The Road Out of Hell

Sanford Clark and the True Story of the Wineville Murders

By: Anthony Flacco, Jerry Clark

Narrated by: Anthony Flacco

Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

From 1926 to 1928, Gordon Stewart Northcott committed at least 20 murders on a chicken ranch outside of Los Angeles. His nephew, Sanford Clark, was held captive there from the age of 13 to 15, and was the sole surviving victim of the killing spree. Here, acclaimed crime writer Anthony Flacco - using never-before-heard information from Sanford’s son, Jerry Clark - tells the real story behind the case that riveted the nation.

Forced by Northcott to take part in the murders, Sanford carried tremendous guilt all his life. Yet despite his youth and the trauma, he helped gain some justice for the dead and their families by testifying at Northcott’s trial, which led to his conviction and execution. It was a shocking story, but perhaps the most shocking part of all is the extraordinarily ordinary life Clark went on to live as a decorated WWII vet, a devoted husband of 55 years, a loving father, and a productive citizen.

In dramatizing one of the darkest cases in American crime, Flacco constructs a riveting psychological drama about how Sanford was able to detoxify himself from the evil he’d encountered, offering the ultimately redemptive story of one man’s remarkable ability to survive a nightmare and emerge intact.

©2009 Anthony Flacco (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Poor Narration

This story is really very good but the authors narration is quite irritating, especially in the voice of Gordon Stuart Northcott (Uncle Stewart). He may have been performing this way in order to exaggerate the "creepiness" of the character. If so, he succeeded. I did not care for it.

A true testament to how cruel life can be

Hard to imagine the horrors that Sanford Clark experienced in his youth. Well worth listening to for the sake of hearing this man's struggles and how he overcame the nightmare that he experienced at the hands of his uncle and grandparents, not to mention the betrayal and abandonment by his mother. Inspiring story of courage and human spirit in the face of adversity.

Good, but horrific story

What did you like best about The Road Out of Hell? What did you like least?

It's a story about survival, and then rehabilitation. The least: some descriptions were hard to stomach. But I guess that's the point.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Very well done.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Anthony Flacco?

Anybody else. Anybody. Flacco put his all into it, and that was the problem.

Was The Road Out of Hell worth the listening time?

Yes.

Interesting book although very heartbreaking

Writing was very good and moved story along quickly.
Narration was good but the speaker used inflection and animation very similar between characters at times.
The story itself is not for the faint of heart. The story reveals truly horrendous acts of a lunatic while also showing the determination and resilience of one of his victims.

This might be the best audiobook I’ve heard.

Having suffered as a child myself. It warms my heart to hear about someone who came out the other side, and pieces their life back together. Everything about this book is amazing. But read the description. If ANYTHING mentioned is too difficult for you then this may not be the book for you.

Remarkable story of triumph

At several moments I was brought to tears. Out of anger, sadness, but then out of hope, sympathy, and victory. Such an incredible story.

Road to Redemption

Loved it. I cried. Definitely recommend. So Inspiring and Great narration. Where's the movie?

Heartbreaking and inspirational

This is the story of Sanford Clark, a boy whose early life was a nightmare. He was cruelly mistreated by his mother and a father who turned a blind eye to the abuse, but things took an unthinkably hideous turn when his uncle took him to his remote farm. The first part of the book is hard to listen to even, I would suggest, for readers of true crime. But the second part is remarkable for the life that this man was able to build for himself, thanks to his sister, a sympathetic and enlightened official, a rehabilitation program which was way ahead of its time, his wife, and above all to his own character and determination. It is nothing short of a miracle that a child so abused could find his way back to become a devoted husband and father and a respected member of his community. I am not a fan of books with a great deal of reconstructed dialogue, but it works and it's all perfectly believable - Anthony Flacco, with Jerry Clark, has done a first class job with the original material. Flacco's narration is at times a little overdone but this is excusable given the events he is recounting. The participation of Sanford's son is heartwarming - his input tells us about the wonderful man his father was - an inspiring ending to a true horror story.

Chilling!

This book gave me the chills. It's beyond me how some people can commit such horrible acts.

Good Book, AWFUL narrator.

Does Anthony Flacco (the so called narrator) know what this story is about, or was he just repeating what they put in front of him without bothering to read it first?

Why on earth would that man put so much glee into narrating a story about a boy being constantly mistreated and abused. At one point he started talking like a game show host. Personally, it was very confusing listening to this man describe a small boy being cut into pieces by an ax, while sounding like a clown on speed.

This is a horrible, hearth wrenching account of innocent children being murdered and rape, there is nothing about this account that warrants such a hyped up performance. Tone it down!