Customer Reviews

Morning Ran Red: The Villisca Axe Murders

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

 

 

As someone who has done a lot of reading about the Villisca Axe Murders, as well as visiting the site, this book holds true to many of the actual details. Just enough literary license is used for a dramatic effect. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes intrigue and mystery, but especially to people who are familar with the actual story.

As a fan of mysteries and especially the Villisca axe murder story, Morning Ran Red is an interesting work of fiction. It is loosely based on an actual Southwest Iowa crime and the events' characters. As someone who has researched the Villisca case thoroughly, you will not find any semblence of accurate history in its pages. It will hold your attention to the end. But for those who say it is accurate in its details, they are not well-versed in the actual Villisca story.

I grew up in Villisca hearing the stories of the ax murders. My grandmother was a young girl living in town when it happened and my siblings and I loved listening to her recount. I really enjoyed reading the book!

I did not read the reviews carefully enough to realize that this book is a novelization based on the Villisca murders; it is not a nonfiction account of the crime. My mistake, but worth mentioning as it is not apparent from the description of the book as given here. If you are looking for true crime nonfiction reporting, this is not the book for you.

The Morning Ran Red sat on my shelf unread for many months. It was a gift to me and one I thought probably wouldn't be to my liking. I was very pleasantly surprised, when I started the book I couldn't put it down. I will recommend it to my book-club. Thank you Mr. Bowman, keep writing more mysteries.