Bogeyman

By: Steve Jackson

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

A WildBlue Press original true crime story from the New York Times best-selling author of Monster and No Stone Unturned, describing in dramatic detail and with heart-rending poignancy the efforts of tenacious Texas lawmen to solve the cold case murders of three little girls and hold their killer accountable for his horrific crimes.

From the author

I think what made Bogeyman unique for me as a writer wasn't the killer's story, or even the exceptional detective work that went into bringing David Penton to justice. The book gives us a poignant and powerful inside look at the emotional, psychological, and physical toll a case like this has on the men and women of law enforcement, as well as on their families; those usually unseen, and rarely revealed, stories of courage, faith and sacrifice on behalf of the victims, the victims' families, and their communities.

About the author

New York Times best-selling author and award-winning journalist Steve Jackson has written 11 nonfiction books in true crime, history, and biography genres; he has also written 16 crime fiction thrillers for the Times best-selling Butch Karp series in collaboration with former New York assistant district attorney Robert K. Tanenbaum.

He is currently in the process of writing three more contracted non-fiction books: All Secure (Hachette), Finding Anastasia (Potomac) and Savig Annie (WildBlue Press). And he is finishing a novel, Island of Women. The publishers of his previous books include: HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Pinnacle, Atrium, De Capo, and WildBlue Press.

Steve is also the co-owner of indie publisher WildBlue Press (wildbluepress.com) with partner Michael Cordova. As of July 2018, WildBlue Press will have published more than 75 books by 50 authors in true crime, crime fiction, romance, history, current events, memoir, and business genres after less than four years in business.

His first non-fiction book, Monster, a true crime, was published in October 1998 and within two weeks became a New York Times best seller. In 2003, his World War II dramatic narrative, Lucky Lady, received The Colorado Book Award, best biography/history, from the Colorado Center for the Book; Lucky Lady was also the runner-up that year for the Admiral Samuel Morrison Naval History Award.

In June 2013, Jackson joined forensic investigative team NecroSearch International (the group featured in No Stone Unturned) searching for the remains of the Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov in Perm, Russia, as part of his research for an upcoming dramatic narrative history Finding Anastasia. Honored with NecroSearch membership in 2014, he and the team returned to Russia to continue the search in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, and will return in 2019.

©2014 Wildblue Press (P)2014 Wildblue Press

Critic reviews

"Jackson gives a master class on true crime reporting in BOGEYMAN. He writes with both muscle and heart." (Gregg Olsen, New York Times best-selling author of If I Can't Have You)

"Absorbing and haunting! Bogeyman spills creepily across the page with Steve Jackson’s hellacious verve and insight, reminding us there are few better explorers of the American berserk.” (Ron Franscell, best-selling author of The Darkest Night)

Spellbinding!

Where does Bogeyman rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the best audiobooks I've listened to. I usually prefer printed media to audio, but "Bogeyman" kept my attention all the way through. I usually multitask while I listen, although I repeatedly found myself frozen in place, fully engrossed in the story! It's not a "background" book where you can tune in and out without missing much. The details in this one are too interesting to miss.

What did you like best about this story?

"Bogeyman" is obviously well-researched and Steve Jackson has successfully pulled together all the pieces, in much the same way as a case would be constructed to be presented in court. There's lots of information in there, but it's never dry or uninteresting.

Which character – as performed by Kevin Pierce – was your favorite?

I thought Kevin Pierce did a wonderful job of narrating the book, and of creating different voices for different individuals. His voice is very easy on the ears. :-)

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I'm a parent, so my most common reaction was horror that someone could do such evil things to a child. I'm sorry the perp didn't get the death penalty. And I'm grateful to the law enforcement officers who tracked the bastard down and provided some closure for the grieving families.

Any additional comments?

Full disclosure: I won "Bogeyman" in a drawing and have no financial or personal connection to either WildBlue Press or Steve Jackson.

Not the best

I admire Jackson as an author, and always appreciate Pierce’s narration. But this one wasn’t very captivating for me. It had so much about the investigators, and their own personal lives. There wasn’t as much about the offender, and what led him to commit these awful crimes.

Fantastic!

Steve Jackson never fails to offer a complete story of these cases.

Together he and Kevin Pierce are two of our greatest storytellers!

What a heartbreaking audio

I thought this was a made up thriller, which I love to listen to while I work. Once I caught on it was a true story and accounts of little girls being kidnapped and killed I could not stop listening. My heart broke with each passing chapter and...I won't be a spoiler but after listening you will hug your kids a few seconds longer everyday. May this low life POS rot in hell!!!

Struggled to finish

struggled to finish, to much repeated information. The narrator was monotone and drab. I loved this authors last book, was looking forward to hearing this one. Total letdown.

Simply evil, every parents worst nightmare

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes, it is factual and relevant to what is happening every day in our country. Keep your children close and safe

What did you like best about this story?

The exceptional attention to detail and storyline

What about Kevin Pierce’s performance did you like?

Kevin is "Top Shelf" when it comes to his narration. The type of voice that can keep you in focus. Strong in every sense of the word

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

How far we have come relative to missing children and our attempt to stop criminals of this kind

Any additional comments?

Great read

Boogeyman

Fantastic! Narration was clear and expressive. Did not want to take a break even when I had too.

Excellent read

Excellent read and great telling of a difficult topic . True crime told about catching a killer over number of years

If You Have The Stomach...

A chilling story of a child rapist and killer and the legal windings several devoted and even obsessed officers take in order to finally bring him to justice and give the families of his victims the closure they long for.

Bogeyman

Listen as a docmentary. Interesting and haunting as true tales of men defined as monsters of children.