Burned Alive: A Shocking True Story of Betrayal, Kidnapping, and Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "Kim's thick mane of ebony curls bounced and swayed with the pounding rhythm of the music and flashing lights on the dance floor..." (more)
Key Phrases: phone dumps, sweet house, zipper teeth, Tommy Antonakos, New York, Tom Shevlin (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Ash Wednesday
Beautiful, bubbly, 20-year-old Kim Antonakos was returning to her New York City apartment after a night of clubbing with a friend. A business major with wild black hair, long polished fingernails, and a new Honda her loving father had bought her, Kim took good care of herself and looked forward to a bright future. But on her way home in the early morning darkness of that Ash Wednesday, Kim was abducted-and her mysterious kidnappers would be the last people to see her alive.

Scorching Betrayal
As Kim's father, wealthy computer executive Tommy Antonakos, launched a widespread, feverish search for his daughter, he had no idea that her abductors were right under his nose. A cold mastermind had ordered had ordered Kim to be bound, gagged and left in the freezing basement of an abandoned house, hoping to extract ransom from her father. When the plans fell through, he and his henchman panicked, returned to the basement and doused a near-frozen Kim with gasoline, setting her on fire.

Burned Alive
When the fire was extinguished, all that was left of the lovely coed were her charred, lifeless remains. What would drive the kidnappers to commit such a cruel and senseless murder? How did their plans to cover their tracks result in another killing? And how were the murderers finally snared? Read all of the fascinating facts in a startling expose of extortion, murder, and ultimate justice.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

In the clearing air, Fred was startled to see a shocking sight for the first time--a charred figure slumped in a chair, burned from the waist up. Like something out of a horror movie, it was the worst thing he had seen in five years on the job. It was upsetting to see a human being dead in a fire, but it was more upsetting to realize that it had been a woman. The body, whose face was unrecognizable, had been gagged. The arms were behind the back, as if they had been tied. The fire had apparently burned away some of the restraints. As the air in the basement cleared, Fred removed his mask. He smelled gasoline. It was obviously some kind of foul play...

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's True Crime (October 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312970307
• ISBN-13: 978-0312970307
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #402,021 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Torched, May 21, 2001

By	Meagan (San Antonio, Tx USA) - See all my reviews

Out of every book I have ever read no book has touched me more deeply than this one. Kieran Crowley did an excellent job of describing the painful emotions surrounding the family and the feelings of remorse or none at all surrounding the "mutts" or criminals. He put the whole story together like a puzzle; interviewing everyone. He jumps around from the family to the criminals just like a movie. It was also very descriptive painting images in my mind of how beautiful she was and how gruesome her death was.

The first thing that made the book sound interesting was the title. It was catchy but the truth, in a horrific way. It showed how cruel and selfish people could be, how the world isn't innocent, and how things don't always go according to plan. Then I looked at the picture of a beautiful, not so slender woman and wondered why would any one cause so much pain and suffering on such a good looking woman. When I turned the book over to read the summary it made me want to know who these cold blooded kidnapping murderers were, what happened to them, and what went so wrong that they had to resort to burning her alive.

I enjoyed this book. It kept me on my toes wondering how the detectives couldn't have all the information that I had to put them behind bars quicker. I did not want to put the book down for a second. I read it in three days and felt an emotional sympathy for the family. I recommend this book to people who don't have any real grip on the real world and those who have experienced this kind of tragedy and compare your loss to theirs. Knowing some are worse off then you should help lessen the pain and make you more sympathetic.

One thing about a non-fiction novels is that it is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I hope this astounding and most enlightening book reaches out to you.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Big Yawn, January 15, 2001

By	Maggie Martin (Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I totally agree with the 10/18/00 1-star review written by "A reader from Midwest, USA". I had completely lost interest in continuing with this book about halfway through. The author was inconsistent when referring to key players...sometimes calling them by nicknames, sometimes by given names...and they all had very similar names to begin with; so it was impossible to keep everyone straight without taking notes or constantly flipping back and forth to the photos. I also found it to be a waste of time that he went into so much detail about the backgrounds of people who played no part whatsoever in the case.

The biggest disappointment was the author's failure to give us sufficient background information on the victim and her family.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burned Alive, November 23, 1999

By A Customer

Very fast paced and detailed accounting of a truely horrific crime. Clearly expressed the human side of this family tragedy and all those who were involved in solving such a tough case. Overall, a very absorbing book. Kudos to the author.