Invisible Darkness: The Strange Case Of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1997

Invisible Darkness is the story of one of the more bizarre cases in recent memory--killings so sensational that they prompted the Canadian government, in the interests of justice, to silence its national press and to lock foreign journalists out of the courts.



To all appearances, Paul and Karla Bernardo had a fairytale marriage--beautiful working-class girl weds bright upper-middle-class guy and they buy a fashionable dream house in the suburbs. But, bored with his straight, prestigious accounting job, Paul soon went freelance as an international smuggler. He also revealed his boredom with conventional sex--enough so that, one Christmas Eve, he persuaded his wife to drug her own sister and engage in a menage a trois, during which the sister died (a bungling coroner ruled her death accidental).The couple then upped the ante, kidnapping and imprisoning several high school girls for sexual marathons, which they videotaped before savagely murdering their captives. When the girls' bodies were found, the police were stymied (although Paul had been accused of rape and given a DNA test that vanished for two years and only recently was linked to some fifty sexual-assault cases) until Karla tried to have her husband arrested for wife beating. During questioning, she confessed to the crimes and is now serving two concurrent twelve-year sentences for manslaughter in exchange for testifying against her husband who was jailed for life.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The horrifying sex murders committed in southern Ontario by Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka caught the attention of the media and public of Canada like few, if any, cases in that country's history. Readers of either of the two previous books about the case (Deadly Innocence and Lethal Marriage) may be skeptical that another retelling is necessary, but Invisible Darkness benefits from Stephen Williams's prodigious research and his unique perspective on Karla's culpability. Williams had to jump several legal hurdles unique to Canada's "Crown disclosure" protocols, but eventually was able to gain access to more than 70 hours of videotaped police interviews with Karla, interviews with Paul by his defense attorney, and even psychiatrist's notes. Williams uses vivid vignettes to tell the story, and refrains from unnecessarily graphic details about the crimes. As the Winnipeg Free Press writes, "If any readers still believe [Homolka] was a victim of post-traumatic stress, abused into submission by Bernardo, this will put that idea to rest."

Review

"By far the most intelligent and subversive of the Bernardo triptych." -- Lynn Crosbie, The Globe and Mail, Dec. 1997

"I found Invisible Darkness a superior example of a dying breed the straight, unhyped, literate work of true-crime." -- Jack Olsen, Edgar-Award winning author of "Son" and "Doc," Jan, 1999

"If any readers still believe she was a victim of post-traumatic stress, abused into submission by Bernardo, this book will put that idea to rest." -- Ted Wakefield, The Winnipeg Free Press, Sep. 1996

"Invisible Darkness offers up Karla Homolka, 17 years old at the time she met Paul Bernardo, as a Devil Incarnate just waiting to meet her Svengali." -- Maggie Siggins, The Globe and Mail, Aug. 1996

"Readers will leave Invisible Darkness knowing that it's nothing short of obscene.....Homolka could be out of prison as early as next year." -- Leonard Stern,The Ottawa Citizen, Sep. 1996

"There is much in this book of merit....He begins intriguingly....with a nun waking up to see a pert Karla Homolka sitting in bed beside her....One moment in the book, Bernardo and Homolka are two suburbanites...caught up in their own melodramas, the next moment they're raping teenagers and severing heads." -- Pete McMartin, The Vancouver Sun, Aug. 1996

"This book lets it all hang out....You can't help but be drawn in by this tale of sex, death, lies and videotape...." -- Helen Dolik, The Calgary Herald, Sep. 1996

"Williams has performed a remarkable, if unconventional, feat in the annals of true crime." -- Judge Lynn King, The Toronto Star, Sep. 1996

"You may think you've heard enough but you haven't heard the half of it. It's a must read ....Based on court documents....as well as countless interviews with police, lawyers, psychiatrists and friends of Paul and Karla, it is well-researched and thought-provoking." -- Bart Johnson, The Edmonton Sun, Sep. 1996

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 532 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (December 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 055356854X
• ISBN-13: 978-0553568547
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,492 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > True Accounts > Murder & Mayhem

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Facts Well Balanced, May 21, 2001

By 

mystuff "mystuff" (United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Invisible Darkness: The Strange Case Of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka (Mass Market Paperback)

Unlike some of the other books about Paul and Karla Bernardo, this book balances the facts, and the blame for the horrific murders, fairly.

The story seems to be told from an unbiased point of view and delves into the early lives of both Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo offering the reader a greater insight into the minds of these two coldblooded killers.

The book is a disturbing read because it deals with horrendous crimes but in my opinion, it is the best of the books written to date about this deadly duo.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When societies watchdogs fail to do their jobs., September 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Invisible Darkness: The Strange Case Of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka (Mass Market Paperback)

Two beautiful, successful, youthful people, a husband and wife who live the middle class lifestyle with all the trimmings, nice house, fancy car, good jobs. Could they also kidnap, rape, torture and murder? Many of us would be tempted to say "No!" The good folks in our neighbourhood of manicured lawns, backyard barbeques, and Sunday suppers with the in-laws assume that the trappings somehow shield us from the dark side of human nature. And that is the horror of this story. It is not that Paul Bernardo traveled around his community, stalked and raped women. Nor is the horror that Paul and his wife Karla drugged, raped, and murdered Karla's fifteen year old sister. Nor is it in this couple kidnapping, raping, torturing, murdering, and mutilating other teenage girls. The horrorific aspect is in the response of those who are charged, sworn and paid to protect the rest of us from these sorts of criminals. As I read, I kept thinking that if this were not so tragic, it would be funny, a regular comedy of errors. Police and prosecutors who can only see the superficial appearances of the Bernardo's life style and who are blinded to what they had and could do. But then, I had to ask, isn't that how I think? Am I not blinded to the good or evil in others by the cut of their hair, their clothes, or where they live? And when the stumbling and fumbling of the investigators was caught out, what of their often sleazy attempts to cover themselves. In the name of protecting the memories of the innocent victims and their grieving families, the courts, the police and the prosecutors have done all in their powers to suppress this story. In fact, as I write this, the author of this book is once again being prosecuted by the government of Ontario simply because he dared to expose their incompetance. When the power stucture finally gets through with Mr Williams, I look forward to reading his book on how his own trials with exposing this part of the coverup.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too compelling to put down..., January 30, 2001

By 

Chynared21 (Staten Island, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Invisible Darkness: The Strange Case Of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka (Mass Market Paperback)

Although I couldn't set this book aside without wanting to read more, it's not for the faint of heart. The details can be quite graphic at times, which was not exactly necessary to tell this horrific story, but it definately put into context how truly psycopathic Paul Bernardo and Karla Holmoka are. What really amazed me is the fact that neither of them is remorseful for what they did to those poor young girls. Mr. Williams does seem to focus more on Karla in this book, which lets us see that she may have been the true mastermind of all the crimes commited, but I would have liked to have read more on Paul as well. The only possible complaint that I could have about this story is that sometimes Mr. Williams jumped around with some details and also there were too many names associated with this case to keep straight. I was astounded that the police could "bungle" the investigations so badly, maybe those three girls would be alive today if Paul Bernardo was stopped earlier than he had been. I can't quite comprehend why the police settled themselves on facts which proved to be incorrect. It's as if they walked around with blinders on instead of meticulously checking out every piece of evidence. This is absolutely worth the read and it shows the great injustice served to all the victims of the sick minds of Paul and Karla. They should rot in jail, and I'm not talking about "country clubish", I'm talking about hard time in general population. Let's see how long they survive there!