The Best New True Crime Stories: Serial Killers

The Best New True Crime Stories: Serial Killers by Mitzi Szereto

I finally got a chance to read through this book, even though it was sent to me months ago.  (Believe me, my reading list is as long as a career criminals rap sheet, so it takes time to get through everything.)  However long the wait was, and it felt like an eternity because I wanted to read this as soon as I got it except other reading material was on the list ahead of it, it was worth it.
 
I have spent the better part of the last twenty-five years focused on and enthralled in true crime and crime dramas.  Mostly true crime because I have found in my experience that the truth is far stranger than fiction.  Here is a book, a true crime anthology, dedicated to the research of the vile misdeeds of numerous serial killers.  
 
The thing that amazed me the most was that I had never heard of any of these killers before.  It’s not that some of them were from other countries because I have read and seen plenty about killers abroad.  But to find an entire book full of serial killers and their crimes and I have never heard of not one of these guys?  That’s a gold star right there!  
 
So many times, when we hear about serial killers we think of the same people over and over, as if they are the only horrific killers that ever existed.  If I were to ask an average person to name three serial killers, I’d probably hear Dahmer, Manson (not really a serial killer but for some reason always put in that class), Bundy, BTK Dennis Rader, Gary Ridgeway The Green River Killer, The Night Stalker Richard Ramirez.  Perhaps John Wayne Gacy, Ed Gein if you’re a little further in the know, The Golden State Killer was recently apprehended after being hunted for almost fifty years.
 
But the killers in this book are truly some of the most vile criminals I’ve read about.  There is one in particular, a child murderer, that is just absurdly and eerily captivating and equally repulsive at the same time.  All of the killers discussed in this book are interesting to read about, some seemingly to qualify more as true serial killers than others, but it was a joy to learn so much new information all in one book.  A lot of times, you have to read multiple books to learn about multiple killers.  This book gives you a detailed overview of a number of serial killers and that allows you to get through a lot of information in a short amount of time AND you can pick and choose specific killers if you want to know more about them.  It’s like this book is the jumping off point to further research if you’d like or it can simply be the research in itself, there’s plenty of details and specifics to keep the mind busy.
 
If you get the chance and you are looking for some new and fresh material to satisfy your serial killer curiosity, this is definitely a book for you!
 
RATINGS
4/5 Stars