Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through the Green River Murders [Paperback]

Tomas Guillen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 14, 2006

Serial Killers is intended to fill a void in the serial killer literature.  Little has been written about the plethora of challenging issues that permeate the serial killer cases or massive murder investigations.  This book provides a collection of essays that focus on some of those rich issues.  Taken as a whole, the essays take the perspective of the Green River Murders and the turbulent relationship of the many people it touched over two decades.  Although the essays revolve around the Green River Murders, the issues identified and explored in the essays are relevant to any in-depth discussion of such controversial topics as murder investigations, justice, victimology, interrogation techniques, media coverage of crime, and grief.  Serial Killers is written in a style that would appeal to true crime readers. 

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (January 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131529668
• ISBN-13: 978-0131529663
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #885,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading, May 24, 2008

By 

Richard J. Kraske - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through the Green River Murders (Paperback)

This book should be required reading for anyone who aspires to go into police work. In these days of CSI, Profiling, Clairvoyants and nervous municipal administrators who hope it never happens in their jurisdictions. the book gives more insight into the variables that although boring to some, can affect the final outcome of the entire investigation. The keyword to the failure of any investigation of this sort is "linkage blindness". This impaired the investigation from start to finish and contributed to the effect that a guy with an IQ of 82 could continue to kill in his own "backyard" for 22 years and not be apprehended by a $30,000,000 Task Force comprised of all of the best "experts" at the time? Those included the FBI, media-generated experts,administrators along with those who wrote "God, I'm great" books all telling their individual stories about their involvement with self-emulating biases and ghost writers.Always be skeptical of "experts". Smith and Guillen almost got a Pulitzer for their work on THE SEARCH FOR THE GREEN RIVER KILLER and the investigators would probably have had a better chance of solving it sooner if they would have had the same advantages of having had the same resources and employed some the same techniques as the authors. If you are looking for a blood,guts,gore and TV version get Jerry Springer to write a book about it. Every TV version about this case is pure crap written for advertising ratings and for the "heroes" to record their "legends". If you are seriously considering reading about the truth of the investigation more than for any other reason this is the book to read. For the cost you can't go wrong. If anyone is interested about the victims and their families read Ann Rule's book "GREEN RIVER, TURNING RED". "SERIAL KILLERS-ISSUES EXPLORED THROUGH THE GREEN RIVER MURDERS" This is a good critique that can only contribute to making fewer mistakes in future investigations of serial crimes. Some of the "heroes" are seriously deflated that only the truth has a way of doing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very helpful, May 4, 2008

By 

L. Durham "forensicsgeek" (richmond, va usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through the Green River Murders (Paperback)

i purchased this book as a resource for a research project / poster presentation for a forensic science course in my undergrad work. this book provided valuable, unbiased insight as to the things that went wrong during the green river murder investigation. there were things in the book that provided great insight as to the mistakes and shortcomings of the entire investigation.
if information is required as to the true things that went wrong and you require information as to why the apprehension of gary ridgway took so long, this is a great reference.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guillen's knowledge of this subject shines through, March 9, 2006

By 

S. D. Glover "True crime affectionado" (NW Alabama) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Serial Killers: Issues Explored Through the Green River Murders (Paperback)

After co-writing the Search for the Green River Killer, Tomas Guillen sums this case up expertly. Even if you haven't read the earlier book, you'll understand the dynamics that allowed Gary Ridgway to get away with these crimes for 22 years. I highly recommend this book.