Customer Reviews

The Serial Killer Letters: A Penetrating Look Inside the Minds of Murderers

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

The concept of this book had so much potential but the product fell a little short. Jennifer Furio strikes up a series of correspondence with some of the most horrific serial killers still alive. Most of their histories she came to know through the flashy murder novels of Anne Rule and others. She then takes their letters and prints them.....much as Jason Moss did in his work "The Last Victim" but she only prints the offender's letters word for word.

First off, I will give credit where credit is due. She does get some intriguing responses. Even those that deny their crimes open a small window into their minds through their writings. Those that admit can be brutally frank (i.e. David Gore). There are definately moments of this book that make it worthwhile.

On the other hand there are some real flaws with the work up that hurt the overall effect of the book. First, the authors preamble to each series of letters is minimal at best. If you havent read individual books on each of the offenders you dont have real insight to the nature of their crimes. Second, there are offenders that were co-conspirators whos chapters are no where near eachother in the flow of the book. It would seem to be more beneficial to have them follow one another. The book also suffers in that the author does not share ANY of her letters. Sometimes these individuals have angry reactions to her correspondence and it would have been nice to see what provoked their hostility. Finally the book suffers from her selection of offenders. Some of the offenders are borderline illiterate and reading their letters is painfully tedious. Also the biggest name (or at least most recognizable) in her book, Henry Lee Lucas only wrote three brief non important letters. Finally it is very important to mention that she did not print letters from those who refused to be printed. What fun is that?

There are some highlights. The letters from David Gore are frank and horrific. The letters from the Chicago Rippers are worth reading to see how much of the offenses they pass off on one another.

Overall as I said the book is worth the read, but you will suffer some to get to the good stuff. If you are looking for something of this nature that doesnt have as many dull spots, I recommend "The Last Victim" by Jason Moss.

I've never read a book about serial killers that allowed you to get under the skin of serial killers. It is not easy reading however. Even though there is some of the most incredible descriptions of deviant behavior I have EVER EVER read, there is also a lot of boring material mixed in. But I guess that's what letters often are. These guys didn't know there letters were going to be published in a book. One thing that was bothersome to me is that the author didn't include her letters to the killers and i really wonder why. I would have liked to know what she said to them and the fact that she left them out only makes me believe that maybe she didn't want readers to know what kind of tactics she used. In all, I loved seeing how these guys wrote and the things they said.

This book is a sham. The author states that she is doing this because she wants to protect her family. That once she understands how they work she'll be able to protect them and herself and others.

That is not the case.

This book is about a lonely, bored housewife who's husband is never around so flirts with dangerous people because she needs attention. She sends pictures and visits and lavishes compliments and praise.

These men are intelligent minds - the only thing that I see in each letter is exactly how the typical stupid victim gets snowed. By flattery, intelligent wit and lies. It says nothing about the men she's writing to at all - just about her. They all deny the murders and insist innocence and she buys it hook, line, and sinker.

No wait, I take that back. There was one prologue before one chapter where she actually sounded like she didn't like the killer. And it turns out it's because he criticizes her appearance after she sends a picture of herself. I do not recommend this book to anyone - it's an embarrassment.

This book is worth reading if what you want is unedited words from some of the most violent people within our nation. The correspondence from inmates, convicted serial killers like Carol Bundy, is fascinating within itself, and in my opinion, each reader should be allowed to dissect each letter and form their own opinions as to how sincere the writers are in their apologies or remorse. What I think is worth skipping in this book is Ms. Furio's analysis and commentary on such letters. She has a tendency to take a lot of what is written by her penpals at face value, and therefore creates profiles of these people as more sympathetic than they should be. Yes, Carol Bundy was a desperate woman stuck in bad relationship after bad relationship, but she helped Doug Clark kidnap, rape, and muder eight women before she shot and killed her own ex-boyfriend. Yet, here Ms. Furio tries to paint her as a victim, and with her authoritative writing tone, the average reader might be inclined to believe her without digging a little deeper. What I would love to see is just a collection of letters from criminals compiled into a book. No outside force trying to tell the readers what to think about the person. Just the firsthand materials themselves. But this book is not that.

Unfortunately, Jennifer was so bored and lonely that she thought it would be cool to go out and actually pay, YES, PAY convicted serial killers to write her things to put inside this "penetrating" book of hers. Killers profit off of their crimes because of people like her. Not only did she pay these killers for their boring letters, she gave them a forum to complain to the world how unfair ALL of the trials were and how innocent they are all as well. Who would want to write about this, and and even better question is who would actually want to read this? DO NOT buy this book--if you did, you would only be giving her killer pen-pals more money they don't deserve.

Jennifer is flooding the review section of her book with positive reviews. Why? The book isn't doing well do to how poorly it reads.

Sorry, but this one gets an "F." Jennifer Furio was in over her head when she took this one on. Not only did she not do her homework prior to writing to these people, but she also failed in her correspondence with them to obtain what she "supposedly" set out to do. While one or two of these serial killers were somewhat interesting to read, the majority were run of the mill and whined their way through a lot of ink. She failed miserably to "understand" what drove them to do what they did. She also didn't bother to include the letters she wrote to them. Not only did this make it somewhat difficult to follow, it left this reader wondering what she was trying to hide.

I've been reading true crime books for years and am usually fascinated, but this one is just beyond redemption. Couldn't finish it. Pointless and bland.

This book is nothing more than a lonely housewife who has nothing better to do than listen to convicted killers say how innocent they are. This book offers nothing new and despite what the author thinks anyone who wants to learn about the true inner workings of serials killers should avoid this book. Books that I highly recommend are The Last Victim by Jason Moss and Mind Hunter by John E. Douglas.

As a lifetime student of graphoanalysis and "outsider" art, I was thrilled to find this book and to be able to examine the handwriting specimens and drawings that were done by serial killers and reprinted throughout the volume. Material like this is hard to come by and I commend the author for realizing the importance of including art and handwriting as part of the total behavioral profile. Totally unique and highly recommended!