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des moines kali white monsters we make based on true crooked lane year old dale goodkind well written lane books moines iowa true crime paper route stranger danger christopher stewart based on real sister crystal exchange for an honest early morning win a scholarship true events
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Kathryn A Wright
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2020
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I live in Des Moines and I remember these cases very well. I have lived on the South Side of DSM for over 50 years. I think that this book contains a very important message. We remember the saying “Stranger Danger “. But the idea of those closest to our kids probably pose the most danger is often forgotten. This book shows how easy it is for children to fall victim to a predator. I think the boys that were abducted in DSM were probably taken by a ring of sex traffickers in my opinion. Laws were changed and the way Child abductions are handled were changed. Thank you for your research and writing a book that is going to stay with me for a long time.
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RueRue
3.0 out of 5 stars Fact based fiction
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2021
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Credit to the author for using a real life, unsolved case from the 1980’s and creating fact-based fiction. Good characters, but a bit slow-paced.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Solid suspense, well paced mystery.
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
Loved this fictionalized story about paperboys who disappeared in Des Moines in the ‘80’s. Well developed characters that I cared about, haunting storyline, well paced with action. Because I was familiar with the true stories it was based on, it made it sometimes difficult to read at night. Great job. Would love more like this from this author.
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MC
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2020
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An incredible addictive book. I could not stop once I began. Hard to remember the last time a book thrilled me so much. The prose, the narrative, the structure. It's all masterful. Must read.
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A careless gardener
5.0 out of 5 stars A page turner, for sure
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2020
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I remember the summers of the disappearances of two paperboys in Des Moines, Iowa. This evocative novel brought back those days. Kali White captures the time and place and events as backstory, and creates compelling fictional characters in a page-turning front story. A great read!
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Ace
5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2020
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A page turner and then some.
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Misty M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for true crime fans!
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2020
Don't talk to strangers. No means no. Find an adult. Sound familiar? These are just a few stranger-danger points passed on from parent to child everywhere. I don't even remember a time when stranger-danger wasn't at the top of every parent's mind. We fear for our children's safety, we fear for their lives. We do everything in our power to keep our children out of harm's way. But what if it isn't enough? What if strangers aren't the only ones for whom we should preach caution?

"The Monsters We Make" by Kali White is a poignant portrayal of life in the 1980s, of newfound fears, and a turning point for parents everywhere. While the book is loosely based on the real-life missing-person paperboy cases of Johnny Gosch, Eugene Martin, and Marc Warren Allen, White entwines their stories into her own fictitious tale. Her writing explores the life of another young boy facing impossible odds, his older sister chasing collegiate dreams, and an officer of the law just trying to do right by his family and the children of Iowa.

"The Monsters We Make" was all-consuming, from start to finish. I felt for the characters and became invested in their outcome. The narrations from the twelve-year-old paperboy Sammy, his eighteen-year-old sister (and aspiring journalist) Crystal as well as Officer Dale Goodkind, a Sergeant in the Crimes Against Persons department, brought upon some fairly deep reflections of my own. Typically I've run across books where the characters were within a similar age-group; however, reading Sammy's internal monologue at the mere age of twelve did something to me. My heart ached for him; he felt that he'd tried to reach out, to seek help, and, in his mind, he'd exhausted all options. Sammy was fearful and desperate. As a mother, that's truly heartbreaking. Alongside his voice were alternating chapters from a young woman just trying to find her way, make it to college, and better herself, all while helping take care of her little brother and overwhelmed mother. The sergeant's narrations were equally as important in their own way, exploring the effects of the job force on the individual, especially as it pertains to crimes against persons, and the particularly trying balance of work and life. How much should you share with your loved ones when the majority of your day is spent dealing with the unquestionably heinous aspects of human nature?

This snippet from the final chapter sums up a lot of my own (and I'm sure my mother's) feeling's quite well:

"If she got married and had a family someday, she tried to imagine what it would be like to raise children now, knowing what she knew, after everything she'd seen that could happen to children. She would never be able to let them walk to school alone, or go into public restrooms alone, or to the movies or the mall or the park without adult supervision. Lord only knew how it would eventually affect her generation as adults.

Generation Paranoid."

There's not a day that goes by where I don't worry about my children, about their safety, health, and well-being. Call it paranoia if you will, I'll forever call it undying love. You never can be too careful.

I would recommend "The Monsters We Make" to true crime fans and anyone interested in the goings-on of this time. Please keep in mind that crimes against children are at the forefront of this novel. I also feel that it's important to mention that while the ending may sit differently with each individual, I personally thought that it rather fitted the times and was, sadly, accurate to the nature of the topic. Kali White's latest work is one that I won't soon be forgetting.

Thank you, Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley, and the author, Kali White, for providing me with a complimentary copy of "The Monsters We Make." I have voluntarily and honestly reviewed this title, rating it 4.5 stars.
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Carrie T
5.0 out of 5 stars Who is the monster in your community?
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2021
“The Monsters We Make” is a mystery/thriller that explores the nightmare all parents have: the sudden disappearance of children and the horror of children being abused right under our feet.

Thank you to @netgalley and @crookedlanebooks for this novel! All thoughts are mine only.

I started this yesterday and could not put it down. The novel is fictional, but based on the true story of paper boys who disappeared in the early 1980’s in Des Moines, Iowa.

Kali White leaves just enough of a trickle of details that has you desperately turning the pages. What is so scary that paper boy Sammy, age 12, carries scissors with him every Sunday on his paper route? Why won’t he tell his sister Crystal the reason he was running like his life depends on it the morning Christopher Stewart disappears? Crystal wants to write about the disappearances in hopes to win a scholarship, so she can study journalism, but needs to get her brother to open up.

Sergeant Dale Goodkind thought the nightmare of missing boys was behind him, that not only brought up memories he never wanted to remember, but finds this case tearing him apart, unable to share with his wife. He finds his marriage and relationship with his young son falling apart.

Believe me, you want to find the answers, just like I did. Who’s the monster in their community?
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5.0 out of 5 stars Who is the monster in your community?
By Carrie T on March 11, 2021
“The Monsters We Make” is a mystery/thriller that explores the nightmare all parents have: the sudden disappearance of children and the horror of children being abused right under our feet.

Thank you to @netgalley and @crookedlanebooks for this novel! All thoughts are mine only.

I started this yesterday and could not put it down. The novel is fictional, but based on the true story of paper boys who disappeared in the early 1980’s in Des Moines, Iowa.

Kali White leaves just enough of a trickle of details that has you desperately turning the pages. What is so scary that paper boy Sammy, age 12, carries scissors with him every Sunday on his paper route? Why won’t he tell his sister Crystal the reason he was running like his life depends on it the morning Christopher Stewart disappears? Crystal wants to write about the disappearances in hopes to win a scholarship, so she can study journalism, but needs to get her brother to open up.

Sergeant Dale Goodkind thought the nightmare of missing boys was behind him, that not only brought up memories he never wanted to remember, but finds this case tearing him apart, unable to share with his wife. He finds his marriage and relationship with his young son falling apart.

Believe me, you want to find the answers, just like I did. Who’s the monster in their community?
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W. A. Burt
5.0 out of 5 stars We are all capable of evil.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 10, 2021
Verified Purchase
Inspired by real life events Kali White has given us a remarkable book that pulses with dark themes and where danger often hides in plain sight.
Outwith the missing paperboys,the main characters Dale,Sammy,Crystal and Tina all have problems of their own.Each has difficult decisions to make which will have far reaching consequences but will they make the right ones?
As the story develops the reader quickly becomes drawn into this exquisitely layered novel.
Without a doubt a satisfying five star read.
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