The Man from Milwaukee

By: Rick R. Reed

Narrated by: Donald Davenport

Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

It’s the summer of 1991 and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer has been arrested. His monstrous crimes inspire dread around the globe. But not so much for Emory Hughes, a closeted young man in Chicago who sees in the cannibal killer a kindred spirit, someone who fights against the dark side of his own nature, as Emory does. He reaches out to Dahmer in prison via letters.

The letters become an escape — from Emory’s mother dying from AIDS, from his uncaring sister, from his dead-end job in downtown Chicago, but most of all, from his own self-hatred.

Dahmer isn’t Emory’s only lifeline as he begins a tentative relationship with Tyler Kay. He falls for him and, just like Dahmer, wonders how he can get Tyler to stay. Emory’s desire for love leads him to confront his own grip on reality. For Tyler, the threat of the mild-mannered Emory seems inconsequential, but not taking the threat seriously is at his own peril.

Can Emory discover the roots of his own madness before it’s too late and he finds himself following in the footsteps of the man from Milwaukee?

©2020 Rick R. Reed (P)2020 Rick R. Reed

Fascinating!

What a clever angle in which to approach the Dahmer story. I really enjoyed it as I listened straight through!

WOW

This story is absolutely chilling. If you're at all familiar with Dahmer, you'll know the horror surrounding him. But....what about the people he may have inspired? I was torn between feeling sorry for Emory and being a little repulsed by his actions and obsession with Dahmer. I suppose the first clue would have been how he viewed Dahmer as a kindred spirit, and as the book progresses you begin to wonder just how much of a kindred spirit Dahmer is. There were moments that were surreal and made you question what was actually happening and what was just a peek inside Emory's troubled mind. I almost felt bad for Tyler - but we can't control who we're attracted to or fall for. A chilling read, but don't go in expecting romance or a guaranteed happy ending.

Gripping and Highly entertaining!

" Monsters are real. They live inside us. Sometimes they win." -Stephen King

This story is set at the time when Jeffrey Dahmer was convicted for the murder and dismemberment of 17 men and boys from 1978 to 1991. Emory Hudges has been obsessed with Jeffrey Dahmer ever since he read about him on the front page of the Chicago Tribune.
He thinks he understands Jeffrey and is empathetic towards him. Emory leads a hard life. His mother is diagnosed with AIDS and he has to work two jobs to support her and his sister, who doesn't make it easy on him either. He is a lonely man who finds it difficult to come to terms with his homosexuality.
To ease his loneliness he starts writings letters to Dahmer in prison.
Tyler Kay first met Emory as his co-worker and later started getting closer to the odd young man. As he gets to know him better he realises that Emory didn’t just have a morbid curiosity about the dark side of human nature but was too close to that dark side himself.

This was a gripping and compelling novel. I loved how the author seamlessly switched between different POVs throughoutthe book. It was definitely not an easy book to read but I couldn't find it in myself to put it down either!
I absolutely loved the twists and turns. The ending was unexpected but it is as good as a happily after one can get after all is said and done.

Donald Davenport's audio delivery and narration was subpar. At times I felt the narrator briefly pause mid sentence giving us the impression that he hadn't read the entirety of it before he began narrating. Although it doesn't disengage you from the story as a whole, it can be a bit distracting.