This is a look at some of the most infamous and bloody crimes committed in the Northwest part of the United States. One volume is dedicated to Idaho, one to Washington, and one to Oregon. Criminals surveyed include Ruth Neslund, Lyda Trueblood, and Rosalina Edmondson, who killed their husbands, Christian Longo, who killed his wife and children, the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy, a young school shooter named Barry Loukaitis, Angela MacAnulty, who starved and tortured her teenage daughter, and others.
The stories are related in clinical terms, with some commentary but not too much effort to sensationalize them (most of them are horrific enough not to need sensationalizing, anyway). The cases are described from the perspective of criminals, victims, and others involved in them, clearly and (mostly) dispassionately, allowing the actions to speak for themselves. Evidence linking the criminals to their actions is presented clearly, allowing the reader to judge what evidence is convincing and what remains to be proven (for example, with respect to unsolved crimes that may or may not have been committed by one or another of the serial killers being discussed).
As with most books related to serial killers and horrific murderers, this is not a comfortable read. If you are prone to nightmares, take this book in small doses if at all. There’s not a real common thread or theme tying cases together, other than the state in which they were committed – Mary Kay LeTourneau’s single statutory rape, for example, is recounted right before Ted Bundy’s vicious string of murders, which makes something of a jarring contrast. Also, while the book’s authors are excellent at providing the little details that make a story chillingly vivid, there are times when the details feel extraneous and irrelevant, as when they give us the dress designer and dinner menu for LeTourneau’s wedding.
For the fan of true crime stories, who can’t get enough stories about murderers, rapists and abusers and those who bring them to justice, this is a treasure trove of interesting true tales.
Reviewed by Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader