Summer of 1985 in Los Angeles was a summer of terror. Richard Ramirez committed numerous break-ins leaving in his wake 13 dead bodies and many more shattered lives. He was a completely different kind of serial killer.
From the back of the book: The classic account of one of the world’s most feared serial killers.
Philip Carlo divides the account into 4 parts labeled books, “The Hunted and the Hunters”, “Richie”, “Capture”, “The Trial”, an Epilogue and “special Update of the Tenth-Anniversary Edition”. First is a consideration the crimes, then an account of Ramirez’ childhood, the events leading up to his crimes, how he was captured, a very comprehensive reporting of his trial (58 felony charges) that is detailed but fascinating, never boring. In the Epilogue he reports on Ramirez wedding and the women that have become fascinated with him. The special update contains a transcript of an interview Carlo had with Ramirez on death row.
In the last paragraph I said that the trial coverage was fascinating never boring, that could be said about the entire book. Carlo had done his research and the reporting is detailed, but not overly done. Enough information is given to understand the crimes and the perpetrator, but not so much that it is boring and repetitious. It is a long, thick book (592 pages) but it needs to be because of the extent of the crimes and the trial.
I would recommend this book to true crime fans.
True Crime, Non-fiction
Page count: 592
Stars: 4
Copyright: 1996
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