The Killing Cousins

The True Story of the Slaying Cousins (True Crime by Evil Killers, Book 11)

By: Jack Rosewood

Narrated by: Miles Taylor

Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

When killing cousins David Alan Gore and Fred Waterfield realized as teens that they shared the same sick, twisted sex fantasies of raping helpless, bound women who were completely at their mercy, Florida's quiet Vero Beach would be never be the same.

Some of the least remorseful of all American serial killers, the deadly duo stalked their victims, often hitchhikes they believed would never be missed, using Gore's auxiliary deputy badge as a ruse to lure them into their vehicle. After that, they were most likely to be driven to their deaths.

Their evil, sadistic story from the annals of Florida history is one that will chill even longtime fans of true crime murder, especially after listening to excerpts from the letters Gore wrote from prison, in which he shared deplorable secrets that made him one of the most demented sex criminals of all time.

Gore once told a psychologist that "the devil made me do it", but those who came in contact with Gore - including the law enforcement officials that ultimately put him on Death Row - believed he was the devil due to his depraved levels of cruelty.

Among the psychopaths and sociopaths that have walked the Earth, Gore was one of the worst, although those who knew them say that it was Fred Waterfield, the more popular cousin who always played the good guy to Gore's bad, who was the true brains of the outfit. As it happens, he probably was, because Waterfield almost got away with murder.

©2016 Oscar Johansson (P)2016 Oscar Johansson

The true story of two depraved men in the 80s

Before listening to this audiobook I had never heard of Cousins David Alan Gore and Fred Waterfield which is surprising since their crimes must have garnered a lot of media attention. I assume the reason for my lack of information on the subject is due to geography. I live in Ontario, Canada and the cousins' crime spree took place in Florida.

I have listened to and read many True Crime books over the years and they all tend to follow a particular pattern. First, you learn about the killer's childhood and family life; any early signs of psychopathy are outlined. This leads to the telling of the escalation of the killer's crimes.

In "The Killing Cousins" this formula is only partially used. Other than learning that both David Alan Gore and his cousin, Fred Waterfield both had violent and deviant sexual fantasies during their adolescence, I did not feel that their early histories were adequately examined.

I did find the story interesting, but felt there were a few problems with the way it was presented to the reader/listener.

It was lacking in cohesiveness and the story came across as disjointed. For example, the listener learns that David Alan Gore was executed before they learn the details of his crimes. I believe that the author assumes that his readers will have previous knowledge of this criminal duo, but that is not always the case.

Another issue I had was with the recording quality. In two separate places the narrator repeats himself. I believe is probably when he took a break and went back to it later and a few words ended up being said twice; either that or whoever did the editing made the errors.

I also would have liked to hear more about the victims. While there were a few details given, such as their ages, I felt that not enough details were given for the reader to feel any true empathy for them. They came across as victims in a story, rather than real people.

Based on the comments above, it would seem that I did not enjoy this audiobook, but that is not true. I found it interesting and I have to admit that the psychopathic mind is fascinating to me. What turns seemingly ordinary people into depraved monsters? I guess we will never really know.

If you are looking for a shortened version of the story of David Alan Gore and Fred Waterfield this audiobook is perfect for you.

I rate this audiobook as 3 out of 5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Bit Boring

It was very hard to get into this book. I did not find that it was written very well and was a little all over the place. The narrator did not help with his slow monotone voice.

Sick and twisted cousins

The things that these cousins did were horrifying and inhumane. (Example: Scalping some of their victims) Very interesting listen if you like this type of genre. Wasn't too fond of the narration though, as it sounded like he had a sinus problem, but it wasn't so bad that it interfered with the story. Just a little annoying otherwise.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

Wish These Creeps Were Fictional

Would you try another book from Jack Rosewood and/or Miles Taylor?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I couldn’t remember ever hearing of David Alan Gore or Fred Waterfield before listening to this book, perhaps because I was either not born or very young during their killing spree. These two were as sick and twisted as they come, there wasn’t a great deal of detail on their youth and early signs of psychopathy, we briefly hear about their deviant/sadistic fantasies as early teenagers and that’s about it.

If you like true crime I think you’d enjoy this book, it’s worth a listen. The narration is decent, there is one spot where the narrator repeats a line, but I don’t remember any additional editing issues.

**I received this book for free, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review from AudioBook blast**

A very interesting read

Any additional comments?

This was a very interesting story with some facts I didn’t know and others I did. I thought the author put a lot of thought into writing this. There were one or two places the same thing was repeated but it doesn’t take away from the story. I thought the ending where the author went over some other cases and what makes people kill was very interesting. This book contains extremely graphic adult content, and violence it isn’t for the weak at heart. This is a book about true crime and killing and what the cousins did with the bodies. I really enjoy books of true crime I am always floored at how people can do these things and just how far they are willing to go. The author talks about other books and other authors along with other serial killers which was interesting.

I thought Miles Taylor did an okay job I think it would have been better had he put a little emotion into what each person said. It just felt cold and I know the victims when they talked had to have some excitement into their voice. I did not hear any background noise or could not tell if he took any breaks. There are no character voice which is fine and in no way takes away from the read, however there was one place where he did use a character voice for a short minute and did a wonderful outstanding job. There was emotion you could feel the power and feelings of that character. I have listened to other audios by this narrator where he put feeling into it. I would say it is hard to do so with true crime which is mostly facts. Mr. Taylor did make it an interesting listen.

I did not care for the sub titles that the author put in the book. I didn’t feel they were needed. There were not at each chapter but all through it. Once the narrator started reading you didn’t need to know what was going on knew what it was about. All in all the facts were there and it was a very interesting read.

Yikes!

I don’t usually read many books from this genre, but I really enjoyed this one. The narration brought the story to life and held my interest throughout. The story was well thought out, complete and will keep you listening. I will be watching for this author in the future.

* I was provided a free copy of this book from AudioBookBlast for an honest review.

Another story told over and over again.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Younger generation who do not know the case

What could Jack Rosewood have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

nothing

Would you be willing to try another one of Miles Taylor’s performances?

yes

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

Clear and understandable narration

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."