Broken Doll [Mass Market Paperback]

Burl Barer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004

Details the true story of Richard Matthew Clark, a petty criminal, who, unable to control his penchant for murder and pedophilia, raped and murdered seven-year-old Roxanne Doll and went on to taunt her parents upon his conviction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Burl Barer writes compelling, gripping, realistic, and unflinchingly honest true crime. He's one of the best." --This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786016116
• ISBN-13: 978-0786016112
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,933,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Crime & Criminals > Criminology

More About the Author

Burl Barer

Professional Biography

Burl Barer is a Edgar Award winning author and two-time Anthony Award nominee with extensive media, advertising, marketing, and public relations experience.
Garnering accolades for his creative contributions to radio, television, and print media, Barer's career has been highlighted in The Hollywood Reporter, London Sunday Telegraph, New York Times, USA Today, Variety, Broadcasting, Electronic Media, ABC's Good Morning America, Investigation Discovery's "Deadly Women," and "Snapped" on the Oxygen Network. He also hosts TRUE CRIMES on OUTLAW RADIO with famed attorney Don Woldman.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TRUE CRIME AT ITS HEARTBREAKING BEST, May 5, 2005

By 

Luther Burbank - See all my reviews

This review is from: Broken Doll (Mass Market Paperback)

Burl Barer picks his cases carefully, and each book takes us not only into the minds of killers and the broken lives affected by his or her actions, but into the very fabric of American society. BROKEN DOLL tells of Richard Mathew Clark, family "friend" who kidnaps, rapes and murders innocent 7-year old Roxanne, then actually goes camping with Roxanne's father. The lives and families of both victim and perpetrator are fully illumined, and we see with horrid clarity that the humanity of Clark was probably kidnapped raped and killed long before he crawled through the little girl's bedroom window and did to her body what was done to his mind. Brilliantly researched and written by America's master of investigative crime writing.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, riviting, and ultimately valuable, July 1, 2004

By 

Paige Turner (Livermore, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Broken Doll (Mass Market Paperback)

With incredible insight and journalistic flair Barer once again proves his abilities as one of the top investigative crime writers. In this tragic story of aborted childhoods and destroyed dreams, your heart will break for the family of seven-year-old victim Roxanne Doll, and also for that of her killer, Richard Clark, who's own sense of self and human bonding was forever stilled at an early age. Broken Doll is undoubtedly Barer's best true crime book to date, and the best of the genre this year. I strongly urge every reader of true crime to order BROKEN DOLL.

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, gripping, shocking page turner!, April 19, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Broken Doll (Mass Market Paperback)

True Crime legend Burl Barer returns with another hard hitting masterpiece of investigative crime writing. This time, its the shocking story of 7-year-old Roxanne Doll being kidnapped from her bed in the middle of the night by a trusted "family friend."
Barer continues the standard for which he is famed by taking this story beyond the mere reporting of events and details -- he strips away the "law and order" facade of American justice to reveal the tragic interplay of hope and dissapointment, expectation and devastation, that plagued the lives of child killer Richard M. Clark and the parents of his innocent victim.
Less frenetic than Barer's excellent yet episodic BODY COUNT, nor as legal-heavy as his outstanding HEAD SHOT, BROKEN DOLL equals his MURDER IN THE FAMILY in setting the standard for contemporary true-crime writing. Five stars, indeed -- Barer's best yet!