The Hillside Stranglers (Paperback)

~ Darcy O'Brien (Author) "Nude and violated, she lay on her back in the flowerbed like a discarded doll..." (more)
Key Phrases: railroad diner, cow patch, trick list, Los Angeles, Angelo Buono, Judy Miller (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

For weeks in the fall of 1977, as the body count of sexually violated, brutally murdered young women escalated, the Los Angeles newspapers headlined the increasingly alarming deeds of a serial killer they named the Hillside Strangler. But it would take more than another year and the mysterious disappearance of two young women in Seattle before the police would arrest one man-the handsome, charming, fast-talking Kenny Bianchi-and discover that the strangler was actually two men. Like Truman Capote in In Cold Blood and Norman Mailer in The Executioner's Song, Darcy O'Brien weds the narrative skill of an award-winning novelist with the detailed observations of an experienced investigator to bring the story of Bianchi and his animally magnetic cousin Angelo Buono vividly to the page. First exploring the symbiotic relationship between these two men who shared a lust as insatiable as their hate for women, O'Brien goes on to examine the crimes themselves and the lives of the victims.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786711582
• ISBN-13: 978-0786711581
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #416,739 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Killer Cousins, November 25, 2003

By	Janice M. Hansen (California United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I moved from northern california to southern california, I thought I was escaping from the current "missing young women" events dominating the headlines at the time. Theodore Bundy was making his mark in the northwest and the terror easily spread down to Humboldt County. I recall being warned by a local detective to be vigilant as the women targeted appeared similar to myself. So, it was with a sense of security that I departed the north for the south.

However, there was no escaping the similar circumstances in southern california. The so called "Hillside Strangler" was gripping the area with fear as more and more young women were found discarded like a bag of rubbish on the roadsides. When the case finally broke, the next surprise was it was handsome, smooth talking Kenneth Bianchi AND his cousin, Angelo Buono. The similarity between Kenneth and Theodore Bundy struck me at the time, but the more disturbing aspect of the case was the how these two cousins systematically developed a routine for abusing and ultimately murduring their helpless victims.

The book written by Darcy O'Brien expertly delves into these tragic murders. Profiling two of the most heinous killers in recent times, the author could never provide an answer as to why these things happen to innocent people nor provide a sense of comfort to the family survivors. Ms. O'Brien expounds quite efficiently with clues, insights and background into the personalities of the killer cousins and the details surrounding the crimes.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Flawed, July 1, 2008

By	Douglas Doepke (Claremont CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book is now 20-plus years old and in the meantime the author Darcy O'Brien has passed on. So, why comment on a work this old. For one thing, it's probably the most complete account of the notorius string of LA murders available to the public. For another, the serial dynamic is unusual in that it breaks the usual "lone wolf" pattern of most repeat killers. Here we have two cousins locked into a spiral of torture-thrill killings of the most cold-blooded type. Their skills (such as they are) blend well to produce a pretty effective killing machine that had the sprawling city both mesmerized and terrified for months at a time. (And on a minor note, even 20 years later, the stranglings appear as background on episodes of Seinfeld.)

Author O'Brien did considerable research in developing the work, and takes us through the early lives of Buono and Bianchi, the murders of the ten women in grisly detail, and finally through Bianchi's insanity hoax and Buono's interminable trial. For the most part, it's a gripping read with few apparent punches-pulled.

Nonetheless, the narrative is weakened by two rather pervasive defects. First, O'Brien offers slim grounds for the conversations he provides between the two cousins that interlace the first part of the book. Now, Truman Capote pioneered this technique in his classic In Cold Blood, but also tried to provide appropriate grounds based on conversations with the culprits themselves. However, I could find only a weak justification for taking similar liberties here. That indirect justification occurs in the book's Preface (p.xxiii), but is pretty meagre to say the least. Perhaps, as O'Brien avers, the recreation of certain scenes does contribute to understanding the psychology of the two killers; nonetheless, these recreations are fictional accounts and the reader should be kept aware. The text would have been strengthened had the author discussed the question more forthrightly than he does.

Second, author O'Brien acknowledges a close relationship with detective Grogan who worked much of the case. Now there's nothing necessarily wrong with that since authors often develop a rapport with their sources. However, in this case, the rapport comes close to adopting someone else's point of view and allowing that pov to color the narrative. In short, the text at times sounds like detective Grogan speaking through the author. As a result, the book's objectivity is seriously undermined, no matter how sound the conclusions. Now it's hard not to view the two stranglers as human belly-crawlers-- their crimes are that horrific. Nonetheless, Grogan's pov is also allowed to frame the conduct of both Buono's defense attorneys and the initial DA team, along with O'Brien's boyhood chum, presiding judge Ronald George. Such non-objective framing would appear to undercut a fair-minded account of the trial prceedings, no matter how much we and the author may root for the prosecution.

To me, such defects cast seriously into question the reliability of much of the text. I have no doubt that the two were guilty, nor that their crimes deserve the strongest possible legal punishment. However, despite the book's many redeeming features, the account is told from a definite, and sometimes fictionalized, point of view. And whether or not the many forensic details plus the author's narrative skills are sufficient compensation is up to the reader to decide.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DOUBLE TROUBLE..., February 5, 2009

By	Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This true crime story tells the tale of two revolting human beings and their crime spree in the late ninteen seventies. Together, they brutally murdered, tortured and sexually violated a number of young, innocent women in California. The media named the killer the Hillside Strangler, in complete ignorance of the fact that not one but two killers were on the loose.

The Hillside Strangler would ultimately turn out to be the Hillside Stranglers, Kenny Bianchi, and his truly evil cousin, Angelo Buono. A more loathsome duo would be hard to find. The book details their odd relationship and their insatiable blood lust and depravity. Their eventual capture, arrest, and trial would fascinate the media and the public for some time.

While it is evident that much research went into this book, leaving little doubt of the guilt of these two fiends, the way in which the author wrote the book was a little disconcerting, melding fact with much fictionalized dialogue without much basis for his artistic license. Still, this does not take away form the core of the story, which will fascinate those who enjoy the true crime genre.