Head Shot [Mass Market Paperback]

BURL BARER (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Paul St. Pierre was an alcoholic driven by an urge to kill all the time. He bullied his younger brother, Chris, into committing unspeakable acts. His childhood friend, Andrew Webb, took drugs, talked to skulls, and dreamed about eating human flesh. It was only a matter of time before the trio terrorized a quiet neighbourhood near Tacoma, Washington, with the brutal murders of innocent victims caught in a storm of senseless rage. Then the twisted triad turned on each other - over money. Paul shot Andrew in the stomach. Chris called the cops. But with tortured individuals like these, justice opened the doors to more surprising revelations...

--This text refers to an alternate Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786013346
• ISBN-13: 978-0786013340
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,821,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HEAD SHOT: TRUE CRIME WRITING AT ITS BEST!, October 10, 2001

By 

Reviews (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Head Shot (Mass Market Paperback)

I thought Barer's MURDER IN THE FAMILY was one of the best true crime books I ever read, but HEAD SHOT in many ways is even better. If you can put this book down, I'll be amazed. It grabs you from the prologue, drags you breathless through part one, and makes it almost impossible to not keep reading. A double homicide in Tacoma, Washington, and the several trials resulting from it, is what this book covers -- but under the covers is a lot more going on, from incest in Arizona to brain damage in Washington. Readers who thought MURDER IN THE FAMILY was too heavy on legal procedings may wrestle with HEAD SHOT -- but in HEAD SHOT, the legal battles are as twisted and bizarre as the killers lives. This book won't shake your faith in American Justice the way Jack Olsen's LAST MAN STANDING did, but in its own way, it is even more unnerving because it ISN'T about the FBI misbehaving,and the detectives are all good guys. It is the story of the trials, and the "dirty tricks" that made me nervous.
My God, what kind of country is this anyway? This bizarre story not only gives us first class homicidal nut-cases, but gives us a peek behind the curtain of our beloved legal system -- and that peek, gleaned directly from court documents, is almost as shocking as the "disturbing photos." Burl Barer is one brilliant storyteller. Oh, don't confuse HEAD SHOT with Barer's HEADLOCK. Both are excellent, but they are NOT the same book or the same style.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, bad, good, November 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Head Shot (Mass Market Paperback)

This book begins with good descriptions of the crimes and the offenders, then spends a tedious several chapters in legal wrangling. Not the actual trial or any testimony, just tons of lawyer arguments with each other and the judge. This book would have been better if only the relevant details were included. The book ends well with follow ups on the lives of the offenders and a well written afterword. I do recommend the book, but only if you can stand the legal minutae.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant blend of true crime & legal thriller, December 20, 2001

By 

Roger A. O'Kay (just a little bit north of San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Head Shot (Mass Market Paperback)

I like true crime books,and I like legal thrillers. This one is both. HEAD SHOT was, for me, a book I couldn't put down. The author kept me wondering what would happen next, and the story is gripping and scary. Barer did a good job giving the background of the main characters (killers) and the commentary by one of the killer's ex-wife,and his former sister-in-law is sometimes hysterically funny and sad at the same time. The ending,bringing us up to date on what has happened to these people since the crime in the 1980's was excellent. I am certainly going to buy this authors other books now that I have read HEAD SHOT.