The Man Who Killed Boys: The John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Story [Mass Market Paperback]

Clifford L. Linedecker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1993

A true story of mass murder in a Chicago suburb.

Successful businessman, community benefactor, good friend and neighbor-- and perverted mass murderer.

Over a period of three years, John Wayne Gacy, Jr. sexually tortured and murdered 33 boys. His friends and neighbors in his unassuming Illinois community never suspected a thing. Gacy was a Jekyll-and-Hyde figure, leading an outwardly normal life, but secretly brutalizing dozens of young men in a hidden lair, and concealing their bodies under the floorboards of his suburban home.

Through extensive personal interviews with those who knew Gacy, veteran true-crime scribe Clifford L. Linedecker takes us on a shocking ride through Gacy's life, delving deep into the man's troubled past, recounting his appalling series of murders, and recreating the drama of his trial-- which resulted in his execution by lethal injection in 1994. Gruesome and horrifying, The Man Who Killed Boys reveals stark terror set amid the daily lives of an ordinary community.

Documented with an 8-page photo archive

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The John Gacy murder case is filled with facts and accusations so fiendish and bizarre that they might have shocked Edgar Allan Poe...A sensational crime story that evokes both curiosity and revulsion."--Chicago Tribune

About the Author

Clifford L. Linedecker is a former daily newspaper journalist with eighteen years experience on the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rochester (N.Y.) Times-Union, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, and several other Indiana newspapers. He is an experienced investigative reporter who has covered police and the courts on each of the papers where he was employed. He is a former articles editor for National Features Syndicate in Chicago, and for "County Rambler" magazine. He is the author of numerous true crime titles, including The Man Who Killed Boys, Night Stalker, Killer Kids, Blood in the Sand, and Deadly White Female.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (May 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312952287
• ISBN-13: 978-0312952280
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 3.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,179,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Marginal at Best... Gives the Reader a History Lesson..., June 3, 2004

By 

Keith Kimmel "Free Thinker, Constant Reader" (OK USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Man Who Killed Boys: The John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Story (Mass Market Paperback)

This book really was rather disappointing. After reading the back cover and Introduction, the reader is told to expect detailed insight into the details of this near north side Chicago house of horrors and the man who owned it.

While The Man Who Killed Boys offers to the reader a reasonably accurate chronicle of the events that were Gacy's twisted reality, it fails to dig deep below the surface to explore what made him tick. Moreover, it fails to probe Gacy's past as it glosses over his childhood years and spends the majority of the pages reciting murder after murder scene.

The back cover tells us that The Man Who Killed Boys recreates the drama of Gacy's trial... the book spends less precious few pages talking about the actual trial, while it consumes many a page discussing Gacy's jail conditions and other items related to his confinement.

If you want to read a story, this is probably an acceptable choice. But if you're seeking an explanation for or insight into what powers a monster like Gacy, keep moving as you wont find it here.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Only touches the surface., March 7, 2000

By 

Richard Harrold (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Man Who Killed Boys: The John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Story (Mass Market Paperback)

Linedecker's description of the events as they were portrayed in the media is accurate and complete. Trouble is, it appears he simply went to all the old newspaper articles to cull the information he needed. He also managed to go through police reports. But this books is scant on first person interviews. All the quotes in the book appear to have been taken from newspapers. The book follows an easy narrative, one that is logical and continues to move forward. I agree with another reviewer's comment that the narrative at times is homophobic. But that's not surprising from a book originally published in 1980. While this book is lacking in content, it should not be ignored by those who are interested in Gacy. It at least provides a perspective of how the horrific events of the murders were revealed, as well as the typical nonchalance police exhibit when confronted with missing teen reports.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not that bad, June 24, 2003

By 

James Warner (CHICAGO, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Man Who Killed Boys (Mass Market Paperback)

While not as good as Buried Dreams or Killer Clown,which go into much greater detail about the entire story,this book had some details that I had not known when I read the other books many years ago. A lot of info on gacys neighbors,friends and mostly,some of his victims stories that were not as well publicized as the other unfortunate kids.