Customer Reviews

The Want-Ad Killer

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ann Rule wrote this book in 1983. My only complaint is there is no update on the case since 1983. Otherwise, the book is excellent of course, since Ann Rule is a genius at crime writing. In 1972 Laura Leslie Brock disappeared while hitchhiking in Washington state. Her body was later found. Mary Miller read the newspaper story to her 15 year old daughter because they always talked about these kind of things so the daughter would know about the world. How horrible when in 1973 the daughter read a want ad for a job and agreed to meet someone, who turned out to be involved in the Laura Leslie Brock murder! You won't be able to put this book down. And it doesn't get too involved in the court case either. Ann Rule's later books might be more well crafted but this one has genius written all over it too.

"The Want Ad Killer" represents good early Ann Rule when, for whatever reason, she wrote as Andy Stack. It is the frightening tale of Harvey Carignan, a serial killer who terrorized young women in both the Seattle and Twin Cities during the late '70s. The all too apt title refers to a teenage girl who was abducted after answering a "planted" classified ad. "WAK" is short, concise, no nonsense true crime. It is told as a police story, with little courtroom drama or legal maneuvering. There are also none of the longer, more involved sub plots of the authoress' later stories such as "And Never Let Her Go" or "Everything She Ever Wanted", making this a good choice for readers unfamiliar with her work. For the few Ann fans that have yet to read "WAK", don't think twice. A word of warning: The Ann Rule rule is in effect. Do not look at the centerfold photos or the book's cover. Far too much is revealed therein. Keep yourself in suspense for as long as possible. Parents of teenage girls will keep their daughters locked up after reading this one.

This is one of Rule's best works. I have read numerous true crime books over the years and this, by far, is one of my favorites. It amazes me how such a diabolical mind was able to stay free after so many years and so many murders. I also know someone who works for the MN Dept of Corrections who speaks with Harvey on a regular basis. This cold blooded killer is alive and enjoying his regular meals and cable tv. He receives chemotherapy compliments of the taxpayers. Alaska would have saved so many so much if it had taken care of this man after his first murder.

My first adventure into reading true crime, certainly not my last. It seemed as though Ann must have been an eyewitness to Harvey Carnigan's life of crime. It was very well told, easy to follow, difficult to put down. Eight more Ann Rule books sitting on the shelf for me to read - and more to come.

This book is true to form. The former head of the Minneapolis Crime lab is a personal friend who worked on this actual case. He told me about the case before I ever read the book. After I read the book, I could tell how accurate Ann Rule depicted this true case. One attracting aspect of this book is that it fast pace, always on the move. There is never a dull moment because there can't be. This book takes you on a trip through the inner workings of a true diabolical mind. Along the way you travel to numerous parts of the United States where this hanus murder went from Alaska to Washington and finally in Minnesota where this unfortunate story ends. I also had the privelage of meeting Det. Sonnestahl who worked the Minneaoplis end of this case. This is a book that will leave a lasting imprint on your memory.

IN THE BOOK, "THE WANT ADD KILLER" MY NAME IS GERRY BILLINGS. I HAVE READ THE BOOK AND FOUND IT TO BE VERY FRIGHTENING. THE BOOK DESCRIBES A MONSTER, HARVEY CARIGNAN, WHICH IS SO TRUE! IT WAS VERY HARD FOR ME TO READ ABOUT THE MAN THAT HAS LEFT ME FULL OF FEAR, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, ONCE YOU START TO READ THIS BOOK, YOU JUST CAN NOT PUT IT DOWN. THE SAD THING ABOUT THIS WHOLE STORY IS THAT IT COULD HAVE ALL BEEN PREVENTED IF ONLY HARVEY HAD BEEN FORCED TO PAY FOR HIS CRIME BACK IN 1947, WHICH IS ALSO TOLD ABOUT IN THIS BOOK.

I've read other books by Ann Rule, especially NO REGRETS and GREEN RIVER RUNNING RED, so I was intrigued by this title. I had previously heard about scams involving "help wanted" ads, where unwitting people are lured into danger by scam artists looking to take advantage of people who genuinely need work, so this book seemed worthwhile reading.

THE WANT-AD KILLER describes the disappearance and murder of Kathy Sue Miller, the victim who finally was responsible for bringing Harvey Carignan, a longtime "career criminal" to justice. Carignan had hit upon the idea of luring women to his gas station on the pretext of applying for a job. He placed ads in the local paper. When the job applicants refused his sexual advances, he killed them, usually with blows to the head, in a homicidal rage.

Kathy Sue Miller, aged 15, was one of those girls who applied for the job she saw in the paper. Despite her mother's warning that she should not go off in a car with an unknown man for a job interview, Kathy Sue Miller got into Harvey Carignan's car, ostensibly to go to his gas station to apply for the job, and was never seen again. She had originally called the number in the paper for a job for her boyfriend, Mark, but Carignan convinced her that she could get the job herself, and she was excited at the idea of having some money of her own. Rule points out that Carignan's idea of putting a "want ad" in the paper gave him a steady supply of victims who walked right into his hands.

Rule's book is skillfully written, with good insights not only into the emotional effects of this crime on the victim's family, but also on the detectives in charge of solving the crime. It serves as a well-written cautionary tale to anyone who is looking for a job, but also wants to make sure that he or she remains safe in the process.

I am the third and youngest grand son of Laura Showalter. Harvy Corignan's should have died in alaska in 1949, but he was to live and kill again. He is now probably dead himself. The last time I spoke to Ann Rule I was told that Harvey was dying of cancer in Minnisota. May he rest in peace, as I know he was never at peace in life on earth.

One reviewer earlier commented that he was "disappointed" that the man ONLY KILLED ONE person in this manner!!!!!!!!!
OH MY GOD!
I do not think that the person means this the way it sounds... maybe he needs to go back and rewrite his review.
I am sure to the young woman's family that this creep killed, one was FAR too many.

Thank you...

As with The Lust Killer, this reissue of a book that Rule apparently wrote, under the pen name of Andy Stack, is very weak in comparison to her later work.

She skims over details here that later in her writing she would have included.

The Courtroom scene is rather dull in this book and in the other resissues, though I suppose Courtroom scenes are inherently dull when viewing them. Still, in her later work, Rule is able to keep Courtroom scenes lively. Not here!

Upon finishing this book, I felt quite disappointed. It simply isn't Rule at her best. I'd have been much happier, as an Ann Rule fan, if she'd rewritten these reissues, rather than dredging them up from the past.

I found this a really mediocre read, though I surely wouldn't want to encounter Harvey in a dark alley. I wouldn't want to encounter Harvey in a brightly-lit alley, either. One of my major thoughts while reading this was, "I hope to God Minnesota has changed their felonly conviction laws."

I don't recommend this book...not even to Ann Rule fans.