Customer Reviews

Stolen in the Night: The True Story of a Family's Murder, a Kidnapping and the Child Who Survived

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3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the first book that I have read by Gary C. King. I can only hope that this wasn't one of what is considered to be his better works as I found the writing to be only mediocre and barely able to keep my attention.

I disappointed that the background of the victims was only brushed over, and the background information on the convicted, Joseph Duncan III, was little more.

While reading this book, I reached the epilogue thinking that the writer had completed his work and rushed to publishing before we knew the resolution of this particular case. Instead I found that King placed the resolution, along with "editoral" about sex offenders, in the epilogue. This practice is quite unusual for true crime and, quite frankly, was confusing.

Overall, I would choose to read the book when there seemed to be nothing else to read. There are plenty better, but there are just as many worse.

The author of this book clearly didn't do his homework. The book seems to be hastily written and it's doubtful that he even left the comfort of his chair. Copy/paste from crime detailed websites, glaring errors and lack of history make this book an easy candidate for the trash can.

Googling some of the phrases used in the book, the reader will find that the author copied a majority of the book.

Apparently the author was too busy copy/pasting to bother to research much in depth. For had he done his homework, he would have known without a doubt that Duncan was born in Fort Bragg, NC. Instead, the author of this book cites three locations where Duncan "might" have been born. Any person with even the slightest knowledge of the Groene/MacKenzie murders knows that Duncan was in fact born at Fort Bragg.

The author could have added several interesting chapters to this book,had he done at least some small fraction of his homework. History on Duncan's involvement with Wacksman over the years as well as Crary, past girlfriends and his childhood would have added a great deal to the interest of the book.

If you're looking for a book that details the life and crimes of Duncan, don't bother with this book... save a tree, save your money and read about it on the internet.

This true crime story heartbreakingly conveys the story of the anniliation of a family. Sexual psychopath Joseph Edward Duncan II brutally murdered a mother, her older son, and her boyfriend. Duncan then kidnaps the murdered woman's other 2 children, young Shasta and Dylan Groene from their idyllic Idaho home.

Millions of people watched the horror of this case unfold on the evening news. Detectives and the FBI scrambled to find the missing children, and the nation held it's collective breath, hoping for the best, anticipating the worst.

Told with an unerring eye to detail, Gary King's book takes the reader on this heartrending story, from harrowing twists to the tale of a courageous little girl who manages to survive against all odds. You feel the righteous indignation that comes with knowing that a bragging sexual predator was allowed to escape his punishment for earlier crimes, the horror faced by the young girl who he sexually brutalized, and the brother she knows he murdered. This story will haunt you long after you finish reading it, as much from the experiences of the family as from knowing that the system didn't work, and that this monster was allowed to go free.

Mr. King writes with great detail, and shares much of the case, the work involved, and the background story that allowed this horror to exist in the first place. I came away knowing more about the faults of our justice system, and what made this psychopath "tick". Knowing that Shasta has been reunited with her father, and is receiving psychological help to deal with her ordeal, brings the book to a decent conclusion. There is no happy ending to this story, and Mr. King doesn't try to paint a picture of one. It's handled with tact, well-meaning and compassion.

This interesting book is about Joseph Duncan a child molester turned murderer. The book follows his other child rape cases,his cross dressing,his anger at society over incacerating him for his previous molestation crimes and in his own words he vowed to get even with society when he got out.He bailed out from a molestation case and murdered a family of 4 (2 adults,2 kids)kidnapped 2 of the small kids,finally getting captured with one small young girl,brave Shasta still alive.A book about a real life boogey-man.

I recently started reading more true crime books and this one is the best by far. The details are excellent and it gives the reader a very detailed look inside the life of the killer as well as the lives of all those involved. It is outstanding and will continue to by books by this author. I recommend this to anyone who likes true crime reading.

A++++++ Book

The facts of this true account are incredibly cruel, and I bought the book expecting to read in-depth information about this true crime case.

Instead, the book revealed absolutely NOTHING more than what had been written in the book's summary (or on the back cover). If you are interested in knowing about new laws pertaining to sex offenders in the USA, buys this book - 90% of the story is focused on the topic. Personally, I was hoping to read SOMETHING about what happened to Dylan, and what Shasta experienced during the weeks of her abduction. Unfortunately neither topic was covered.

While the color photos and captivating headlines always turn my head at the bookstore, I usually know better than to pick up a true crime book. I went against my better judgment when I decided to read Stolen in the Night: The True Story of a Family's Murder, a Kidnapping and the Child Who Survived by Gary C. King and I really wish I wouldn't have.

Stolen in the Night is the story about Joseph Edward Duncan, a sexual psychopath, and how he kidnapped two children in Idaho and brutally murdered the rest of their family. The story itself is as shocking and disturbing as it's advertised to be. However, the presentation of that story could be much better.

This is where I blame true crime novels in general. They typically read like a long, drawn-out newscast. Sure, there are plenty of details, but not necessarily the details readers are craving to learn. For example, it doesn't really matter to me what the chief investigator of a case had for breakfast. In a fictionalized story, this minute detail might help develop the character and could be seen as a necessary contribution, but in a book like this, it's merely thrown in amongst other facts to take up space. On top of that, there is usually no flair to the writing. The words are informative, yet stale, and the reader ends up feeling like he's just finished a news article or blurb from a textbook. I have to say that in this area, Gary C. King excelled. His writing was not as poor as some of the other true crime authors I have read. He did his best to use vivid vocabulary here and there, which made it possible for me to finish the book instead of throwing it away after the first one hundred pages.

My recommendations about this book vary based on your purpose. If you simply want to learn what happened with this psychopath and the kids he kidnapped, but don't want to wade through a bunch of irrelevant information, I would simply find a news article about the crime. It'll be easier to read, give you all the information you want, and take up a whole lot less of your time! If you enjoy knowing every intricate detail of every conversation, theory, and investigation, then you might enjoy this book. Like I said previously, its biggest fault is that it's written for the true crime genre. Gary C. King has talent, but as a reader, I think it could be put to much better use than writing glorified news reports.

my only problem is that mr.king wrote word for word from already released info on all the news channel websites. i yahoo'ed the last name of victims in story and was disgusted to find that everything i read in this book was already word for word on many websites. thats very upsetting considering in reading this book I expected to read something different than i had already read about this tragic story on the websites,, Mr.King may I suggest what a disappointment it was to find that you copied websites into a book and rushed for publishing with nothing new to add.. anyone could have written a book just by copying from websites. thats sad..story is excellent with no new info on this crime..

also there is no BACKGROUNDS AT ALL ON THE FAMILY INVOLVED OR THE KILLER....AGAIN, RUSH TO PUBLISH.. I WONT BUY ANYMORE GARY KING BOOKS KNOWING THAT HE COPIES FROM WEBSITES..I'LL JUST GOOGLE A STORY FROM NOW ON... sorry about mispellings.. have multiple sclerosis and its now effecting my sight and frontal lobe so ...