Customer Reviews

I've Been Watching You: The South Louisiana Serial Killer

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This was a very well written "intense" book. I could not put it down,except for the dozen or so times I got up to check again if my doors were locked.

As I read this book I imagined the countless hours Susan must have spent researching the evidence and interviewing families and those involved in capturing the killer. She told this story in a way that never lets you forget this happened to real people, people just like you and me. I cried for these woman and their families. Derrick Todd Lee is a "monster" and he destroyed many lives. I agree, all women should read this book...the women in this story did nothing to deserve death but we can learn from their stories and possibly protect ourselves from the countless "monsters" that are still out there.

I just finished this book, took only 2 days, as I couldn't put it down. Yes, the book does offer insight into what the victims may have been thinking, but these are all logical conclusions. Nothing in the book is a leap. The book is extremely well written, would make a great suspense novel if it were not for the fact that all this really happened.

The book also demonstrates how police politics can hinder an investigation. Lee would have been caught years before he was had some officials listened.

This book should be mandatory reading for any future Louisiana Governor who might have to consider a stay of execution for Derrick Todd Lee. If this book sheds more light on just what a monster Lee was, then maybe his planned execution is more of a sure thing. Should also be required reading for every woman, Lee found it too easy to gain access to the homes of his victims. You'll make sure your doors are locked after reading this.

I also found a website for the book www.derricktoddlee.com Some good information there as well.

In her book, I've been Watching You, Susan Mustafa enlists the help of Tony Clayton and Sue Israel to portray Derrick Todd Lee as a teeth-gnashing, heartless and depraved frame of a man who showed no remorse for his actions and selfishly gave no explanation to the victims' family members he left in his wake.

It was obvious that Mustafa walked the steps of the killer and the victims. With descriptions that could map the area, Mustafa draws pictures with her words of the terror, the crime scenes and the aftermath of each murder while keeping the victims in mind. The book holds readers by capturing their hearts, truly allowing them to know the victims and their family members. Mustafa showed that these women were wives, mothers, daughters, friends, aunts and pillars of the community in which they lived - and died.

Those who lived here while the horror was capturing the state of Louisiana will revert back to that time with remembrance of fear, but also relief that this "monster," as Mustafa labels him, is behind concrete walls in Angola. Those who didn't live here will be glad they didn't. Mustafa shows that while he definitely was tempted by a certain profile, no woman in South Louisiana was safe during his reign of terror.

Mustafa's journalism background shines in this true crime book, as she answers the questions for readers before they must ask. She tells the story as if she hovered overhead while it was happening, helpless as we all were to stop it.

Two other authors contributed their expertise to the book so much that they share the front cover with Mustafa. Tony Clayton, who supplied the insight and tactics used to convict Lee of murdering Geralyn DeSoto, was the special prosecutor in the case of the same. And Sue Israel brought 20 years of writing and editing experience to the book. Together, this "dream team" created a piece of history, detailing the horror that trapped Louisiana women for months, and unbeknownst to them, years on end. This chilling sequence of events will have women locking their doors and looking around corners for days upon its completion. In the words of victim Pam Kinnamore's mother Lynn Moreno at a book signing in Baton Rouge, "This is a story that needed to be told." These authors have done so in its entirety.

I haven't read a book this scary, in a long time. It's sad how many times the police had this guy in their grasp but let him go! Even sadder for the families of these women, to know that he could have been stopped in the beginning. While I sympathize with one of the victim's family members (review), I have read many books where the author has written about the victim on their last night and what they might have been thinking or doing. I feel this is done to let the reader know that the victim was real, with hopes and dreams like everyone else, and it was shattered by this lowlife killer. The author gave you a feel on what wonderful women they were and how the killer took them from this world. How very sad. Derrick Todd Lee should be put in a room with the families of these women and then justice will be served!

This book is well written and really allows you to get a sense of what the victims went through. I could not put this book down. Grew up down the street from where many of the murders occured, but I think it is great reading for anyone.

This book is very well written, riveting in fact. I have never read a true crime book (and I read them all) that makes the reader feel so much for the victim as well as their families. I feel like I know each of them now, and cried as I read. It is difficult to put this book down as the authors move between the victims, the killer and the investigators. The detail is so incredible that you can clearly see the research that went into writing this book. I've wondered what could make someone kill so many people and this book shows you why this serial killer did what he did. It is evident that the authors emulated Truman Capote's style in his book, In Cold Blood, making this a more interesting read than other books of this genre. I would highly recommend this book.

This account includes all the details you've been wondering about, and a thoughtful biography of each of the victims. It answers a lot of questions and raises more, but it is a very interesting book. It helps you get to know the killer and to somewhat understand why he was so hard to catch, but doesn't spare the task force from scrutiny. He should have been caught sooner, if they had just listened to the tips and the guys who knew him. This book is very well-written - doesn't spare the graphic details of the murders, but never falls into the gratuitous. It does an excellent job of building the mood and helping the reader understand why every woman in Baton Rouge and the surrounding area spent several years looking over her shoulder and feeling dread. It also allows you to mourn for the women whose lives were taken by the killer, and for their families as well.

This book is very hard to read because it contains so much tragedy that has affected so many lives. Every female should read this to see how easy it could happen to them or someone in their family. Several deaths could have been prevented if the public had been given the facts sooner. Everyone that works in the legal system should read this to see how communication between each other could have prevented some of these tragedies. Did the victim's families get closure after the trial? How do you get closure when someone you love was stalked and tortured before they were murdered? You learn to take one day at a time trying to accept the death of someone you love. Closure is impossible because that person is loved and missed every second of every day and will always be a part of your lives. How was one man given the power to decide the fate of these women? He has put nightmares into so many lives, forever. Reading this book will help other famiies prevent these nightmares from entering their lives.

I truly enjoyed Ms. Mustafa's work. This heinous murderer caused a lot of unbearable anguish for so many people here in South Louisiana, and I suppose this case peaked an inordinate degree of interest from so many people because there are still so many unanswered questions regarding these murders, especially how he happened to choose these particular victims, how he gained access to their homes, and how he managed to actually remove 2 of them from their homes without ever being seen, not to mention the bloody mess he had to have been when leaving some of these crime scenes. He got away with all of these unconscionable acts for so long and might likely have never been caught had it not been for the miracle of DNA testing.

Being a resident of Baton Rouge, I remember the time of Derrick Todd Lee's rampage quite well. This book does an incredible job of bringing the lives of his victims to light - their dreams, their successes, their struggles - and shows us just how much we truly lost. The book is well-paced, and we learn something new with virtually every page. Each of the known victims is covered, as well as many others suspected of being one. We see the killer's life as well, through childhood and into adulthood. We follow the investigation, and learn the reasons why he remained at large for so long. We also live through both of the murder trials, and feel the anger and grief of the victims' families as they re-live the tragedies, as well as the passion of the prosecutors, fighting to bring justice to bear. I found this book difficult to put down, and I waited impatiently for each new opportunity to return to it. I haven't been a big follower of the True Crime genre, but if this is what I should expect, then I may have to rethink my reading habits. It's the best book I've read in a very long time.