Two of a Kind: The Hillside Strangler [Hardcover]

Darcy O'Brien (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 1985

Based on the bestselling book, Darcy O'Brien--author of Murder in Little Egypt--tells of the savage spree of rape and killing in Los Angeles and Buono's and Bianci's resulting trial. 2 cassettes.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 418 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; First Edition edition (October 21, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0453004997
• ISBN-13: 978-0453004992
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,138,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hillside Strangler quite possibly be 2 Men, May 29, 2002

By 

Tami Brandt (Missouri, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Two of a Kind: The Hillside Strangler (Signet) (Paperback)

I loved this book. I inherited among others from a deceased family member (among other books).

The "Hillside Strangler" became an everyday headline that frightened Los Angeles for a year or so in the late 1970's. During that year, bodies of young women started showing up on the hillsides around the city. But the horror waned beside the revelations that came to light in what became the longest criminal trial in American history--BEFORE O. J. Simpson's 1994 trial--and one of the most controversial

The Hillside Strangler was thought to be one person with a real fast pace in killing. With TWO OF A KIND, Darcy O'Brien gives the inside story and is the first book to make the shocking disclosure that "the Hillside Strangler" was not one man, but two, and not only that -- they were were cousins!

In Mr. O'Brien's riveting story examines the relationship between the murderers and the drive behind their hideously evil crimes. It tells the entire story of the Hillside Stranglers as it has never been told before. He begins with the stranglers themselves who just decided one night out of bordom that they hated women and wanted to kill them (even as one strangler was living with a pregnant girlfriend and hiding the truth of his killing spree from her).

It reveals the torture, the prostitution ring, the killings. But it also shows the other side of the drama--the law. The police were so baffled by the disappearing women and then the subsequent finding them on a hillside dead, that they took drastic measures to ensure justice would prevail in this case.

TWO OF A KIND is a true story of crime and punishment here and now. But even more disturbing, it is a tale of primal evil rising from the darkest human depths and our age-old struggle to defend ourselves from it.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two of a Kind The Hillside Stranglers, May 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Two of a Kind: The Hillside Strangler (Signet) (Paperback)

Readers of True Crime will find this out-of-print book worth the search. The author not only compellingly writes about the rape, torture and murder of 10 young women in Los Angeles in the late 1970's but also provides insight into the strange relationship between the two cousins who commit these unthinkable crimes.

A young, charismatic man, under an almost hypnotic spell of a truly evil older uncle takes center stage in the longest criminal trial in this country. The defense of "multiple personalities" was as much on trial as the guilt or innocence of the defendants.

I liked this book very much because the characters--victims, murders, investigators, lawyers and judge--became real people as I read. The trial was especially intriguing as the prosecutor, defense attorney and judge laid the groundwork for a strange and new defense. This book would certainly not be a disappointment.

From

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deadly Duo, April 7, 2005

By 

JMack (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Two of a Kind: The Hillside Strangler (Signet) (Paperback)

"Two of a Kind: The Hillside Stranglers" is a book I have been anticipating reading for quite some time. The fact that is out of print made it somewhat difficult to acquire a copy. As a whole, it was worth the wait. The book is well scripted and informative on the subject of two of America's most noted killers and perhaps most famous killing duo.

Angelo Buono had his way with women, but his anger toward his mother and failed relationships caused something to crack inside him. While he was violent and neglectful of women, it was not until he formed an unholy alliance with his cousin Kenneth Bianchi that he began to kill women. The duo killed ten women who were mostly prostitutes through the means suggested in the book's title. However, the murder of two school girls certainly raised my ire toward them. Although the duo was under suspicion, it was not until the pair "broke up" that the heat rose. Bianchi killed two women on his own to satiate his lust, but was not nearly as efficient without his cousin.

The one aspect of the book I disliked was that there seemed to be more focus on the detectives than the criminals. This was a small flaw in the grand scale. The book was well written and tough to put down. Even knowing the results of the trial, the writing managed to keep me on the edge of my seat wondering what might happen next. I even doubted the possibility of conviction for a moment. Although it is often verbose and quite lengthy at times, I would recommend this work of true crime.