Customer Reviews

The Devil's Right-Hand Man: The True Story of Serial Killer Robert Charles Browne

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This true-crime tale has it all -- a scary sexual serial killer, body parts left by the expressway, a sweet little girl kidnapped from her home and heroic detectives who have the patience and dogged stubbornness to burrow into an investigation that is going nowhere. And on top of this, the detectives are senior-citizen volunteers. Maybe because these guys had plenty of time on their hands or maybe because for some of us geezers, patience and wisdom really do come with age, they didn't give up until they got their man. Michaud (of Ted Bundy fame) and Price, a veteran journalist, are pros and the book is a well-written, quick read.

Robert Charles Browne was already imprisoned for the heinous crime of kidnapping and murder of a young girl, Heather Church, from her parents home in rural and isolated part of Colorado. Browne's past reveals the possibilities that he was responsible for other crimes. A team including Lou Smit who investigated and believed the Ramseys were innocent of killing their own daughter, JonBenet, is among them as well as other mostly retired cops who decide to play cold case detectives. One of them befriends Browne through letters and meetings but Browne is a frustrating character. We don't know enough about him and I have read the book twice and haven't even finished it. I just wished Browne would fess up about the unsolved murders and disappearances of so many women that their families can finally have closure or knowledge. As one distraught mother, Mrs. Billig wrote "It's better to know than not know." She's right because the uncertainty can kill you if you don't know. Not knowing the truth is worse than not having an answer to the question of a missing person or an unsolved crime which can destroy families and relationships with suspicions but Browne wouldn't care who it would hurt if he got something in return.

I ordered the book because I am from the same small town in Louisiana and knew the family, which made me really curious. Thought the book was well written and researched. Of course, these stories are always sad. I am still not convinced he did all he claims but it really makes you think.

When will writers of true crime realize that most cops usually are not very interesting people to read about?
I said it. It's the psycho, the crook, the killer, bank robber, who makes for interesting reading. Just the way
it is.
Cops in these books very often come across as incompetent and not very bright, or just plain disinterested in solving anything. Why? Jaded. Bored. Figure it wouldn't make much difference anyway, etc.

To be fair, the cops (most of them retired) do give a damn and simply wish to solve the murders covered here (about half a dozen) in order to bring peace of mind to the loved ones left behind. Understandable. Commendable, even.

Problem here is the killer, Browne, is miserly with his information and keeps the task force stringing along, stretching the thing out (just like the writers of this book) that before long, you just might be willing to give up on this tome in sheer frustration.

The real, entire, and complete story of this killer is not told here (who, by the way, claims to have killed fifty or more). What the reader gets is what the cops got: enough info to solve three or four of the murders Browne
committed--and he gave those up in exchange for a favor or two from said task force.

Did Browne kill as many as he claimed? Who the hell knows? Bottom line: don't expect a serial killer to tell you the truth about anything.

It seems to me, these guys (serial killing losers) have one thing in common (besides murder) a craving for infamy, attention--and then, for some inexplicable reason (some of them, like Browne, once incarcerated)
clam up.

You figure it out. Better yet, why bother?

I'm not really sure what to think about the content of this book other than it's an easy quick read. The real stories Robert Browne has locked away in his head are most likely far more intriguing than in this book. As the old timer who wrote this book might say, "I've been hoodwinked!" Well, I've been hoodwinked into thinking there was anything more about Robert Browne. I've been hoodwinked by thinking Mr. Michaud's experience could find out any more than anyone else because of his "experience". Last but not least I've been hoodwinked into buying the book and actually reading it. I'm not impressed by Mr. Michaud or the countless hours he wasted with Browne... I wish I could get my money back!