About the Book
How
well do you know your neighbors? Maybe you should get to know them
better! Growing up, we are taught that monsters are easy to identify,
but the truth is very different. Too often, the serial murderer does
not stand out. Otherwise, he, or she, would get caught.
The
contrast between the ordinary-seeming lives that provided cover for
their cruel secrets is exposed in
The
Serial Killer Next Door: The Double Lives of Notorious Murderers.
To their coworkers, neighbors, and others who knew them, they led
unremarkable lives. They had careers as military pilots, police
officers, landscapers, small business owners, farmers, realtors,
reporters, authors, veterinary technicians, nurses, doctors,
handymen, painters, and chefs, while they simultaneously stalked city
suburbs, college campuses, trailer parks, and red-light districts.
This chilling book looks at the horrifying stories of nearly 30
malevolent killers (and hundreds of innocent victims) who were
mistakenly trusted, including ...
Genene
Jones,
a nurse responsible for the murder of 60 infants and children in her
care. She's said to be the inspiration for Stephen King's iconic
character of Annie Wilkes, in Misery
- and her nephew broke into King's home, threatening to blow up
the writer and his family because of it!
Robert
Lee Yates,
a helicopter pilot in the Army National Guard who, when caught,
buried one body outside his bedroom window as his wife slept.
Gary
Ridgway,
also known as the Green River Killer, went undetected for 20 years,
working for 30 years as a painter for a truck company and married
for 17 years.
Kathleen
Folbigg,
whose three children were at first thought to have died from natural
causes. She only got caught when her husband found her personal
diary.
Joseph
James DeAngelo,
who worked various jobs, including as a police officer and a truck
mechanic. He went on a decades-long crime spree and was finally
caught with the help of DNA evidence. His case was instrumental in
the establishment of California's DNA database.
And
dozens of other serial killers!
It's
chilling to realize that many serial killers have created second
lives that are completely divorced from the brutality and evils they
commit. It's incomprehensible to think that they are
able to flip a switch, transforming them from apparently loving,
ordinary men and women into torturous, homicidal slaughterers. With
more than 120 photos and graphics,
The
Serial Killer Next Dooris richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index
add to its usefulness. We trust our neighbors, coworkers, and
acquaintances. Of course, we do. It's ominous to think that we can't!
