Grilling Dahmer

The Interrogation of "the Milwaukee Cannibal"

By: Patrick Kennedy, Robyn Maharaj

Narrated by: Tom Lennon

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

In the late hours of July 22, 1991, Detective Patrick "Pat" Kennedy of the Milwaukee Police Department was asked to respond to a possible homicide. Little did he know that he would soon be delving into the dark mind of one of America's most notorious serial killers, the "Milwaukee Cannibal", Jeffrey Dahmer.

As the media clamored for details, Kennedy spent the next six weeks, 16 hours a day, locked in an interrogation room with Dahmer. There, the 31-year-old killer described in lurid detail how he lured 17 young men to his apartment, where he strangled, sexually assaulted, dismembered, and in some cases, cannibalized his victims.

In Grilling Dahmer: The Interrogation of "the Milwaukee Cannibal", the listener is taken on a horrifying tour into the mind of evil as Kennedy patiently, meticulously listened to unspeakable horrors so that a monster would be taken off the streets forever.

©2021 Robyn Maharaj (P)2022 WildBlue Press

Super interesting.

I love Pat’s empathy and honesty about telling this story. Lots of detail, but not too gory.

Easy to follow and great amount of detail

So happy I found this book. Have been learning about Dahmer for some years now and this really filled some gaps. The story is easy to follow along and the narrator does a great job. This has all the information you could possibly want about his interrogation without being too gruesome but still providing a lot of detail. If you are interested in true crime then 110% give this a listen. Although if you couldn’t make it through the Netflix series maybe skip this one.

Binge listened

Definitely learned more then I had before reading this book. It was intriguing to hear the investigator's report, and his own response to what he had seen and heard. It was just so unbelievable, and still is! The fact that any human being could do this boggles one's mind. Couldn't stop listening.

Just Meat and Potatoes

This is a concise and facinating summary of the many interviews Milwaukee Police Detective, Pat Kennedy and his partner had with serial murderer Jeffery Dahmer, over the many days immediately following his arrest. And it provides a real sense of Dahmer's personality and motivations. It's a nugget of gold for true crime fans, but offers little insight into Dahmer's pathology, early life and life outside of the individual murders. There is some exposition on these points at the very end. The writing is novice at times and some short passages are unnecessary. The narrator was clear and easy to listen to. I would recommend this book with the caveat that the narrative is purely in service of delivering the facts of the interviews. I gave it 4 stars because of it's value in understanding what Jeffery Dahmer did.

Insightful

Honest and not needlessly gory. Also really appreciate how it subtly highlights the racism and homophobia that was and is still found throughout police departments. Worth a read.

What a kind decent man the Detective was!

Listen and you will hear the best account of Jeffrey Dahmers’ existence. In and out of custody.

Brutally Honest and Intense

This audiobook covers the time after Dahmer’s arrest and the conversations between Dahmer and Pat Kennedy. Kennedy is the detective that broke down Dahmer’s mind and found a way to relate to and understand one of the most horrific people in history. This book also reveals the tactics detectives used to obtain the truth from Dahmer.

Patrick Kennedy and Robyn Maharaj actively chronicle the answers Dahmer provides, the criminal and court proceedings, and the conversations that were probably never meant to happen. The authors do an amazing job of visualizing the moments of Dahmer’s darkest days and the horrendous thoughts that run rampant through his mind. Kennedy and Maharaj do an amazing job of humanizing one of America’s most prolific serial killers.

The narrator, Tom Lennon, gives an excellent performance. He seemed enthusiastic and communicated the intensity of the dark and gruesome moments relayed in the story accurately and with clarity. I enjoyed Lennon’s performance and look forward to hearing more from him.

This book comes highly recommended for true crime enthusiasts for its brutal honesty, intensity, and deep dive into the mind of a dark sadist serial killer. The amount of research committed to this book is amazing and revealed never-before explored information.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook, it was well done.

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.

Good Book

We know what happened but this book goes behind the scenes if you will. Its a different angle and truly interesting. Details I've never heard prior to this book.

Absolutely Incredible

Like everyone familiar with true crime, I recognize the name Jeffrey Dahmer as one of the most infamous and disturbed murderers of all time. I first heard about this book from a bonus episode of my favorite true crime podcast. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to mention the name of the show on a public review, so I won’t. I’ll just say STM covered the book on a paid bonus platform. I was enthralled with it after listening to an hour long podcast. I immediately purchased it and began listening. I do not even know how to begin describing how incredibly good it is. It’s so fascinating and well written. Dahmer was such a pathetic and tortured person. Granted, he is a monster, but hearing his story directly from the detective who took his confession and Dahmer himself, made this horrible story one of the most enthralling books I’ve ever heard or read. It’s not for the faint of heart. Hopefully, everyone is at least a little disturbed by the details in this book. If you’re not, you should probably be locked away somewhere. If you’re easily upset by descriptions of violence, you shouldn’t listen. If you’re a hardened true crime junkie with an iron stomach, buckle up for an incredible ride. This book is incredible, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

better than expected!

really interesting account. I had no idea he was so helpful to the identification of his many victims. wonderfully written and performed. well worth the credit.