Killer Clown

The John Wayne Gacy Murders

De: Terry Sullivan, Peter T. Maiken

Narrado por: Sean Runnette

He was a model citizen. A hospital volunteer. And one of the most sadistic serial killers of all time. But few people could see the cruel monster beneath the colorful clown makeup that John Gacy wore to entertain children in his Chicago suburb. Few could imagine what lay buried beneath his house of horrors—until a teenage boy disappeared before Christmas in 1978, leading prosecutor Terry Sullivan on the greatest manhunt of his career.

Reconstructing the investigation—from records of violence in Gacy's past, to the gruesome discovery of 29 corpses of abused boys in Gacy's crawlspace and four others found in the nearby river—Sullivan's shocking eyewitness account takes you where few true crime books ever go: inside the heart of a serial murder investigation and trial.

©2013 Terry Sullivan and Peter T. Maiken (P)2017 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Gripping." (Publishers Weekly)

Horrible, Fascinating True Crime

Narration: Excellent...Deep resonance appropriate for subject matter....pace facilitates comprehension....serious tone obviously appropriate for subject matter.

Story: Fascinating and horrible. Detailed and informative. Completely shocking.


Highly recommended.

Insightful and informative

I hate to say it is entertaining because the subject matter is so horrific. This case broke when I was a child and it’s probably the reason am so fascinated by true crime. In addition, the crimes took place in the Chicagoland area, not too far from where I grew up and still live.

Terry Sullivan offers a unique insight into the crimes and the investigation. Seeing the process through the eyes of law enforcement is very interesting. The detail, though it seemed extreme at times, was crucial to the “story”. Perhaps my favorite part of the book is the epilogue, where the author details his long term effects from the case and how it changes him as a person.

If you have interest in this case, this book is one worth reading. It’s not sensationalized, but told from a humanistic perspective.

good book not mind blowing

it's a good book from child 33 backwards so you dont get the drama of kids coming up missing. no build up of fear.

A chilling story

I still remember the day my sister came home from work(she worked at one of the drugstores that John Gacy remodeled) and the news was on showing him being arrested. She said”I know that man” then my mom pipes up “he’s being arrested”! My sister says “what for he so nice”! Then my mom says “ for killing a bunch of boys” . My sister was in total shock. I’m just thankful that at the time she was a girl and not a boy. I would highly recommend this book to anyone but especially to those whom live through the Gacy years.

unlistenable.

I couldn't get over the narrator. it's an old man with a lisp that's really hard to understand.

review

understanding why people would do that is beyond most people's reasoning. but the author does a good job having been there of speculation.

Amazing story from unique perspective

I’ve heard many stories on Gacey but really enjoyed this one from a different perspective.

Simply Horrific

Police procedural for a bit, yes, but it was helpful to see what it took to bring Gacy down. Such a horrific story. Gacy was just pure evil. No remorse. I think Greg Bedoe said it best towards the end of the book. Bedoe was a first hand witness to Gacy’s execution. Gacy was given something to put him to sleep and then two other chemicals were given to stop his heart and breathing. As Bedoe recounted the event, he said,

“Nothing was cruel or unusual about the way Gacy died. Cruel and unusual was the way those kids died.”

So heartbreaking.

Interesting Look at a Killer

Very thorough and interesting. the writing for most of it was clear and concise. captured a creepy personality perfectly. would have been 5 stars but felt the last hour lost that clear direct narrative that made the rest of the story so captivating.

A Serial Killer - Thoroughly Examined

This book is a fairly exhaustive account of John Wayne Gacy's crimes and the investigation that ultimately ended his multi-year killing spree. Well written and narrated, I recommend this book for any reader interested not only in serial killers, but the people charged with pursuing and stopping them.