Lost Girls [Mass Market Paperback]

Caitlin Rother (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 3, 2012

Chelsea King was a popular high school senior, an outstanding achiever determined to make a difference. Amber Dubois loved books and poured her heart into the animals she cared for. Treasured by their families and friends, both girls disappeared in San Diego County, just eight miles and one year apart. The community's desperate search led authorities to John Albert Gardner III, a brutal predator hiding in plain sight. Now Pulitzer-nominated author Caitlin Rother delivers an incisive, heartbreaking true-life thriller that touches our deepest fears.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A close look at a killer . . . Lost Girls by veteran journalist and true-crime writer Caitlin Rother is a deeply reported, dispassionately written attempt to determine what created a monster and predator. It is a cautionary tale and a horror story, done superbly by a writer who knows how to burrow into a complex case without becoming captive to her sources." ----Los Angeles Times

"The disturbing story of John Gardner, who kidnapped, raped, and murdered two teenage girls in San Diego. . . . Rother addresses the complexity and difficulty of managing paroled sexual predators. This book will be popular with fans of Rother, Ann Rule, and other popular true crime writers." ---- Library Journal

"Well-written, thought-provoking . . . if ever a 'true crime' deserved a book-length study, this is certainly that crime." ----San Diego Union Tribune

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 420 pages
• Publisher: Kensington; 1 edition (July 3, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786022183
• ISBN-13: 978-0786022182
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (152 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #387,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother has written or co-authored eight books, including LOST GIRLS, POISONED LOVE, DEAD RECKONING, DEADLY DEVOTION, BODY PARTS, TWISTED TRIANGLE, NAKED ADDICTION and MY LIFE, DELETED.

She is currently working on a book about the murder of multimillionaire entrepreneur Bill McLaughlin in Newport Beach, Calif., by his fiancee, the femme fatale Nanette Johnston Packard McNeal, and her lover, the NFL linebacker Eric Naposki. It is currently titled I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU and is slated for release in late 2013.

Her latest true crime book is the controversial LOST GIRLS, a behind the scenes account of the rape and murder of San Diego area teenagers Chelsea King and Amber Dubois by sexual predator John Gardner (July 2012).

NYT bestseller MY LIFE, DELETED, is an inspirational memoir of former NFL player Scott Bolzan, who is rebuilding his life after suffering a brain injury and losing his entire long-term memory. She co-authored the book with Scott and his wife Joan. (HarperOne, October 2011)

The updated POISONED LOVE (December 2011) adds 20 pages of new developments in the Kristin Rossum case, in which the beautiful San Diego toxicologist was convicted of poisoning her husband with powerful narcotics she stole from her lab at the county Medical Examiner's Office, then staging a suicide scene by sprinkling red rose petals over her husband's body.

In her debut thriller, NAKED ADDICTION, a lethal confluence of sex, drugs and the murder of young beauty school entrepreneurs hits the wealthy beach community of La Jolla. Undercover narcotics detective Ken Goode confronts his own demons during a homicide investigation that brings him into contact with a drug ring and an escort service while he tangles with a seductive witness and worries that his missing sister will be the next murder victim.

Before writing books full-time, Rother worked for nearly 20 years as an investigative reporter for daily newspapers, covering issues ranging from addiction, suicide, mental illness and murder to politics and corruption at City Hall and in Congress. She now writes books full-time, teaches writing and works as an editorial consultant/book doctor.

Most recently a Pulitzer-nominated staff writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune, Rother also has been published in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, and The Daily Beast. Her many media appearances as a crime expert include "Women Who Kill" on E!, the "Snapped" series on the Oxygen Network, five shows on Investigation Discovery, and "On the Record" with Greta Van Susteren on FOX News.

Rother, who earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from University of California Berkeley and her master's in journalism from Northwestern University, teaches narrative non-fiction, creative writing, advanced feature writing and interviewing at UCSD Extension. She does public speaking and works as an editorial and publishing consultant. She also founded San Diego Writing Women and runs its blog. Check out her website at http://caitlinrother.com and the blog at sandiegowritingwomen.blogspot.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 57 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Objective Look at a Deeply Disturbed Individual July 6, 2012

By reading101

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I can't say I have ever read a true- crime book before, but having followed the searches for Amber and Chelsea closely, I preordered this book. Had I known the parents of the two beautiful girls who were murdered were strongly opposed to the books release, I probably would not have purchased it.

That said, I read the book in just two days. I found the story of John Gardner's evolution into becoming the rapist and murderer he is deeply disturbing. Rother objectively tells of his childhood in which he was described by one doctor as having the worst case of ADD he had ever seen. Some of the most disturbing aspects of Gardner are that he had many facets to his personality, and could be considerate and charming one minute, and then quickly show his evil side. How much safer we would be as a society if people capable of such horrific crimes were one dimensional.

Rother also gives information about Gardner's mother, who was overwhelmed with trying to help her son find appropriate treatment. The reader will see moments in which she could have helped with the search of Chelsea had she offered up the information and opened her eyes. That she was so worried when her 30-year-old son was little late for dinner was very telling. She clearly enabled her son. At the same time, this woman worked hard to try to find a place that would take her son in for psychiatric care which he desperately needed. Gardner wanted to be locked up, and had told doctors he wanted to hurt people, only to be given new medication and sent on his way.

Also, the reader will see the amazing lengths the county and its detectives went through to try to bring Chelsea home alive. People do care, and there are many unsung heroes in law enforcement. Also glaringly obvious is the descrepancy in the search for Chelsea versus Amber, who had disappeared a year earlier in Escondido, a working-class town in North San Diego. This seemed to be due to many factors. Possibly because Chelsea had a last know place, possibly because Chelsea was the second child to disappear in only a year just a few miles away, possibly due to different leadership in police forces, etc. Chelsea's family may have been more socially connected, and were more educated and financially secure. The latter provokes thought into the fairness of resources being used, and I immediately thought of the plight of minority victims and their families.

Both families of Chelsea and Amber are to be admired for their work on passing important legislation in attempt to close some of the holes in the system regarding sexual predators. They have suffered enormous pain and my heart goes out to them. I will continue to pray for them and their families.

Lastly, I felt the need to write this review to address some of the attacks on the author. She clearly put countless hours into researching this book, and I find it to be objective and well written. It would have been nice had at least a portion of the proceeds gone to support victims rights, but I will make a donation to Chelsea's Light Foundation and I would encourage readers to do the same.She clearly isn't making much on this book, and to expect all of the proceeds to be donated is unfair, I believe. The insights gleaned from this book will positively contribute in creating a dialogue.

I felt guilty after hearing of the controversy surrounding the book as I would never want to add to a family's pain. That said, free speech is a hugely important aspect of our society, something many in my family have personally fought for. As an educator I have been witness to a handful of children with impulsivity issues that seemed to go well beyond ADD/ADHD. Some of those children have gone on to offend and become incarcerated. The school system in California is increasingly limited in offering assistance, support, counseling, and even appropriate consequences. If it takes $180,000 to pay for services for an unstable individual for only a year, imagine what could be done if even a fraction of that were spent on the front-end.

48 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very sensitively written and thorough account July 7, 2012

By Jill T.

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I read this book in less than 48 hours. Ms. Rother wrote this book on a very painful subject with extreme sensitivity and thoroughness. I am a Rancho Bernardo resident, and lived through that painful period of our history. She gave a lot of insight into the mind of the killer, and his family, and how the system failed to protect those girls. I highly recommend this book, and I am shocked to see so many negative "reviews" from people who didn't even have the decency to actually read the book, but are simply trying to quash the author's First Amendment rights. I was under the impression we still lived in America.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I'VE ACTUALLY READ THE BOOK and Here's My Thoughts July 18, 2012

By Kim Cantrell

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Chelsea King was a senior in high school. She was an academic leader among her peers with a strong conviction to make the world a better place. Often thinking of activities that would benefit her community, Chelsea frequently set these ideas in motion with the help of friends and family. Beautiful, intelligent, selfless, and dependable, Chelsea was the teenage daughter most parents can only dream about.

Then one day she failed to come home. Her parents began a frantic search for their daughter but found only her car. As Chelsea was a minor and had an impeccable track record of always being in touch with family and friends, police immediately formed search parties and informed residents of the area about the missing girl by way of television and helicopter announcements.

Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain. A few days later Chelsea's body was found in a shallow grave.

But police had arrested one John Albert Gardner, Jr., a bipolar sex offender whose mother lived in the area near Rancho Bernardo Community Park. Several witnesses had seen Gardner on the trials the day of Chelsea's disappearance and soon enough DNA from Chelsea's discarded clothing would be matched to Gardner.

John Gardner realized the death penalty was a very real possibility and made a deal with investigators: he would show them where to find the body of Amber Dubois, another young teen who had disappeared without a trace the year before Chelsea.

Veteran true crime author Caitlin Rother has taken the tough task of recounting Gardner's story in her recently published book Lost Girls. Despite her best efforts, Chelsea's and Amber's parents refused to talk with Rother about their daughters' murders but Gardner's mother did, in fact, openly discuss her son's long history of mental illness - which in turn has put Caitlin Rother in a direct line for cruel criticism.

According to the multitude of critics, Caitlin Rother is sympathetic to a two-time child killer and too readily accepts his mental difficulties as an excuse for murder.

Well, they are wrong. Plain and simple.

First, Rother wrote the book because, as a mother, it frightened her that something so horrific could happen in an otherwise safe place to such extremely low risk persons, especially teenage girls. Secondly, she was appalled at a system she believes failed to offer enough resources to someone so obviously mentally ill.

Now that said - quite frankly, I don't fully agree with Ms. Rother on the latter. I do think there are numerous resources out there for the emotionally and mentally disturbed but, like any other service or product, they do have their limits when it comes to supplying demand. And, more importantly, in my opinion, weak psychosis isn't an excuse for violent crime. From what I've seen, usually the ones who truly couldn't control themselves were found standing over the bodies, weapon in hand, and covered in blood. They didn't have the competency to "hunt" for a victim then bury the body where it is well-concealed.

But I can't understand why Rother is taking a beating over this book. So what if she allowed Cathy Osborn (Gardner's mother) to contribute? The King and the Dubois families were invited to give their input as well but declined - not even allowing photos of the daughters to be included. Why? You can't stop the story from being told, why not share all the wonderful things about your child and speak out against the vile creature who took her life?

I'm also aware these families also disliked Caitlin Rother's visit to a California prison to interview him, proclaiming they were a violation of prison visitation guidelines. With all due respect, I believe even killers have the right to make statements, via face-to-face or letter. And again I say, why did you choose not to contribute and make your voices heard?

When all is said and done, making a book "taboo" only increases its sales and that is exactly what these folks are doing. My heart grieves for the parents of these girls and I do not even pretend to know what I would do should I ever find myself walking their journey, but controversy sales - no ifs, ands, or buts. Combine those characteristics with masterful, powerful writing from a writer who has long proven her sense of integrity and you've got a bestselling book.

Lost Girls by Caitlin Rother is sure to be one of the best you'll read this year. Hands down!