Customer Reviews

Broken Doll

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

Having read all of Burl Barer's work, I made certain to pick up his most recent, "Broken Doll", and was not dissapointed. Barer has an amazing ability to relate what would be a gruesome story with compassion and respect. True Crime is not my favorite genre, but Barer brings so much humanity to each of his books that I can get past the "16 pages of shocking photos" and focus on the tale itself. Highly recommended.

I really liked this book, I am such a true crime fan. It's horrible what this man did to this little girl. And the sadness that the family had to endure. I am glad justice was served evntually, and forensics really came into play. The only thing, though, is that the book is very repetitive when it comes to the the actual courtroom and what was said. It seemed like the author kept rewriting what the witnesses said over and over througout the book. That is why I gave it only 4 stars, but it was still a good read..

This powerful story will break your heart...not only for the little victim and her family, but for everyone involved in this tragic story. This is another "must read" from Burl Barer, America's master of investigative true crime journalism. I suggest every fan of true crime read this book, and everyone who wondered how criminals such as Richard Clark are raised, not born. Burl Barer consistently takes us behind the headlines to reveal more than what we would learn from newspapers or television, plus he always gives us his analysis of the case in his "final remarks." Barer is my favorite non-fiction author, and this is one reason why.

Burl Barer is my favorite true crime author, and each book he writes blows me away. Broken Doll again shows his ability to merge journalistic integrity with dramatic flair and human sensitivity. Well researched and compelling, this story is about the kidnap and murder of an innocent little girl by a warped and twisted "friend" of the family. More than just a rehash of the gory details,Barer takes us into the parallel lives of the killer's and victim's families - a sad story all around, but written with heart, verve and attention to detail. Any one who reads true crime will want all of Burl Barer's books.

I found the first five chapters of this book interesting. The next sixteen chapters were dragged out, and boring to read. I say in my heading that this book is not for a parent of a young child because I am a parent of a young child and I had nightmares after I read the first five chapters. I also started to distrust family friends for no reason. I did not even have a bad feeling about them.

A brief summary of this book is that Richard M. Clark was physically beaten at the early age of three-years-old until fourteen-years-old when his mother unexpectantly passed. Richard, a "friend" of the Doll-Iffrig family, grooms his seven-year-old victim, Roxanne Doll, with gifts to gain her trust, and than kidnaps her in the night from her bedroom, rapes, and murders her.

My recommendation to other readers is that this book is not worth reading. The crime that this book talks about is too horrific of a crime that will turn your stomach, make you sick, and paranoid of your family friends.

I found this book to be very interesting because I liked reading about the foster care issues. Life is often mean and cruel and I think it is important to remember that children need our protection. Well written.

I knew this sweet little girl, such a sad story and it is depicted very well. Thank you for sharing the story with the world.