that added to the interest of this narrative. Of course, coming from the mindset of a reporter (Feichtinger), one should expect this kind of detail. The appendices gives more detail for the reader--actual photos of the Congdon family, Marge Caldwell Hagen, the Glensheen Mansion, items from the murders of the two women and much more; history of the Congdon family; and other additional information. For anyone that wants to delve into this famous murder of the '70s and more about the ongoing antics of this Marge Caldwell Hagen, this book is well worth reading.

My husband bought this book for me since I loved touring Glensheen and also I'm a big fan of true crime books. This book was the perfect combination. Loved all the nitty gritty details of everyone's life - really made it enjoyable - Like you're there.

This has to be the most definitive and complete compilation of the facts of the Congdon murders at Glensheen. The authors are to be congratulated on a magnificent volume of work. Truly a Magnum Opus. This book is the ultimate of what the true crime genre should be. A big comprehensive read that mesmerizes and keeps one turning the pages. If the story of Marjorie Congdon won't put the fear of God in you concerning the psychopaths among us, then all else will fail. Your true crime collection will never be complete without this one!

I have followed the story for over 30 years now.
I do not see Marjorie as "greedy", as a normal person would be greedy. She gave more to others and to her children, friends, and family than she did to herself. I think she had a "spending" problem, I see her as probably a bit spoiled by a person who knew nothing about discipling children, and she certainly was raised in a lifestyle that most of us never had, but did she kill her mother? NO, I don't believe she had anything to do with it. Upon Elisabeth's death, there had to be over 100 people that would have benefited.
Her husband never once implicated her as an accomplice, even though he certainly could and had a right to, especially after she dumped him while he was in prison. Even after she was acquitted of the crime in her own trial, her husband certainly could have pointed the finger at her at that time, as she could not have been tried again for the same time. Yet, he did not. In fact, he said to his dying day that he didn't kill them either.
I am just wondering why the so-called "third party" was never gone after, and why the case was closed?
I think all of Marjorie's problem were a sign of this anger and rage she had inside of her over this money, that she could never seem to get her hands on. Her mother set the precident by giving her money as she needed it, but after the Trustees got control of it, she had to grovel and was humiliated by it. I would have been mad too, if someone was always trying to keep my money from me. What business is it of theirs if I wanted to spend it all in one day! However, there are proper and improper ways of channeling anger of course.
A very good read in my opinion, but way too many holes in the story to be able to know who really did what.
Much was based on hearsay.

If this book were fiction, I might dump it for being completely unbelievable. Most people would think, "No one could possibly do all that." Unfortunately for Miss Elizabeth and her nurse, it was not fiction.

I had been told it was boring--and horrible to read. I got it from the library and soon realized I couldn't put it down. I bought my own copy (online!) and couldn't wait to finish it. I have since loaned it to friends across the country (many are on the waiting list).

If a reader doesn't like non-fiction where the authors really include their deep-down feelings, then he or she might not like this. If someone just wants to read what seems like an inconceivable story, this should be perfect.

alot of Books try to paint a certain Picture about the Mafia but this Book just comes at you directly&doesn't miss a beat.you get the 411 on who did what when&where&How.if you are interested on Mafia Culture&whatnot then this is the Book for you.

This book is an excellent peripheral examination of organized crime from its beginnings to its current state.

For beginiers, this book will teach lessons and stories about the tentacles of organized crime and explain the overall themes and issues.

For mafia experts, this book is nothing more than a regurgitation of issues and theories lacking the supporting facts and details of heavy investigation.

I was drawn to this book because of its catchy cover with the crime scene tape. I was pleased that the interior lived up to the alluring cover with its compelling and informative narrative. I especially appreciated the author's whimsical touch in chronicling the colorful history of a bunch of hoodlums. He displayed a delightful sense of humor without glorifying the mob, as some of these books do. If you are looking for a single title to give you a fast overview of the shadowy Mafia, I highly recommend this book. In addition to Mafia history, there are get quirky chapters devoted to the "Leadership Lessons of Don Corleone" and "The Mafia on Television." Overall, the book was an enjoyable, edifying read from cover to cover, without getting lost in the sometimes intricate world of organized crime.

As the daughter of Bill Pogue, one of the Game Wardens murdered by Claude Dallas, I know the true story of what happened that day. Jack Olson did a wonderful job of interviewing almost anyone involved and investigating the lifestyle of Claude Dallas that led to this tragic event. I learned as much from reading this book as I did sitting through the long and frustrating trial.

A very compelling story told nicely in one of the earlier books of true crime writer Jack Olsen.

The story is fairly and dramatically presented and the author does of good job of giving the reader charachter background to make the story matter.

This book was extremely well written, and I would recommend it to anyone, regardless of their particular interests or hobbies. I know it is a cliche to say that "I could not put this book down," but it fits here. Olsen's writing style is easy and flows well. The whole story is so tragic, but I think the author does a good job of analyzing the events surrounding the murders of two Idaho fish and game wardens. Claude Lafayette Dallas, Jr. is clearly a murderer and yet he also has some sympathetic qualities that the author brings forth. It's a shame that the book is out of print, but if you look hard enough you can get a copy (thankfully, Internet searches will make it easier for you).

Read "Outlaw" by Jeff Long as well. He interviewed several key people that Mr. Olsen did not include (most declined to be interviewed at the time). All in all a fairly accurate and factual book and if you lived in the area at the time it stirs strong memories and emotions. Those who lived close to the events cannot forget Bill Pogue and Conley Elms.

In getting to know Claude via correspondence for several years,I believe that I can make a fairly accurate assessment of Claude's true character. Therefore, I believe I can fairly assess the book's veracity and plausibility. The book was interesting, entertaining, and exciting. Mr. Olsen presented the story in as truthful a manner as he could-considering he did not know Claude. In my opinion, overall, a very good book!

A wonderful story. Sometimes the writing is not great, with run-on sentances and gramitical errors; however, the story is compelling enough to bypass the small mishaps. At times a little confusing because numerous characters are introduced in short periods of time. Overall a pretty good book, one I will read again.

I absoultely loved this book...This book will keep you awake for sure wondering what will happen next...I highly recommend and don't want to give you too many details to spoil it...Excellent author!

For those who are intriqued by this tangled tale and wish to keep up with the central characters, here is an update on John Bizzack, former Lexington Police Officer.

In 1996, Dr. Bizzack was appointed Distinguished Professor of Criminal Justice in the Department of Political Science at the Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to graduate course instruction, he served as consultant on the development of criminal justice programs and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Command College.

On a more personal note, recently Bizzack's wife, Carol Bizzack, was one of the victims of the Comair Crash of flight #5191 in Lexington.

About the book itself; it is an interesting tale of cover-up, murder, and dedicated police work that could have been stronger if written by an author with a less muddled writing style; it remains interesting none the less because of the scope of the story and the level of deception. A former next-door neighbor of Ralph Ross' a sister of a Lexington Police officer during the time of these events, and a former employee of the Lexington-Fayette Urban Country Government, this book was of great interest to me. It should be interesting as well to any fan of the true-crime genre.

Though some people might find this book to be exciting and sexy and intriguing, please don't consider it as truth. This book should have been labelled as Fictional, which is what it is. Sally should have interviewed people who really knew the details- maybe spoken to members of the families involved, instead of spouting lies and touting them as truths. As a member of one of the families in the book, I know what I am talking about, and it hurts me deeply the lies that were told, which I can verify, matter of factly, were false.

For those needing a bit more closure than listed previously, after the events listed in this book, Ralph Ross moved to Lawrenceburg, KY and settled into a job as a PI. I had many chances to meet him in my teenage years after reading about him at his favorite location, the now closed Anderson Grill. He truly was a great man and seemed to enjoy helping people. I recall when I learned of his passing, I was inquiring as to his room at Heritage Hall (a local retirement home) when I was given the sad news.

His associate through the latter part of the Conspiracy ordeal, Don Powers is however still living in Anderson County as well, though is much more of a reclusive person.

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.