Bogeyman

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)  

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!!!

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

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.

13 of 14 people found this review helpful

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.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great Listen

What a great book. The story, the way it was written, the small details, and the narrator, all top notch. I can't wait for another book by the author and narrator combination, it's a hit!

8 of 10 people found this review helpful

So good!

This book was amazing. Very well done. I couldn't stop listening. This is a must purchase you won't be disappointed.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

loved it!

great from start to end, never put it down. sad but great book to hear.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

Excellent read

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

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

Keven Piece

Any audio book I lessen to read by Keven Piece is a good book just because his voice sounds like the characters he is describing. That pitch changes for different characters keeps the picture alive to me.
I now look for books narrated by Keven

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Fascinating!

I did this book in one complete session! Not only is the story compelling, but the vocal performance is top-notch too. I highly recommend this book for all true-crime lovers.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Best non-fiction crime writer ever

Jackson presented this non-fiction book so effectively that it flows as well as any fiction. Extremely sad but the writing was masterful. I would read anything else by this author and highly recommend.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful