Customer Reviews

Stalemate

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

John Philpin brilliantly shows the story through Tim Bindner himself....to let the readers get a feel for this strange, strange, man. Tim Bindner is excentrically brilliant, always one step ahead of the cops. He is always ready with a reason why things are happening. He is very easily keeping himself from being arrested, when so much evidence is against him. Is it just a coicidence that the evidence that the cops have found against him isnt admissable in court? He failed 2 lie detector tests, hangs out at little girls' graves, bloodhounds found Amber Swartz and Nikki Campbell's scents at both Angie Bugay's grave (Bindner's favorite hang-out) and in Bindner's van, and he writes love letters to the missing girls. This isnt enough for the cops? Well, it sure was enough for me. Tim Bindner is slick. He knows what to say and do to keep the cops, the girls' parents, and even the public saying "well, maybe he did, and maybe he didnt." I swayed back and forth with my opinion the entire book. I highly recommend this book. It puts you in a place you could never imagine being.....in the mind of a psycho, and in the lives of the families he is destroying.....

Tim Bindner hangs out in cemeteries. When the sun is up, he repairs headstones and pulls weeds; when the sun sets, he hops among graves, stopping at the sites of murdered young girls. He prays out loud over them, talks to them, then he howls at the sky.

Tim Bindner is a suspect in the disappearance of young girls. Authorities have seached his van and house; bloodhounds trace the scents of some victims to Bindner's car, and to the grave of Angel Bugay, Bindner's favorite spot. He has failed a lie detector test, and a Voice Stress Analysis indicates his complicity in the abductions.

Tim Bindner writes taunting letters to the police; his diary hints at how a child killer would catch his prey, and where he would bury them. He suggests putting them in a grave that has been dug for a funeral to be held the next day. Then the killer could attend the graveside service, and exult as the casket is lowered over his victim.

The police have no evidence to arrest him, and Tim Bindner is still out there today.

This is the creepiest, spookiest book I ever read.

Talk about great journalism!! Here is one of the finest examples of objective reporting that I have ever read! I normally don't like books that leave something hanging at the end, but I didn't mind in this case because it was so well written and objective that I feel I can make up my own mind here. What a riveting book!! THIS is why true crime is written (NOT books on the Ramsey case which is all over the media every-which-way!) Great book! I hope somehow all of us who have read and enjoyed this book will someday find out what the ending is . . .

I read Schiller's book about the Ramsey case and came away feeling the author lost his objectivity in a matter that has not yet gone to court. Not so here. This is balanced, objective reporting of equally frightening events, but the author leaves it to the reader to decide. No civil action resolves a criminal matter (see Schiller's book on OJ); no amount of emotional outburst can ever be allowed to interfere with the truth. I enjoyed the book. I like having my judgment trusted. If you like excellent attention to detail, a good mystery, intriguing characters, and the chance to sit as a jury of one, read it. I won't reveal my verdict, but I invite comment.

The book is one you dont put down. It reaches into the depths of your soul and reminds you that there really are bad and good guys out there. It is very much like a chess game, the pieces of the puzzle are there for the victor to play, but the perception of guilt and good are not being put into practise. Each time a move is made by Tim, it is as if he is saying catch me if you can. The Detective is doing a brilliant job but unfortunately has too many day to day personalities to deal with. The logic and analytical skills of Detective Sagan will eventually make the case become part of history. Well written, worth reading and one to keep on the bookshelf to remind you of the good and evil in the world.

This book was fascinating and frightening. The author allowed you to feel the frustration of Det. Sagan and the psychotic thought process of Timothy Binder. It is not very often that a the public can evaluate the "suspect's" thought process and rationalizations. The author truly captured Binder's desire to keep the public and law enforcement interested in him. Reading of his unstoppable desire to play the game and put himself through continuous scrutiny at the expense of the families who suffer reveals the darkest side of humanity.

I worked with Det. Sagan for a short period and have taken a class from him. He is one of the most intelligent and knowledgeable men I have ever come into contact with. The inability to nail Binder to these crimes will never be a reflection on the quality of Det. Sagan's work.

Tim Bindner has not been charged in the abductions and probable murders of Amber Schwartz, Michaela Garecht and Nikki Campbell. I guess that's why the book was so objective. I admired the author for that -- never stating his own opinion, just putting down the facts and letting the reader decide whether or not Tim did it. My conclusion: probably, but you cannot say for sure. A very absorbing book, though in my humble opinion it paid too much attention to Amber and not enough to Nikki and Michaela.

Before you come to the end of this great read, you'll be angry at a lot of the "good guys" (the FBI, some of the cops) and completely fascinated with Tim Bindner, a central character in this tale of several child abductions/murders in California. It's a tricky game he's playing, and you'll spend a long time after finishing this book trying to decide if it's only that -- a game -- or something much darker and far more sinister. I just gave this book to my best friend Carty and he says he thinks it's great, too.

The notation on the final page that author collected a siginificant amount of information from the suspect, I anticipated that the author's information might be slanted. This is not entirely true. While the writing was very redundant, the author made no effort to defend the suspect Timothy Binder outside of presenting the avavilable circumstatial evidence.

Timothy Binder had an unusual interest in missing children. He often offered help to searches and frequently initiated solo searches in his free time. But even as he seemed to work to find missing children, he also seemed to be taunting them with facts. Using records from his job at the Social Security Office, he found young girls' addresses to write letters and send money. Of course, this is not normal adult behavior. Aside the the scent of an abductee being detected by dogs in his vehicle, there is little physical evidence to prove his guilt. Even sigthings near the crime scenes are somewhat vague. As ther reviewers have noted, these aspects of the man alone are enough to make a reader's skin crawl.

In reading true crime, I often read for the resolution. Without a resolution, I wonder why a book is written. Yet this book is peculiar enough to make an interesting read. The author John Philipin often recycles certain facts enough to be quite redundant, but even this would not prevent me from recommending the book.

I'm waiting and hoping for the follow up book that features his arrest. Regardless of how I feel about him, I hope these girls are brought home, if anything, for closure.
Evil never triumphs in the end, though in this case, good seems to be the tortoise to the hare. May justice be served.
Excellent book.