Blood Trail (Pinnacle True Crime) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Rick Reed (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

On October 29, 1997, hooker Andrea "Slick" Hendrix's, beaten, naked body was discovered in a roadside ditch near Stewartsville, Indiana. With no leads for police to follow, the case eventually went cold, but it wouldn't stay that way. In 2003, sadistic sexual predator Joseph W. Brown claimed to have strangled Hendrix with his favourite murder weapon: a shoelace from a woman's size-8 shoe. Ginger Gasaway, 53, met Brown at a Gambler's Anonymous meeting. She didn't know that when she took up with him, she was gambling with her life. On August 30, 2000, Brown murdered Gasaway and scattered her body parts across three Indiana counties. For this grisly crime, he would be sentenced to life in prison without parole. But it wouldn't be his first time behind bars...In 1977, Brown had been sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and armed robbery. In 1995, he was released despite the fact that he'd beaten a fellow inmate nearly to death. Brown later confessed that during the next five years, he indulged in a seven-state rampage of torture and murder, his victims female hitchhikers and prostitutes. Now, doing time in Wabash Valley Corrections Centre, Brown maintains that he murdered no less than thirteen other women.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786017198
• ISBN-13: 978-0786017195
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #938,055 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for "Cold Case" fans, June 21, 2006

By	Reader Views "www.readerviews.com" (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Cherie Fisher for Reader Views (06/06)

A page turner from the beginning! Both true crime fans and non true crime fans will be completely amazed by the unfolding of this true tale of horrific murder in America's Heartland. "Blood Trail" opens with the August, 2000 brutal murder of Ginger Gasaway in Indiana, a death that shocked the nation when her cold, calculated killer took investigators to three different counties to recover her dismembered body parts.

The authors lay out in great detail convicted murderer Joseph Brown's childhood, gambling addiction, early incarcerations and other crimes that lead up to the grisly murder of his ex-girlfriend Ginger Gasaway. In 2003, after being incarcerated for a couple of years, Joe Brown contacts Rick Reed, the detective with whom he developed a connection during the first case. As the lead investigator and co-author of "Blood Trail", Reed gives a unique and very disturbing perspective on this case. Throughout this book, Joe Brown continually leads Reed back into his world of violence, addiction and murder by confessing in great detail his 5 year multi-state rampage where he claims to have murdered 13 other women.

This well-written and highly detailed book contains a great deal of information, some of it quite personal due to Joe Brown's bond with Reed and personal family information that was obtained during the case. Reed and Walker are able to paint an intriguing, intimate portrait of a true sociopath, one that is three dimensional and complex. It leaves you with the question, was Joseph Brown a delusional sick man with many addictions whose rage culminated in the gruesome murder of Ginger Gasaway? Or was he driven by his internal demons into becoming the prolific serial killer that he claims to be? Of one thing this reader can be sure of, I am certainly glad that he is in prison for life without the possibility of parole!!!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, August 13, 2006

By	Larry L. Deibert "author of 95 Bravo" (Hellertown, Pa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Steve Walker, with the input of Detective Rick Reed, has written a true crime book that reads like a novel. His experience as a reporter shines as he weaves the story of Joe Brown, a convicted killer, throughout the book. The book goes into great detail into the mind of Joe Brown and shows how this very disturbed person became a killer. The book was very easy to read and I would reccommend it to anyone who enjoys these kinds of books.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very badly written, July 12, 2007

By	Blondie - See all my reviews

The grammar and vocabulary of this book make it jarring to read for those of us more accustomed to the excellent writing of someone such as John Glatt or Lowell Cauffiel. I couldn't get through it.