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Customer Reviews

76 Reviews

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (76 customer reviews)

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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome read !, January 7, 2000

By

Ellen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Perfect Victim: The True Story of the Girl in the Box (Mass Market Paperback)

This book has been around for a few years now. I first read it about six years ago and have since read it again. It's just as good the second time round. A very shocking story of sex,brainwashing and sick perversions. Not for the easily disturbed. Very graphic details and very shocking in places. On reading the back of the book I almost laughed at the idea of someone being held captive for seven years and being brainwashed into staying. On reading the book however,you come to realise just how this can happen and how frighteningly real it was for the poor victim, Colleen Stan. All the way through I couldn't help but wonder why on earth Colleen's family didn't suss out that something was going on. I mean, hey, your daughter suddenly goes missing and when she finally turns up she is like a different person and totally controlled by two individuals that she normally wouldn't associate with. Surely someone must have thought that something was up? Really excellent read. Buy it,don't borrow it as you'll definitely want to read it again.Comes with quite a few photos too. Powerfull and compelling.

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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unimaginable..., July 25, 2001

By

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

This review is from: Perfect Victim: The True Story of the Girl in the Box (Mass Market Paperback)

true story about seven years in captivity full of deprevation, sexual abuse and torture. Colleen Stan is an amazingly strong person to be able to live through her ordeal at the hands of Cameron Hooker. This book starts with her abduction while hitch hiking, ironically she refused a few rides because she felt unsure about them. Along comes they typical American family and she accepts their offer of a ride.

The story continues back and forth between her captivity and the investigation/trial after her escape. While reading the chapters about Colleen you often wonder why she didn't try to escape when she was free of the box or when she was allowed certain freedoms. But, I guess that unless we were in her situation we would never be able to comprehend exactly what she was feeling.

This book is a great read, however, it's extremely graphic at times and is not for the weak at heart.

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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Young Woman's Journey to Hell and Back, April 22, 2001

By

Nancy Sherburne (Tucson, Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Perfect Victim: The True Story of the Girl in the Box (Mass Market Paperback)

The journey begins when young Colleen Stan is hitchhiking in California and passes up several offers by people she felt uncomfortable accepting rides from. Then along comes a nice American family and she accepts. So begins a 7-year ordeal presumably unmatched by anyone else. I find the book filled with details not only of the horror Cameron Hooker inflicted on Colleen, but also of the earlier horror he inflicted on a young Janice in the days before their marriage. As difficult as it was to believe how Hooker could have Stan so under control he would allow her to hold down a job, it becomes crystal clear when trial testimony describes hostages undergoing the same experience. My only problem is the book is not wholely written in chronological order but jumps back and forth between the current investigation and the years prior when Stan is held captive by a cold, calculating, very intelligent but depraved individual. If you can handle descriptions of immense pain, torture and terror get your hands on this book immediately.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Editor?
Was this book edited? I found at least a dozen typos throughout the book, some of which were so egregious that it was difficult at first to understand the sentence. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Apoll

5.0 out of 5 stars Large Print
Does this book come in LARGE PRINT? I bought the book in paperback and the print in so minute and virtually impossible for me to read. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Lisa

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book.
just bought Perfect Victim. Excellent book. Thanks amazon. I would definately shop amazon again. Its so easy to order online and get your item in the mail. No crowds.. I love it

Published 2 months ago by Cherish Marie Miller

1.0 out of 5 stars NOT authorized by Colleen Stan
While a good book, it was NOT authorized by the victim. Nor does she receive any royaltiess. Written by the prosecuting attorney, who receives the income

Published 2 months ago by Raddianne

2.0 out of 5 stars Speculation
I didn't like this book. Only about 1/3 is about Colleen Stan. The rest of it is about difficulties for the trial, the goings on of Christine McGuire and preparation for the... Read more

Published 3 months ago by choritzo

4.0 out of 5 stars Christmas Gift
This was a Christmas gift that arrived very quickly. It was packaed good too. My wife enjoyed the book so much. Thank you!

Published 3 months ago by Brian Burns

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
This book kept my interest the whole time. I read this book in 2 days, reading every little extra minute i had. I couldn't believe at first what i was reading. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Cathy

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read!
This book is so well written, you can't put it down.

This is a horrific, fascinating account of a young lady who was kidnapped and held as a slave for 6 years. Read more

Published 16 months ago by True Crime Fanatic

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, though I don't like the author or the Dugard comparison
Cameron Hooker appeared to the outside world as a quiet, hard-working, mild-mannered young man with a nice, quiet wife. Read more

Published 20 months ago by Privacy, Please

2.0 out of 5 stars A mediocre effort...
Tbe book is an easy read and a good passing of time. In relation to the content of the book, at times it tends to drag and is boring. Read more

Published on November 5, 2009 by Shobana Alagendran

› See all 76 customer reviews...

Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
Straddling the cool, green rush of the Sacramento River is a town too small and undistinguished to warrant a stop by most tourists. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Cameron Hooker, Colleen Stan, Red Bluff, Janice Hooker, Judge Knight, Oak Street, Tehama County, Patty Hearst, Pastor Dabney, San Francisco, Lieutenant Brown, King's Lodge, Rolland Papendick, Jerry Brown, Southern California, Defense Attorney Papendick, Detective Shamblin, Judge Watkins, Marie Elizabeth Spannhake, Northern California, Daily News, Doris Miron, Officer Shamblin, Holy Bible, Jack Martin

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