Customer Reviews

Trace Evidence: The Search for the I-5 Strangler

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rarely do I find true crime books that are written so well. This book, although about a true killing spree, reads like a novel and is hard to put down. I can't count the number of nights I found myself reading it until 2 in the morning. Outstanding journalism which brings in the human interest of the detectives, the victims, and the killer. Must read!!

I read the other comments and would like to say to the mother of one of Kibbe's victims that I am very sorry for her terrible loss... One of the elements that elevates this book above most true-crime reporting is the emphasis on the victims, who they were, who loved them, who misses them. Murder can so often seem like just numbers, incomprehensible and not close enough to home to worry about. Along with an excellent, compelling account of the development of the investigation, Henderson brings home the full tragedy.

Wonderfully written and well researched. It provides great insight into the psychological origin of a serial killer. Great Book.

Unlike some true crime writers, Bruce Henderson doesn't inject himself into the story. This is a well-written, informative, and riveting read. I've read a lot of true crime books, and this is by far the best! BUY THIS BOOK!

I love to read, and I rarely find a book that I didn't want to stop reading, but this was one of them!! Bruce Henderson does a fantastic job bringing all of the victims, police, and suspects to life that you feel like you are watching the events happen. He walks you through the last days of the victims, throught the investigations and the trial with the greatest of ease that before you know it you've read 130 pages in one sitting. I didn't want to stop reading, and I thouroughly enjoyed the update of all the characters at the end of the book to let you know what they went on to do after this investigation was over. I highly suggest that you get this book if you are interrested in any sort of true-crime readings!! You won't be disappointed! I know I wasn't!!!

Bruce Henderson very carefully details the present day difficulties in conducting a successful serial homicide investigation. With so much unwarrented hoopla given to FBI profilers on bringing down serial killers, this fine book shows where the bulk of the work of a serial homicide investigation occurs; in the homicide bureau of the local police department. One must realize, however, that a number of extremely competent investigators were working on these cases, Ray Biondi and Vito Bertocchini just to name two, so excellent on-the-site profiling was accomplished. Even so, problems with police administration refusing to release information to the public, refusing to allocate resources to further the investigation and continuing difficulties with the D.A.'s office in taking the murders to trial are clearly described. This is one of the most useful accounts any profiling student will encounter in his reading. Pat Brown, Director/Investigative Criminal Profiler/The Sexual Homicide Exchange of Washington DC and Vicinity

Being a former neighbor of Roger Kibbe when he lived in Oakley, I originally bought this book to understand what he was thinking, but the book and the story captivated me and held me in suspence. This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it.

Bruce Henderson is a compelling storyteller--despite the fact that he writes non-fiction. In this book, he leads the reader through the tedious, frustrating, and ultimately successful pursuit of a California serial killer.

The I-5 Strangler killed a lot of his victims right around the time forensic science really hit its stride. When the Strangler started out, a lot of evidence like fibers or fluid residue were pretty much circumstantial. But while the detectives and scientists doggedly ran down every lead, and used every possible tool in the box, more sophisticated crime-solving techniques were perfected. The fact that the people on the cases never gave up, and continued to push for a solution, eventually led to the Strangler's capture.

How long Roger Kibbe had been killing before his final arrest, and how many victims he claimed, is still up in the air. Like a lot of serial killers, he's suspected in numerous cases that could never be connected to him, and there are always the victims who never surface, but who litter the American landscape in shallow graves. Chronic runaways, emotionally ill people who have long fallen off the grid, people who lived their entire lives on the margins and so were never on any grid to begin with...who's looking for them? At any given time in this country, serial killers stalk their quarry and make their kills without getting caught--until they make a mistake.

The other bizarre quality to serial killers is how detached they are from the crime, when they're living their "other" life. Henderson doesn't go into this, but there is literature out there that addresses the demonic element to killers and their total lack of remorse. They really do become another being when they're on the hunt, and then they're able to seamlessly change modes and have "normal" jobs and families.

Henderson's book is interesting in that it's not sensationalistic, but it is comprehensive. The law enforcement officers who never give up are heroic, even as they deal with the most mundane, boring, frustrating aspects of the case--such as how to obtain funding for more manpower.

Roger Kibbe and his ilk may truly be demons--but these cops are certainly guardian angels.

This is a good, straight-forward account of how the Sacramento sheriffs and San Joaquin County Sheriff's Deptartment worked together to hunt down a serial killer in the 1980's. The story gets very interesting when the police have identified the killer but need to gather the evidence necessary to charge him with the murders. If you want to read a fantastic book (one of the best true crime novels I ever read) by the same other try "And the Sea Will Tell." Vincent Bugliosi co-authored that book with Henderson.

As the parent one of the victims I worked with Bruce on the portion of this book that involved my daugher. Once it was completed I also read it, and was impressed with his ability to take all of the information and put it into a story that shows the world about the horrors of an event like this. While leaving the diginity of the victims and their families intact. His honesty in portraying events as they happened but compassion for the victims is unsurpassed. This is a must read book for everyone.