Customer Reviews

Die for Me: The Terrifying True Story of the Charles Ng & Leonard Lake Torture Murders

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This has to be one of the most disturbing true-crime books I have read! It is the story of Charles Ng and Leonard Lake's extensive killing career that began in 1985. The narrative is well written and intriguing, the photos gripping. I honestly lay awake contemplating the inhumanity wrought by these two men. GREAT READ!

Author Lasseter has presented an admirable view of a cruel and violent pair of killers. Other reviews seem to express disappointment because he didn't include graphic, bloody descriptions of killing women and babies. I, for one, am grateful he didn't. I was looking for a work that exams in excellent detail the factors that molded these two men into degenerate murderers. Lasseter has gone the extra mile to provide that. I couldn't put the book down during the trial segment, waiting in suspense to see if Charles Ng would be found guilty despite very scarce evidence regarding his involvement in the crimes. From my admiration of this book, I will become a regular reader and fan of this author.

I have been reading True Crime for 30 years and this one is truly a winner.Not since Norman Mailer's "The Executioners Song" has an author so totally captured the essence of "the evil next door". Leonard Lake was the real "mind" behind these heinous murders...it is always amazing when two such psyches collaberate as Lake's and Ng's do in this case. Although this is the story of Charles Ng....it is the saga of Lake's pathetic life that really captured my interest. Mr. Lasseter ( as he did previously in "Property of the Folsom Wolf" ) mesmerizes the reader with his descriptions of the minutiae of this madman's every day life leading up to the murders....you hear the sounds...smell the smells....and taste the tastes....heartwrenchingly so.Everyone has known a Leonard Lake, the wierd guy you went to highschool with...the creep down the street...your "quiet" cousin...after this read, Lake and the pokerfaced and dark spirited Ng will live on in the back of your mind for a discomforting long while.Fascinating!!!

While Don Lasseter's sprawling foray into the violent sociopathic behavior of both Leonard Lake & Charles Ng is a highly engrossing account of sexual fantasies and inevitably tragic murder which features numerous exerpts from the actual journal which Lake religiously kept, not to mention fascinating and disturbing photographs taken from his videotapes of rape and torture, DIE FOR ME is rather short on the actual facts of the case.

Lasseter does not seem at all interested in the technicalities of the crimes in which he writes about, which isn't such a bad thing. Actually, it's a refreshing change from the usual true crime fare.

With DIE FOR ME, Lasseter offers us a clear example a violent psychopath; perhaps two of them. Lake thought that he was the normal one! Through Lake's journal entries, the photographs and study of Lake's childhood homelife (albeit brief), DIE FOR ME almost serves as a warning shot to those trusting souls out there; Leonard Lake could live next door. In fact, he probably does.

'Die For Me' is one of the more memorable true crime books I've read. The writing style is more journalistic than most, but that does not diminish from the story. The crimes in this case were so heinous that merely reporting what happened is enough to convey the point of how disturbed Lake and Ng were (and are, in Ng's case.)

And there is an excellent 'twist' near the end of the book, during Ng's court case. Actually, I wasn't even sure if he would be convicted but then ... well, I'll leave it up to you to find out.

'Die For Me' doesn't have the long lasting impact of 'Helter Skelter' or 'In Cold Blood' but it makes for an quick, engrossing read that leaves you thinking, "Are there MORE people out there like this?" Leave the lights on for this one.

Overall, a well-written book. I agree with one of the reviewers that it is too long--there is a fair amount of unnecessary detail here and there. I was pleased that the author included the sickening discussions Ng had with his cellmate in Canada. These discussions really bring to light the mind-numbing horror of the murders. The photographs in the book really hit you in the gut. Worth reading.

I read through this one in about a week. I really enjoy the True Crime stories on A&E and thought I'd try reading some. This book is a little graphic and I wonder about the author who so thoroughly researched for it. The guy even attended the trial. Talk about dedication! Some of the gorror haunts me even now. Be careful.

Having read many true crime books especially in the field of murder, I would have to recommend this book.

Don Lasseter tells the tale of a wild ride taken by a pair of sadistic animals. These men had no regard for human life or property. What they wanted.... they took. No matter if it were a car or somebody's wife, daughter or mother.

I hesitantly gave this book a 4 star rating. If I could give it 4 1/2 stars I would. This book does not receive 5 stars from me because I would have liked it to build a little in the area of suspense. The book has its moments of surprise but the way it is written you can see what's coming. Which is fine because what you learn when you get there is a look into the scariest depths of human indecency.

Let me clarify - the crimes detailed here are horrifying, but the author's way of relating the tale is almost boring. I found myself skimming large portions of the book, and no, I wasn't looking for the "gross parts." Unless I'm totally missing something, it seems that the stories of multiple victims of this monster are left completely untold. The author seems to mention only a few in any more than passing. I just think this book is sort of a big mess, as if different people wrote each chapter.

This book is Excellent. I am very close to this case...I live in the county it took place in and am very familiar with alot of the details of this case...this book is a great replica of what happened and Don did a great job of expressing it to the readers. I usually can't stand to read...but I couldn't put this book down.