Slow Death: The Sickest Serial by James Fielder Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Slow Death: The Sickest Serial
Book Review: Boring
Summary: 2 Stars
I first heard of this book when two of the victims were on the Montel Williams show. I could not wait to get the book. I was very disappointed in it. I really did not learn much that was not on Montel. I thought most of it was boring and I day dreamed through much of it. I would love to know more about Ray and what he did, and less about the prosecutor, ect.Book Review: Good-- With Apparant Effort
Summary: 4 Stars
The book was very interesting-- as I'd expect any book about this man and his almost unbelievable crimes to be.
The forced effort was palpable from the beginning however. In an attempt to make it a story rather than a list of facts, you get tiresome opinions and lines such as, "May in New Mexico is a time when the winds are still blowing, but the sun warms up the Sandia Mountains next to Albuquerque and everybody seems to be smiling a lot more." Way too much about Yontz (what's next? lists of the food he ate during the trial?) and the Baird. Yes, I want to know how people reacted to the case--- but not this seemingly endless praise and mundane details with people who although involved with the case (Yontz=prosecuter; Baird=from Truth or Consequences, reporter), were not part of the crimes themselves. Fielder (the author) would have gained much by stopping his attempts to portray Yontz as a cowboy crusading to lock up the bad guy--and more about what happened in the case and about David Parker Ray himself.
There are some extremely good bits however, that you don't find in a lot of true-crime books. The pictures of the "Toybox" really added to knowing what happened. I've seen several sadomasochistic toys, but even still had a hard time imagining everything that it was said David Parker Ray kept. Also, texts of audio tapes Ray made and interviews with some of the townsfolk of T or C, plus insights on the town where this was kept hidden for so long help the reader understand causes and symptoms of the criminal sexual sadist.
I am a psychology major interested mainly in forensic psychiatry and abnormal psychology, and read true crime mainly to get insight on these wolves among sheep. This book, though entertaining and informative, had a focus definately off the mark.
Book Review: Great
Summary: 5 Stars
I thought this was a very good book, the author told just enough about the torture to keep it interesting and not make me have nightmares. I read true crime all the time and this was one of the worst cases I've read about and I was able to finish pretty quickly.Book Review: Horrifying facts + One of the sickest stories of serial killers I've read. + Dry and boring story telling = 3 stars
Summary: 3 Stars
- This book contains 8 pages of photos of the killer, his accomplices, his victims, and his torture tools. Besides, they show his residence, the judge, the attorneys and the prosecutor.
- It also consists of horrifying facts. For example in chapter 12, the tape recorded by the killer explained to his victims what he's going to do to her body. It's more spine-chilling than a Hitchcock movie. It's one of the sickest stories of serial killers I've read. Now I truly understand what monster means.
- The writing is dry and boring.
- In short, it's still worth reading because the unique story.
Book Review: I read this and lived this
Summary: 3 Stars
I lived in T or C at the time and knew almost everyone involved and still didn't know the whole story. when I read what was in this book I was taken aback by some of the facts I didn't know anything about.