Customer Reviews

An Hour To Kill: A True Story of Love, Murder, and Justice in a Small Southern Town (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

An Hour to Kill: Love, Murder and Justice in a Small Town, by Dale Hudson and Billy Hills is a must-read for true crime fans. The murder of South Carolina teen, Crystal Faye Todd, in 1991 is a gruesome tale. Authors, Hudson and Hills, are brilliant in the research and telling of this true story which shocked the small community of Conway, S.C. I could not put this book down! The reader can just see the characters and images of the rural South in fact, the book just drips with the South; the authors use just the right amount of dialogue and dialect. The case drew so much attention, with accusations flying from family members of both the victim and the defendant, that author Mickey Spillane and his wife, took up aggressive involvement for the defendant. Sally Jesse Raphael did a show on the murder case. DNA evidence was the scientific highlight of the trial. Definitely, a page-turner, the reader is taken into the lives of regular Southern folks and immersed in an intriguing, heartbreaking story, with some bizzare twists and turns. I put this book in the same class with true crime writers Ann Rule and Jack Olsen.

I must admit I am not a big fan of this genre. I've tried Ann Rule and the others but most of the stories are usually shallow, repetitive, and boring. My wife first read An Hour To Kill and was so engrossed in the book she finished it in one night. Reading me parts from the book, she peaked my interest. After wrestling the book from her, I told her if it was like all the other true crime books I've read in the past that I would probably stop after the first couple of chapters. What a wonderful surprise An Hour To Kill turned out to be. Finally, a true crime book so well-researched and written that it held my attention from beginning to end. Hudson-Hills did a masterful job of baiting the reader and patiently giving little morsels of information so one could make up his/her own mind based on the evidence. Honestly, I wasn't sure whether Register was guilty or not until the very last chapter when Homicide Detective Bill Knowles laid it all out. Talking about an ending: I had chills all night long after reading the book. I admit it now, after reading An Hour To Kill, there are some good true crime books out there.

This is a very good true crime book about a murder that divided a small community and made national headlines. It involved the murder of seventeen year old Crystal Todd, who had been brutally killed. She had been stabbed in excess of thirty-five times, nearly gutted, practically decapitated, and raped. A resident of the small, good ol' boy town of Conway, South Carolina, her murder left its other residents stunned. All wondered how could this have happened in their town, and who could possibly have committed such a wanton, senseless murder?

Months later, after her friend and one time boyfriend, Ken Register, a popular, churchgoing, former All-American high school football player was arrested for her murder, all wondered how he could have committed this crime. Some even wondered if he had committed the crime, despite DNA evidence and a confession to the contrary, which indicated that Ken Register had, in fact, committed this heinous murder. It was during the trial that an unknown dark side of Ken Register emerged and shocked those who professed to know him.

This case gained national prominence, as it was one of the first capital murder cases to utilize DNA as forensic evidence at the trial and its use, as such, was still in its nascent stage and had not, as yet, acquired widespread public acceptance. Moreover, CBS ran a piece on the murder in which the show cast doubt on DNA evidence, as it made it clear that there were no national standards for either the testing of DNA or for the personnel who conducted such tests. DNA experts, Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, who would later go on to fame and fortune through their association with the O. J. Simpson case, also interjected themselves into the matter, though they would later disassociate themselves from it. Even author Mickey Spillane and his wife, Jane got into the act, publicly claiming post-trial that Ken Register was innocent.

The book goes into a lot of detail about the case, its investigation and trial, as well as about the parties involved. The only thing missing is some substantive analysis or insight into who Ken Register really is. While his dark side did come into play, it may have added more depth to the book if the authors had spent some time on a more substantive profile of Ken Register. There is really nothing much proffered by the authors as to what made him explode into such a killing frenzy other than a scenario imagined by the case detective. Still, this is a book that those who are interested in true crime will enjoy.

I went to school with both Crystal Todd and Ken Register and like all people in Horry County were horrified when Crystal was murdered and Ken was arrested. My friends and I didn't want to believe that one of our very own classmates would do such a thing to Crystal. Ken drove Crystal to school one year when she lost her license and the two of them were the best of friends. She trusted him like a brother. When we went to the trial, we still weren't sure Ken had killed Crystal because he and his mother swore he didn't do it. I sat right there in court everday and listened to the testimonies. At first I believed Ken when he said he didn't kill her and believed his mama when she said he didn't do it and that a mother ought to know if her son was a murderer or not. For six years there were a lot of unanswered questions and we didn't know what to belive, until this book was written. Finally the truth came out about Ken and his background and then it was clear as to why he had killed Crystal. What most people living outside of Horry County probably don't know is that Ken's final appeal was turned down and another second DNA test proved once and for all that he was the killer. All the talk from other from Ken's supporters about Ken being framed by the police and another person had killed her was just talk and nothing else. This case is over and has finally been put to rest for Bonnie Faye Todd, her family, and the people in our community. I'm glad Hudson and Hills wrote this book. It helped me and my friends see the real truth about Ken and why he murdered Crystal. I am sad to see this happen in my hometown but glad to know the truth finally came out and the police were right all the time.

An Hour to Kill comes out of the gate at a full gallop and never lets up until the last page has been turned. Written in a strong narrative style, reminiscent of the very best true crime writers, the authors prove themselves natural born storytellers. Unfortunately the story they tell is true; a tale of a heinous murder in small town America. Hudson and Hills create an almost palpable sense of time and murder was the exception and not the rule; Crystal Faye Todd, the victim, who by all accounts was a typical, fun-loving teenager deeply devoted to her widowed mother; and Ken Register, the "boy next door," a close friend of the Todd family who became the chief suspect. We get to know intimately the minds and hearts of Crystal's and Ken's parents, of the dogged lawmen who were determined to solve the case, and of the attornies who ultimately brought it to its conclusion in a court of law. It is remarkable that this riveting, beautifully written book was the authors' debut in the true crime genre, and I can barely wait to read their next offering. Buy An Hour to Kill -- you may lose some sleep over it, but you won't regret a single wink.

I read a review of An Hour To Kill in THE STATE NEWSPAPER, SOUTH CAROLINA, and rushed out to buy a copy. As the reviewer in THE STATE stated, An Hour To Kill was sensational, and he was right on the money. From the first line in the Prologue, this book grabbed me and didn't let go until I had finished the last line of the Epilogue. The authors were superb storytellers; keeping the story moving at such a good pace that I didn't (and couldn't)stop until I finished it. They were not biased and did a marvelous job at presenting both sides. Honestly, I wasn't sure Ken Register was guilty or not up until the last moment (I won't give it away for other readers). The emerging criminal profile of Register throughout the book was what amazed me. As the authors take you through the crime, investigation, trial and aftermath, they slowly unmask the evil side of this deceiving, cold-blooded murderer. Who would have believed he would be Ms. Todd's comforter, even agree to be a pallbearer at Crystal's funeral, and knowing all the time he had been the one to put her there. Ken Register has no conscience at all. To my true crime friends and other readers, this is a must read. Well researched and written, kuddos to Hudson and Hills for telling this story. I am now a devoted fan and anxiously await the release of your next book.

Out of respect for the deceased and the importance of the topic matter, I gave the book 3 stars. I don't recall the television coverage of the crime as it unfolded on TV. A few months ago one of A & E's true crime programs ("City Confidential", if I recall correctly) carried this story. The book doesn't adequately cover the persons involved nor the events, in my opinion. If you're able to catch the A & E presentation on television, by all means watch it; it provides a more rounded-out view of all that transpired and the parties involved.

This truly chilling story should be read by all.

Yes, the trial was covered.
Yes, the horrible fate of Crystal Todd was adequately outlined.
Yes, the authors were objective -- especially as the representations of the families involved (victim's and perpetrator's) are concerned.

But I have some criticisms as well:

1. The only photo of the victim is a marred portrait taken from a distance, on her headstone.
2. We are suddenly thrust into the "here and now" lives of these teenagers, with very little background information -- especially as regards their lifelong affiliation and friendship with one another (refer to A & E television program).
3. Large professional-quality photos of Mickey and Jane Spillane are included in the photos section, with captions as to their presence at the trial -- yet within the text pertaining to the trial they aren't mentioned. Ken, Mrs. Register and Mrs. Todd appeared on Sally Jesse Raphael and the authors cover that episode rather well...yet no photos from the confrontation on the show are reproduced. This doesn't make sense.
4. In the A & E television crime program, photos from earlier in the lives of Crystal and Ken are shown -- including a photo of them in a swimming pool together; both bathing-suit clad and she's sitting on his shoulders. I was surprised that this photo WASN'T in the book -- and, again, that only 1 poor-quality photo of the victim (you really can't even see what she looked like in life) is present in the book. As mentioned previously, I'm perplexed that little information about the years of their lives *prior to* the crime (especially as related to one another, or separately) is given.
5. Little is made in the book of Ken having viewed a couple of "snuff films" during the height of his pornography obsession.

There is one lingering doubt, however. I feel I must give Mrs. Register the benefit of the doubt (she seems an honest lady): If indeed she was telling the truth about Ken's appearance when he arrived home on the night of the murder, how could he have been so clean and non-disheveled? Given the extreme brutality of Crystal's gruesome murder, if he did indeed commit this crime how could he have avoided being hit by blood spraying, or not have sustained scratch marks, abrasions and perhaps a few bruises during the horrific struggle Crystal put up? Odd.

Read the book. But also try and catch the A & E television program pertaining to Crystal's murder. Rest in peace, sweetheart. I'm truly sorry for what happened to you.

Genre: True Crime Authors Dale Hudson and Billy Hills unmask the forces that lay concealed beneath the small town of Conway, South Carolina when Crystal Fay Todd--a lovely high school senior -- is brutally murdered. This riveting account will hold the reader spellbound right through the surprising evidence in the sentencing hearing. Three and a half months of investigation left law enforcers stumped; but in their dogged determination to solve this horrific crime, they request blood tests of community members. Ken Register, friend of the family and neighbor, comforts the victim's mother, offering support until he's requested to take a blood test. Suddenly, Ken is convinced he's going to be framed for Crystal's murder. His fear of being arrested is certainly well founded, since Ken's DNA was found in the victim's body cavities. Authors Hudson and Hills have resolutely researched thousands of pages of court documents, interviews and other sources to present this account of South Carolina's most brutal murder. While many questions remain unanswered, as indeed many questions were unanswered by the trial, the authors have constructed a viable account of the truth and the pain resulting to all involved. The narrative form allows the readers to experience the shock of the crime and the impact of the investigation that ripped this small town apart, dividing loyalties and forever destroying lives. For lovers of true crime, An Hour To Kill is a must read!

Cindy Penn, Reviewer

Authors Dale Hudson and Billy Hills unmask the forces that lay concealed beneath the small town of Conway, South Carolina when Crystal Fay Todd--a lovely high school senior -- is brutally murdered. This riveting account will hold the reader spellbound right through the surprising evidence in the sentencing hearing.

Three and a half months of investigation left law enforcers stumped; but in their dogged determination to solve this horrific crime, they request blood tests of community members.

Ken Register, friend of the family and neighbor, comforts the victim's mother, offering support until he's requested to take a blood test. Suddenly, Ken is convinced he's going to be framed for Crystal's murder. His fear of being arrested is certainly well founded, since Ken's DNA was found in the victim's body cavities.

Authors Hudson and Hills have resolutely researched thousands of pages of court documents, interviews and other sources to present this account of South Carolina's most brutal murder. While many questions remain unanswered, as indeed many questions were unanswered by the trial, the authors have constructed a viable account of the truth and the pain resulting to all involved.

The narrative form allows the readers to experience the shock of the crime and the impact of the investigation that ripped this small town apart, dividing loyalties and forever destroying lives. For lovers of true crime, AN HOUR TO KILL is a must read!

I don't want to put a jinx on these two guys and their writing, but if they continue to write these kinds of books then they will develope a new style for this genre. As of recent, most of the true crime books I have read (big names in authors but I won't mention them) are boring, repetitive, and poorly written. It wasn't so with this book. I can see why An Hour To Kill has been such a big seller and received such good reviews. Hudson and Hills write with such entertaining and exciting style that I felt like I was there every step of the way with Bill Knowles and the Horry County Police, as they searched for Crystal's killer. And when they arrested, Register, man, the scene was described so well that I thought I heard the cuffs snap as they locked him down. The whole book was like this: chapter after chapter, page after page....In my opinion, this is the way true crime should read. I am grateful to these two guys for bringing some creativity and life (pardon the pun) back into a once dead and boring genre. Good luck on your next one fellows. I'll be there to read it.