13 1/2: Twelve Jurors, One Judge and a Half-Assed Chance - A Serial Killer in His Own Words [Paperback]

Tori Rivers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2008

In his own words, Tommy Lynn Sells describes his life a life that began with rape and sexual abuse. Author Tori Rivers worked for four years to hear these stories and the descriptions of murders, rapes, marriages, travels and Tommy s views about America and the justice system as they have never been heard before.

13 1/2: Twelve Jurors, One Judge and a Half Ass Chance is a unique book which delves deeply into the mind of a serial killer in a way no other book ever has.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The book you are about to read is like no other book you have ever read or will ever read again. Tori Rivers was able, in her many visits to Texas Death Row, to win the trust of one of America s most prolific serial killers: Tommy Lynn Sells. In gratitude for her genuine caring and humanity, Sells was willing to tell his story, unvarnished, in a language at once compelling, heartbreaking, and repugnant. He survived a childhood no one should have to suffer through, and went on to commit crimes of violence no one should have to suffer. Thanks to the incredible candor and ruthless honesty of the man, Sells show us the steps that lead from a youth marred by outrageous neglect, sexual misuse by a pedophile caretaker, and violence in the school and the streets, that destroyed all faith in God and Man to an adulthood devoted to wreaking vengeance against anyone that abused or shortchanged him in the smallest way. And later Sells graduated to murder for pleasure, for the release of the pent-up rage built up in him by the horrors of his early years. For his actions, Sells needs to be behind bars, and he is. For the vileness of what he was subjected to as a boy, he deserves our sympathy. But most of all he deserves our sympathy, and great credit, for his openness in telling it like it is allowing us to understand, in ways no attorney or psychiatrist can make us understand, what makes a serial killer. I have read of and have spoken to almost 200 serial killers, and I can assure you, that for what was done to him and what he did in his turn, Sells stands alone as a teller of the truth. Tori Rivers has done a magnificent work with this book a book that needs to be read by law enforcement, mental health experts, and the public at large. Anyway, once you pick it up, you can t put it down. --Michael H Stone, MD, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons

About the Author

Tori Rivers has corresponded with nine serial killers and has participated in documentaries for the Discovery Channel and others. Many articles have been written about her unique correspondences with serial killers. She is a bail bondswoman and mother of two. She enjoys traveling, collecting artwork, animals and nature

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Riverbend Press (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980080207
• ISBN-13: 978-0980080209
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,384,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy Read..., July 9, 2008

By 

hadavis79 (Jacksonville, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 13 1/2: Twelve Jurors, One Judge and a Half-Assed Chance - A Serial Killer in His Own Words (Paperback)

I am giving this book a 5-star review. It was a fairly easy read. Once you start this book, you just want to keep reading. I guess part of me wanted to know what was going happen next, and the other part of me just wanted to get to the end. This was a glance in to the twisted and perverted life of Tommy Sells, a convicted serial murderer. This attempt at giving the readers an inside peak of what goes on in the mind of a rapist and killer is successful. I do not think that the author is trying to glorify or give reason to Tommy Sells unimaginable acts - you must remember that this is in his words.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read, October 6, 2009

By 

Mother of 5 (Abu Dhabi, UAE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 13 1/2: Twelve Jurors, One Judge and a Half-Assed Chance - A Serial Killer in His Own Words (Paperback)

If you are interested in going inside the mind of a serial killer, this is the book for you. If you are not, then this is not the book for you. It's that simple. I believe we as human beings need to understand WHY. The author has taking us a step closer to accomplishing this, so I give it 5 stars. Plus i couldn't put the book down.

12 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Move over Danny Rolling here comes Tommy Lynn Sells, May 22, 2008

By 

Rhiannon Bishop (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: 13 1/2: Twelve Jurors, One Judge and a Half-Assed Chance - A Serial Killer in His Own Words (Paperback)

This book was pitched to a newsgroup that I belong to by the author. I was looking forward to reading this.

Big mistake. I should know better.

Turns out this book is nothing more than a pack of self-serving lies. The entire book is rife with passages designed to make you think that Tommy Lynn Sells is misunderstood. That he is the product of a horrific childhood. But you know what? All he is, is a cold blooded killer. Nothing he can say will ever explain away what he did, the young lives that he destroyed to appease his own bloodlust. Nothing that he or this author can say will ever illicit sympathy. He does not deserve it. She should know better.

And, as I said I should have known better than to read this book. I should have learned my lesson after reading the Making of a Serial Killer by Danny Rolling and Sondra London. I have yet to find a book that was written with the help of a serial killer that doesn't attempt to make the killer into something he is not. Or one that is not used by the serial killer to relive their crimes.

There is a reason that this book is self-published. It's poorly written, it lacks flow, and even the most basic verifiable fact is twisted and distorted.

Tori Rivers, did, however, manage to turn already disturbing material into gruesome, graphic filth that left me feeling dirty and violated. I can only imagine how the victim's family's must feel.


"Tori Rivers" should have left her appetite for 15 minutes of fame back with Arthur Shawcross. There are only so many times you can milk a dead cow.

I won't be using this book for anything other than to line my garbage can.