Gainesville Ripper (St Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In August 1990, five young people were killed in Gainesville, Fla., all students at the University of Florida or Santa Fe Community College. Of the four women slain, some were also raped and others mutilated. The murders were committed by Danny Rollings, a Louisiana resident who had previously been arrested for armed robbery and theft throughout the Southeast and, after receiving a death sentence in this case, admitted to a triple murder in his home state. This account of the lives of the killer, who as a child had suffered extreme psychological and physical abuse, and his victims creates a vivid sense of tragic confluence. Appeals of Rollings's death sentence are pending. Ryzuk's (Thou Shalt Not Kill) true-crime book is haunting. Photos not seen by PW. Paperback rights to St. Martin's; True Crime Book Club main selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A series of random, vicious murders of five college students in August 1990 spread fear and panic at the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. In 1994, Danny Rolling, a 40-year-old drifter and habitual criminal, confessed and was sentenced to death. Ryzuk (Thou Shalt Not Kill, Warner, 1990) has written the most complete account of this case to date (see also John Philpen & John Donnelly's Beyond Murder, Onyx, 1994). Rolling was the product of an abusive childhood, and Ryzuk skillfully contrasts the bright promise of the murdered students with Rolling's poverty-stricken background and borderline personality. Except for too much dramatic license in pretending always to know what Rolling was thinking, Ryzuk's approach is effective, and her book will appeal to true crime readers.
Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 582 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (July 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312953240
• ISBN-13: 978-0312953249
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #971,931 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unorganized, repetitive, and graphic, May 13, 1999

By A Customer

I started school at the University of Florida in August 1990...the day after the public became aware of the murders in Gainesville. I will never forget the horror and fright that accompanied my first few days of college. Nearly nine years after the fact, I wanted to read this book to find out about Danny Rolling - to try to understand what made him do what he did. I think the book gave me a good idea about his childhood and his feelings of inadequacy. But, I thought it was too graphic in describing the details of the murders. I also thought that there were a lot of things in the book that the author could not possibly know - like what the victims were thinking or feeling just before their awful murders. I thought that some of the details were wrong (for example, the Oaks Mall is in Gainesville, not Shreveport [page 160]), and that the jumping back and forth between what Rolling was doing and what the murder victims were doing at different time periods was confusing.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Florida, Gainesville Murders, June 10, 1999

By A Customer

Florida Attacked by "The Ripper"

The Gainesville Ripper is the chilling true story about the gruesome murder of five college students in Gainesville, Florida. The book leads the reader through the horrible murders of these five students during the hot summer of 1990. Before the identity of the serial killer would be known, five people would be brutally murdered. The lives of their families would be destroyed, and a town would be living in fear. The book takes a look into the mind of a killer. It makes you ask yourself, "What could make a person do something like this?" You feel as if you were there. You will feel for the victims and their families. You will be shocked at the lack of remorse shown by the accused. For all of you who have ever thought, "This could never happen to me," this book will make you think again.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I'd give this book a zero if I could, January 5, 2007

By	Rhiannon Bishop (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

Mary Ryzuk's account of the Gainesville Ripper, Danny Rolling, has got to be the absolute worst of all three books written on this case.

Her writing style is tedious and at times overly dramatic and just plain silly. For example;

"Savagely intent, and volatile, the sinister mystery of his fantasies was set free the moment he saw her. Pretty. Dark. Brunette. At the cosmetic counter."

That is way over the top. This is a true crime book not some trashy dime store romance novel. There is no need to over sensationalize and dramatize the content of a true crime book. The case itself is dramatic enough to stand on its own.

Also, her "facts" are often incorrect. I don't know what she used as research material but the text is rife with inaccuracies and her timeline of the murders is pure conjecture.


If you want to get the facts in a clear and concise manner pick up a copy of "Beyond Murder" by Donnelly and Philpin. Their book knocks the socks off of this one as well as James Alan Fox's "Killer on Campus".