I'll Be Watching You

De: M. William Phelps

Narrado por: J. Charles

In September 2001 Carmen Rodriguez, a beautiful 32-year-old Hartford mother of four, went missing. At first police were stymied - until a killer's crucial mistake led investigators down a long, dark road of cold, calculated murder.

In 1987 single mother Mary Ellen Renard was strangled, repeatedly stabbed, and left for dead in her New Jersey apartment. Her vicious assailant had already killed once - and would kill again. But unlike the fiend's other victims, Mary Ellen lived to tell the tale.

Clean-cut, popular, and on the fast track at a multinational computer firm, Rutgers grad Edwin "Ned" Snelgrove shocked friends and colleagues with a plea bargain for Renard's brutal attack - and the heinous 1983 murder of college girlfriend Karen Osmun. Vowing never to be caught again, Ned spent his time in prison obsessively studying the violent career of his idol Ted Bundy...then was released 10 years early for good behavior

Unflinching and brilliantly researched, this is an exclusive tour into the twisted mind of an all-American killer and a state attorney's tireless efforts to lock him away forever.

©2008 M. William Phelps (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Great story just two hours too long

This story is told in a pretty straight forward, linear fashion which I like. It is sometimes hard to understand all the jumping around some authors do. The only problem here is the length of this book. At well over 14 hours, this book spends too much time with courtroom details. While there are some pretty good Law and Order style gotcha moments in the trial, way too much time is spent on the minutia of the trial.

Also, some reviewers are complaining about the author's choice to imitate an Asian-American accent for the forensic expert.
Why does that upset folks? He does a different accent for everyone's voice. Would you get upset if an Asian person was imitating an American's accent if they were speaking say.. Japanese? Or Mandarin? No. you wouldn't. So what is the difference?

This is a good true crime book about a lesser-known freak show serial killer. The hubris of this guy was off the charts. Also, there are many graphic details about his crimes - but even more graphic is the insight into this guy's mind. As I am a true crime veteran, I am more and more interested in the "why". What drives these monsters to do these things? What leads to the sick desires that can only be tamed with blood?

I will avoid this narrator forever

The story was okay. I don't blame the author. I find this particular psychopath to be a complete bore. Not that I need grisly details...there were enough of those. Ned is a bore. A completely empty shell masquerading humanity poorly. He aspired to fame...the kind of fame we normal types call infamy. He wanted to out do Ted Bundy. Even though he studied Bundy assiduously, he was too much of a narcissistic idiot to pull it off.

I could have possibly gotten more into the book if the narrator didn't ruin it for me. His cadence, tone and attempt to make different voices felt like a cartoonish caricature of how humans speak. I don't want to spend more time on this book by trying to describe what drove me nuts about the narration. Maybe it's me, but I don't think so. I'm pretty easy going as far as narrators go. This one is a dud. I hung in there just because I wanted to make sure Ned won't be hurting any women in the future. I thought perhaps I'd get used to the narration. Answer: nope.

TRUE CRIME AT ITS BEST

My only fear about the book "I'll Be Watching You", by William Phelps was I might have been fired from my job if any person saw me listening to it while working.

Between Phelps and his reader J. Charles, it was impossible for me to be disappointed. The characters are real. There will be times while listening, you will also have problems taking off your headset.

Ned is a SERIAL KILLER. As I listened to this fantastic Audio Book, my imagination went wild. I actually felt as if I was looking through a window experiencing the entire story.

For me, regardless of any negative reviews from others, "I'll Be Watching You" ranks in my top five True Crime Books I have ever read.
FANTASTIC!!!

Good story, terrible narration

Story was good, well written and interesting. Narration was awful using different voices that reminded me of South Park characters. Agree with other reviews that diving chapters into random "parts" was distracting and and seemingly served no purpose.

A really well put together true story

Mr Phelps writes some of the best true crime stories. This book covered a person and his crimes that were not well known. Mr Phelps was able to cover the story while giving compassion and dignity to the man's victims. Very well done.