Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

this book was so good i couldnt put it down. i learned of tommy lynn sells from one of the detectives that was working on the case in lexington kentucky. tommy never "gives" interviews...he let lori do this book because she let HIM do the talking. she didnt ask questions, she just let him tell his story. and while it isnt written in a story book way, you can plainly see every thing he talks about, from the place he grew up to each and every murder he talks about. you get so sucked in, you truly feel like you know him when you are done. and who knows...maybe you do. it is very discriptive in the details about the murders and sex, but it is just , him telling his story. must read

carolyn sparkman

Jaw-dropping thrill ride through the mind of a serial killer. I couldn't put this book down. I read it within 2 nights of laying in bed. Needless to say, it was very hard to get to sleep after reading the content. Not for the squeamish. But if you wonder what goes on in the mind of a serial killer, this gives it to you without restraint! Watch out!

Truly A story of one mans murderous madness. I had so many mixed emotions while reading this book.A Book that will grab hold of you from the beginning and not let go until the finish. I give this book two thumbs up!
I cant wait to hear more from Tori Rivers!!

Reading this book must have been one big wet dream for Tommy Lynn Sells reliving all his crimes. He describes his crimes as if they are something to be proud of and as if they were inevitable. It is like he blames women and children to be in his way so he had no other choice but to rape and/or kill them.

I am surprised that someone who calls herself an "author" wanted to write down this filth. I will never be able to read any other book from Tori Rivers. Maybe she too got off on Sells' evil rapes and murders?

Sells wants us to believe that all this wasn't his fault if only doctors/society would have found out earlier about his psychiatric illness. He seems to forget there are millions of people with the same illness/background leading normal lives. It's like he wants us to believe he had no choice but to kill and rape.

This book will lead you from rape to rape and from murder to murder but it didn't give me any insight in Sells. Well, maybe that he enjoyed what he was doing. The drugs, alcohol, killing etc.

I am not easily offended and I think I have read more graphic true crime books in the past but this book made me sick to my stomach. Nevere ever will I find it in my heart to feel a tiny bit of sympathy for Sells nor for the "author" who wrote this book.
Liz

I absolutely LOVE true crime books. This one takes the cake. You will travel through the life of Tommy Lynn Sells from beginning til death row.
It is very well written and I wouldn't be suprised if it is made in to a movie. This book is so engrossing and so real that virtually any reader will find it hard to put down. You will lock your doors day and night after reading this book!

This book is truelly one of a kind. It takes you into the mind of a serial killer and how his thought process works. I enjoyed the book tremendously and hope there are more to come like this one.

I haven't read this book and won't.. I read another book called "Through the Window" about Tommy Lynn Sells murder spree - he is a true monster. I lost count of all of his victims. He would kill people if they looked at him wrong, hop a train and be in the next town (to kill again) before the bodies were even found. I live in a mobile home and he talked about how easy it is to break into a mobile home - I double locked my doors and windows after reading this book. He is on death row - what is the hold up - he needs to die!