Innocence Lost [Mass Market Paperback]

Carlton Stowers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 4, 2004

Undercover officer George Raffield's job was to pose as a student in the small town of Midlothian, Texas and infiltrate the high school drug ring. When Raffield's cover became suspect, word spread through a small circle of friends that the young officer would pay with his life. No one stopped it. On a rainy fall evening in 1987, Raffield was lured to an isolated field. Three bullets were fired-one unloaded into his skull. The baby-faced killer, Greg Knighten, stole eighteen dollars from Raffield's wallet, divided it among his two young accomplices, and calmly said, "it's done."

With chilling detail, Carlton Stowers illuminates a dark corner of America's heartland and the children who hide there. What he found was an alienated subculture of drug abuse, the occult, and an unfathomable teenage rage that exploded at point blank range on a shocking night of lost innocence...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This is a disquieting, involving account of the murder of an undercover police officer by two teenagers in Midlothian, Tex., regarded as an idyllic town to raise children. Officer George Raffield posed as a high school student to infiltrate Midlothian's drug culture, which he did with some success. After a time, however, the student drug abusers grew suspicious of him, especially Greg Knighten, adopted son of a police officer, and Richard Goeglein, whose parents had moved from Arizona following his involvement in a bizarre suicide pact. The two lured Raffield into the country and Knighten shot him. Goeglein turned state's evidence and his cohort was sentenced to 45 years after a trial which, Stowers ( Careless Whispers ) suggests, revealed the district attorney as a mediocre prosecutor.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-- George Raffield was a 21-year-old police officer posing as a student at Midlothian High School, located in a rural community 30 miles outside of Dallas, Texas. His assignment was to infiltrate a drug ring operating at the school. George quickly made friends with the main students involved, even providing transportation to neighboring towns when drugs arrived. When his true identity was discovered, he was taken out to a field and executed by two of his new "friends." With chilling clarity, Stowers compares the total frustration and sorrow on the part of George's family and fellow officers with the indifference and lack of remorse shown by his youthful murderers. Their trail was an elaborate exercise in plea bargaining and expense and brought little healing to the wounded community. This grim crime story reminds readers that violence is confined neither to the big city nor to the aged criminal but is rampant in today's society. --Katherine Fitch, Jefferson Sci-Tech, Alexandria,
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (May 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031299544X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312995447
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,064,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, June 22, 2005

By 

Reader "clhmbrsq" (Missouri United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Innocence Lost (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a story about a very young police officer recruited to work undercover in a high school where the drug problem was growing. He befriended some druggies and began making his cases. After only a few short months, a 20-something suspected he was a cop and yelled at the high schooler who had been bringing him around. The high schooler was the adopted son of a police officer. He made a plan, lured the undercover cop to a remote area, and shot him in the head with his father's police gun. The story is from the perspective of the kids, the police officers, and the attorneys, and provides an outstanding look at ALL aspects of this case and how one group caused problems for another as the case was investigated and prosecuted. I could not put this book down. It was very well written, and Carlton Stowers has become one of my favorite authors. I cannot get enough of his work. If you like true crime, Stowers's work ranks right up there with Jerry Bledsoe, who I only wish would put out another true crime book. There is no Stowers book that will disappoint you. He is one of the best.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It shocks when it's someone you once knew., June 27, 2005

By 

Ella "Reese Ella Howard" (Wharton County, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Innocence Lost (Mass Market Paperback)

Carlton Stowers is surely the finest true crime writer from Texas, and this book in particular was shocking to me because I went to high school with Thomas Knighten, the father of the boy who murdered the young undercover officer. I was hoping for answers--why did this happen? From what I understand, young Greg did not grow up in a dysfunctional home at all, and received only loving care and a stable home life from his devoted parents. He was an adopted child, and it's possible that the sociopathic personality is biogenetic. We'll never know. A high school friend who keeps in touch with the family tells us that Mr. and Mrs. Knighten have gone on with their lives and have a powerful faith in God that has sustained them. Mr. Stowers' book underlines the fact that there are no guarantees in life in his sensitive account of a senseless tragedy and the chronicle of young Greg's wasted life.

By Reese Ella Howard, Wharton County, Texas

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High school drugs and intrigue, January 25, 2002

By 

J. C. (Thailand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Innocence Lost (Paperback)

This book tells the story of an undercover cop whose job was to nab kids buying marijuana. It takes place in the 1st semester of senior year at a high school in a small town in Texas. The book is interesting and a great read. Someday we will look back on the times described here and wonder why it was necessary to sacrifice so much to grab a kid who bought 5 dollars of an illegal substance. Everyone turns out to be a victim. It's interesting to read how their lives changed due to a series of decisions by the police department, and a series of decisions by a group of high schoolers. Very good true crime book.