Customer Reviews

Blood Bath

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was previously published under the title I've Been Watching You: The South Louisiana Serial Killer

Blood Bath is the account of Derrick Todd Lee, the South Louisiana Serial Killer, who victimized at least 5 women (believed to be 17) in Baton Rouge and its outlying areas.

At the end of this book, it is clearly stated that several writers had been interested in doing the story, however prosecutor Tony Clayton wanted it written from his point of view; supposedly a focus on the victims and their families.

While I thought the book did great justice to the victims, I'm not so sure considering one of the reviews from one of the victims' mother.

That leaves me to believe that there was much I didn't know.

And it did reinforce my belief that Tony Clayton was placed too high on a pedastal in this book.

Of course, with all the investigative bungling and backstabbing politics taking place behind the scenes, claiming perfection might not have been beyond reach - especially when you put the guy behind bars for life.

I found Blood Bath to be an excellent, engaging true crime. I would have preferred not to know it was, for all intents and purposes, one-sided from an involved persons point of view (hence the 4 stars versus 5).

Other true crime writers should take lessons from the authors of this book. I read a lot of true crime books and one thing that I have noticed is most books tell more about the murderer than the victims. The killer overshadows the innocent life taken. The authors of this book dedicate a chapter to each victim and the reader gets a true sense of the extent of the terrible loss. The victims are about much more than how they died. The women were bright, beautiful, caring women and would have made a difference had their lives not been taken from them. I found this book hard to read and hard to put down at the same time. I kept thinking maybe this lady would be the last one, and then there was another chapter about another victim. It is sad that DNA testing was not done sooner. Some of the women could have been saved. This book could serve as an example to women out there, that someone can look perfectly harmless and have a friendly manner, but be deadly. Also detectived should not have tunnel vision. Derrick Todd Lee did not fit any preconceived notions.

Blood Bath is the story of serial killer Derrick Todd Lee, and quite simply, you won't want to put this book down. From start to finish, it keeps you turning pages. Prepare to feel a variety of emotions as you read, from horror at the viciousness of this killer to sadness for the victims and their families to disgust at the way the case was handled by police. And then you feel fear, just knowing that there are people in this world capable of this evil. My heart went out to the families of these victims in a way that hasn't happened before when I've read true crime. One of the best true crime books I've ever read!

Previously published under the title "I've Been Watching You: The South Lousianna Serial Killer," this book chronicles the many known (and many more suspected) rape/homicide victims of serial killer, Derrick Todd Lee.

Functionally illiterate, with an IQ that hovered just above what is considered mentally retarded, Derrick Todd Lee was a man possessed of dark rages and abberrant obsessions. Linked through DNA to crimes involving 7 known victims, the book also chronicled the disappearances and murders of many other women in the various South Louisianna parishes for which Lee is a probable suspect. Because Lee never actually confessed to any murders and, in fact, clearly did not understand the significance and irrefutability of DNA evidence, the actual number of victims will never be known. However, it is probable that Lee murdered as many as 17 women. Had he not been apprehended and had he continued to roam the streets of Lousianna for another 10 years, the victim count might have been staggering.

It is unclear what provoked these dark obesessions in a man who, by all accounts, was raised in a fairly normal environment with many immediate and extended family members within walking distance of Lee's childhood home. However, several family members report that Lee, as early as the age of 10, was peeping into the widows of his female cousins and neighbors. As Lee matured, he continued this practice and was arrested countless times for the lesser crimes of "peeping" and trespassing. For many years, it seems to have never occurred to law enforcement authorities that perhaps Lee was doing more than peeping. In fact, Derrick Todd Lee stalked many of his victims for several days in this manner, patiently waiting for the right time to strike. Lee was not so intelligent however, leaving eyewitnesses in some cases and spreading his DNA liberally. In the end, Lee's defense attorney attempted to portray and document that Lee was mentally retarded, but this strategy ultimately failed.

I have conflicted feelings about this book. It was, at times, quite interesting and the story moved quicly. At other times, the authors succumbed to the tired, uninspired ramblings of "creative prose" that were, I suppose, meant to evoke additional sympathy for some of the victims. Had I been allowed to assign 1/2 star ratings, I would have given the book 2.5 stars.

To explain what is meant by "creative prose," the authors inserted strange, rather random paragraphs (always in italics), into the text of the book. I can only assume the authors were attempting to elicit great sympathy for some of the victims. The brutality of the crimes alone should have sufficed for arousing sympathy in the reader. However, the authors would not be content with facts alone. What follows is a sample of one of these odd, confusing paragraphs.

"Through her tears, Murray smiled as she read the words her mother had written. Her heart warmed; she held the letter close. Sunshine, her mother had written. Music and stories. She loved Murray more than all of those things. Her mother had said she was able and beautiful, that she sparkled. Murray's eyes sparkled with love and tears as she put the letter in a special place. She wanted to read it over and over."

Really? Was this necessary? The authors never actually state that a letter from Ann Murray Pace's mother was found among her belongings or what was written in the letter. Did her mother really write that Murray was "...able and beatiful, that she sparkled?" Somehow, I doubt this. Further, the authors presume to know the thoughts and behaviors of Murray as she read the words her mother had written. This is not only unnecessary, it verges on the unforgivable. These strange (and numerous) paragraphs were unwelcome and added nothing to the personal descriptions of the lives of the victims. For the most part, I found them distracting, bizarre, and without merit. If the authors thought they were showcasing their literary talents in so doing, they badly miscalculated.

In short, I did not hate the book, nor did I love it. It was decent, but certainly nothing special. The story itself is interesting, but the writing was lacking. If you are planning to buy it, buy it used. Better yet, check it out from the public library and save yourself money.

This story really hits home because I was living in Baton Rouge during his final years before being caught. I recall being scared to be in public alone, watching over my shoulder while going to the grocery. It's horrible to think of the lives that could of been spared if the police had made a move sooner. Hopefully they have learned from their huge mistake. RIP to all the victims.

While I found the story itself very engrossing and intense I was disappointed in how poorly the book was written in places. There was an almost juvenile tendency to end chapters with sentences that would try to dramatically foreshadow events in the next chapter. I found it disturbing that thoughts and conversations of the victims, that the authors had no way to possibly know about, were presented as fact. I also felt at times that the authors were biased against some of the people mentioned in the book (such as some of the police officers) which made me wonder if they were as inept or uncaring as they were portrayed. The book was okay for what I paid for it (under $5) but I am glad I didn't pay more.

...that warrants reading.

I hesitated buying this book because of the title and the cover picture because I thought both were "cheesy". But the book itself was well written and takes the reader through each victim's life and death, the life of the serial killer, the capture, trial and imprisonment of the condemned man. One of the best true crime novels I have read.

I read a lot of true crime books, but very few are as compelling as Blood Bath. I stayed up all night long reading it. It is very sobering to realize that monsters like Todd exist. He is exactly where he belongs.

I couldn't put this book down. This guy is a monster. To kill these women because he thought they couldn't keep his stupid secerts but yet he could lie cheat and steal without a problem. I highly recommend reading this book.

The authors of this book not only told the story of the victims in such a way that you became very emotionally involved with each, but they also weaved in quite adeptly the events in the serial killer's life that prompted him to kill time after time. The history of the investigation, the trial, and the subsequent description of the serial killer's existence on death row at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana make this an extremely compelling must read for anyone interested in true crime books.