Deliver Us from Evil

A New York City Cop Investigates the Supernatural

By: Ralph Sarchie, Lisa Collier Cool

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Demonic possession. Exorcism. Haunted Houses. Satanic Rituals.

For most people this is the stuff of nightmares, horror movies, folklore, and superstition. For New York City police Sergeant Ralph Sarchie, it's as real - and dangerous - as midnight patrol….

A 16-year NYPD veteran, Ralph Sarchie works out of the 46th Precinct in New York's South Bronx. But it is his other job that he calls "the Work": Investigating cases of demonic possession and assisting in the exorcisms of humanity's most ancient - and most dangerous - foes. Now he discloses for the first time his investigations into incredible true crimes and inhuman evil that were never explained, solved, or understood except by Sarchie and his partner. Schooled in the rituals of exorcism, and an eyewitness to the reality of demonic possession, Ralph Sarchie has documented a riveting chronicle of the inexplicable that gives a new shape to the shadows in the dark.

In Deliver Us from Evil, he takes listeners into the very hierarchy of a hell on Earth to expose the grisly rituals of a Palo Mayombe priest; a young girl whose innocence is violated by an incubus; a home invaded by the malevolent spirit of a supposedly murdered 19th-century bride; the dark side of a couple who were literally the neighbors from hell; and more. Ralph Sarchie's revelations are a powerful and disturbing documented link between the true-crime realities of life and the blood-chilling ice-grip of a supernatural terror.

©2001 Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool (P)2014 Macmillan Audio

Definitely better books out there on this topic

What would have made Deliver Us from Evil better?

You can definitely tell this guy is a cop. Goes off on tangents every five minutes when he should be talking about the case. The only thing missing when he goes off the rails is the term, "have I ever told you the time that..."

What could Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

One, write a skeleton of the main story that they were trying to tell. This book was all over the place. Way too many contradictions; the main contradiction is Sarchie's discrediting of eastern religion at a whim, but ends up talking about many eastern practices and how he puts them to use(Chakras, aura, chistian light - sorry these things don't exist in traditional or modern Catholicism). Sarchie may need to go back to school on the subject. There are great books here within Audible, which demonstrate cases along with references on studying the subject from not only a theological, but a medical\psychological side also, written from a christian side(Sarchie discredits and credits them at the same time).

Have you listened to any of William Dufris’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Have not, but the performance was not the issue. I believe he embodied Sarchie's attitude\disdain\superiority complex when dealing with different situations (per written).

What character would you cut from Deliver Us from Evil?

I believe it was John, his partner that he had when going to "cases". He mentions him and his fight with him, but it didn't really add anything to the story at all. It felt sort of like he included him like he was still apologizing. The Warren's, seemed like he was name dropping when he mentioned them, they were such a small part of a couple of cases(per written).

Any additional comments?

Now that the movie is coming out, I really believe they should have a ghost writer comb back through these notes(this book), and write it in a concise, informative, and depiction on these cases as it relates to the subject. This book should be showcased as a "how-to" start your rough draft for a book.

Not what I was hoping for

Would you try another book from Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool and/or William Dufris?

Definitely not

What was most disappointing about Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool ’s story?

I was hoping this book would be like a "True Life" version of The Exorcist, or something like that. Instead, it was essentially 11 hours of preaching. The stories jump around WAY too much, making them extremely hard to follow and the characters difficult to keep straight. Mr. Sarchie can't tell a single story without flying off on 2 or 3 tangents, sometimes to preach about his personal beliefs or experiences, sometimes to recount an entirely different story in the middle of the one he was telling, and sometimes not even finishing the story he was telling.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Deliver Us from Evil?

I would have structured the entire book differently. Fist, tell your story from start to finish, pausing briefly and only when necessary to explain the RELEVANT backgrounds of the characters involved. THEN when the story is concluded, you can discuss the significance and the take-home messages from that particular story. If you feel it necessary to interrupt one story to tell another one, then that should be it's own separate story and placed in some sort of logical order of progression.

Any additional comments?

Here are the things I learned from this book:
1: Mr. Sarchie appears to suffer from A.D.D.
2: Demonic possession evidently is as common as the Common Cold. Yet I've never had any first-hand knowledge of anything like the stories told in this book, nor have I known anyone who has. Have you?
3: If you're not Catholic, you probably don't have anything to worry about, as the Demonic spirits only appear to afflict those Catholics who have lapsed in their religious zeal.
4: If you're not Catholic, you will probably find dozens of reasons to be offended or otherwise annoyed by this book.
5: Listening to the prayers recounted at the end of the book, I've concluded that if I was a Demonic spirit and someone was attempting to exorcise me, I would leave out of sheer boredom.

I want very much to believe that there is something more to this existence than what we can see, hear, touch, etc. But there was nothing in this book that convinced me, or even gave me hope. I have no way of knowing whether any of these stories have any root in truth, as Mr. Sarchie states conveniently that any sort of documentation during an exorcism is forbidden.

I guess there's really only one way that any of us will learn what is waiting beyond the veil. It's too bad that we can't let anyone know what we find out.

Almost too scary but a few funny parts too

What made the experience of listening to Deliver Us from Evil the most enjoyable?

I like scary! This gave me nightmares though lol

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

It's a true story written by an almost 20 year veteran of the NYPD.

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

Everything. It was great!

If you could give Deliver Us from Evil a new subtitle, what would it be?

True life horror stories from a veteran police officer

Any additional comments?

4 star book

Ego Overshadowing Content

What would have made Deliver Us from Evil better?

The level of cockiness and self promotion was extreme. Even when trying to sound humble and God-serving it came across as self-serving.

What could Ralph Sarchie and Lisa Collier Cool have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

So many, many things...

Which scene was your favorite?

none

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

If I were Catholic and wanted to buy into all that is, there might have been a value.

Any additional comments?

I wasted my money.

Way to disjointed.

What did you like best about Deliver Us from Evil? What did you like least?

I did find each of the cases he talked about riveting.

What I liked the least and why I could not finish this book was while talking about the main situation it would remind him of other cases "A, B, and C" which then reminded him as a cop of situation "D" and now back to the main story again. By this point I had so many names and things thrown at me I forgot about the main situation and their characters.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

If he just stuck to one experience and explained the rational behind his thinking without making it seem like a disjointed facebook timeline I would have thoroughly enjoyed it. I did find the main story in each chapter fascinating, if he just stuck to that main focus.

Have you listened to any of William Dufris’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Nope, but he was good.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

I understand it is a movie, and knowing that it will have to go through another filtering process by someone else I would. Maybe they will reign in the story and keep it on track.

Any additional comments?

Overall I would like to say, great stories and experiences but I could not finish it.

Narration is irritating

I really wanted to like this book but two things really got to me. First was the narration. The reader tried to spin a stereotypical New York cop accent which just failed and was more irritating than anything. Second was that there was way too much Jesus in this book. I get that region plays a role in curing paranormal activity, but I am not interested in hearing a sermon. The author states in the book that he wants his readers to walk away Jesus believers, but this was too much. Both were so irritating that I couldn’t even finish the book & gave up on it.

Dripping with Self-Righteousness

This book is preachy, repetitive, disorganized and filled with contradictions.

I bought this book because I loved the movie. What I loved about the movie is that while there was a religious element, there wasn't a mention of god every other sentences. This book does. It's extremely preachy in it's whole "The devil exist, believe in god or else this could happen to you. Pray every day, go to church once a week..." At the same time all the victims are catholic that aren't so zealous in their practice of religion. The book really lost me when he started on statistics about how believing in god raised your chances to survive things like heart surgery, and how it could cure you from depression and so on.

It also gets repetitive on many occasion in its explanations regarding how possession progresses, about how to do an exorcism, about which prayers to use and why. It's as if the authors touch a bunch of stories written as single short stories, put them one after the others without considering the book as a single piece.

It's very disjointed, drawing parallels with other stories happening before, going on religious tangent, and so on. There were a couple of time where I wondered how does this story finishes? It's like the last page of his report has gone missing and no one noticed?

A celebration of ignorance

This is the most ignorant, biased, racist, misogynist take on paranormal phenomenon I've ever had the misfortune to read. The author's disdain for anyone who is not White, Male and Catholic caused me to call each of his anecdotes in to question. Even the contemporary Catholic Church isn't safe, as the author takes pains throughout to suggest that only Pre-Vatican II Catholicism is acceptable. The thought that this man roamed the streets of New York as a police officer is the stuff of nightmares.

Should be titled: Deliver Us from a Pompous Ass

What disappointed you about Deliver Us from Evil?

Interesting stories, however you can see that when seen through the eyes of this "Traditionalist Catholic" everything was (GASP) a demon!

Did William Dufris do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

He was pretty good, especially when the main character was acting self-righteous. That was conveyed very well.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The stories had the potential of being very, very interesting. but many of them turned into preachy retellings from what I am sure is a secret member of Opus Dei.

Any additional comments?

I thought that this author's true life experience as a police officer, would offer a plethora of stories where he could describe how evil does lead human beings to commit horrendous acts against other human beings, and where there was also some type of supernatural influence that he he was able to recognize

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What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Dont waste your time unless you're ready to get preached at for hours on end.