Drop Dead Dangerous

The Lethal Attraction of Road Trip Killer, Paul John Knowles

By: Ryan Green

Narrated by: Steve White

Length: 4 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1974, the US East Coast was whipped up into a frenzy of fear. Locking their windows and doors, everyone was terrified of becoming the next victim of the strikingly handsome but deadly “Casanova Killer”. And he was on the move.

After being released from jail and promptly abandoned by his fiancée, Paul John Knowles embarked on a spate of gruesome murders on a road trip up the Pacific Coast.

No room for fear, no room for guilt, just the road.

As the man-hunt gathered pace, the cold-blooded killing spree continued to defy detectives. With no visible pattern in the age, race nor gender of the victims, Knowle’s joyride of kidnap, rape, and murder tore across multiple state borders. It became a race of tragically high stakes. How many more lives would be lost before the police finally caught up?

Drop Dead Dangerous is a chilling account of Paul John Knowles and one of the most disturbing true crime stories in America’s history. Ryan Green’s riveting narrative draws the listener into the real-live horror experienced by the victims and has all the elements of a classic thriller.

Caution: This book contains descriptive accounts of torture, abuse, and violence. If you are especially sensitive to this material, it might be advisable not to listen any further.

©2022 Ryan Green (P)2022 Ryan Green

Pulling back the curtain on the Casanova Killer...

April 25, 1946, ushered into this world a baby boy named Paul John Knowles. The shocking story of that boy’s life is the subject of this audiobook. Whether you call him a serial killer or a spree killer (and both terms have been applied), he was a violent man with no regard for anyone or anything but himself and his own desires. In this riveting examination of the Florida native that the media dubbed “the Casanova Killer”, Ryan Green melds his signature blend of keenly insightful psychological analysis and his unrelenting investigative research with the smooth prose of a seasoned novelist to provide a truly mesmerizing biography of a man that was described by many women as “charming” and who one British journalist called “a dreamboat”, and a “cross between Robert Redford and Ryan O’Neal”. Add to that the vocal talent of Steve White and you get an absolutely gripping tale guaranteed to chill you to the bone. Paul Knowles was, in reality, a vicious and unrepentant monster responsible for 18 horrifying deaths. Unbelievably, he claimed credit for more savagery, boasting of killing up to 35 people, but those claims have yet to be fully substantiated. I think that anyone with any interest in true crime, law enforcement, psychology, or history will find this story completely captivating and worthy of your full attention. It is provocative, well written, and perfectly narrated.

Dangerous, Indeed!

Ryan Green has done it again! I am a fan of true crime and know that when I read a book written by Mr. Green, I'm in for a disturbing, thought provoking read!

I had never heard of John Knowles, but I don't think I will ever forget him after reading this book. This type of book always makes me wonder just how many serial killers are living among us? How many handsome, charming men are stalking our neighborhoods, looking for their next victim?

Mr. Green has the ability to take facts and weave them together in a way that is easy to read but also chilling. Some true crime books seem to be "just the facts, ma'am", which often makes for dry reading. Not so with Mr. Green's books! And, once again, he has managed to make a true monster seem very realistic and even sympathetic. I always hate to say that I enjoyed a book like this or that I was entertained by it; it is too disturbing to describe it in this way.

The narrator, Steve White, has become the voice for Mr Green's books. He does a great job with the pacing and his performance makes an already great book even better. If you are a fan of true crime, give this book a try (or any others by the author). You won't be disappointed!

Great Read

Drop Dead Dangerous: The Lethal Attraction of Road Trip Killer, Paul John Knowles was a good read by Ryan Green. The US East Coast was sent into a frenzy of fear in 1974. They were terrified of becoming the next victim of the handsome but deadly Casanova Killer. He was released from jail and abandoned by his fiancee. Paul John Knowles commits gruesome murders on a road trip up the Pacific Coast. Unfortunately the killing spree defies detectives. He doesn't have a pattern; he kidnaps, rapes, and murders across multiple state borders. This is a good book for anyone who enjoys reading true crime stories.

A WILD RIDE with the Road Trip Killer

As a TC fan there are not many killers I have not heard of, read about, or watched a documentary on. Having heard of PJK, I never thought his story was very interesting, until now. Mr. Green has the ability to make a criminals' story come to life. Whether it's a well known serial killer or a no so notorious spree killer, Green's tactic of telling the story from the killer's POV is EVERYTHING. It's story telling in 3D. You feel like you're there, like you are the killer. Your body will tense up as you are on the run from the law and they are gaining on you. Your hands will actually feel clammy from the prolonged grip on the steering wheel racing down miles of roads fleeing the cops. I just can't say it enough- Mr. Green has mastered this POV tactic, it's his niche, and it's AWESOME.
So if you're down for a wild ride... listen to this version of the Road Trip Killer.

FAVORITE LINE: If PJK was a religious man his God would be a stretch of black tarmac.

Casanova turned deadly

Are you a true crime fan but you’re tired of hearing about the same “big name” cases over & over again? Then, why have you not started reading literally any works by Ryan Green?! Hop to it!
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I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the audiobook of “Drop Dead Dangerous” in exchange for an honest review. Let’s be real. I went into this with high hopes because Mr Green hasn’t disappointed me yet! Well, you can add this one to the list of successes because this receives an overall score of: 5/5 stars + 2/5 on my intrigued scale.

I will admit that I got really nervous when I saw that the narrator was Steve White as we know my feelings about him from the ‘Twelve From Hell’ collection. However, he gets a solid 3/5 stars this time! I don’t know if he got tips, if he was more into this book, or if he’s simply more experienced now but it was a MUCH more pleasant experience this time around.