Two True Crime Gruesome Tales

January 23, 2022December 29, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, True Crime Harold Schechter, Paul Alexander, Paul Christy, Steven Weber, true crime

3.5/5 Murdered by Paul Alexander

Narrated by Paul Christy

Summary:

The ins and outs of the cold case 1986 murder of Sherri Rae Rasmussen.

Additional Comments:

Hard to connect with most of the people here. (The cheating husband, spurned ex, innocent, dumb woman and murder victim.)
About the only person to admire is the cold case cop and I can’t even remember his name.
About the only ones worth pitying are the victim’s parents.
It’s a classic case of jealousy.
Hard to believe people are that dumb but I guess the heart wants what it wants.

Conclusion:

Not the most satisfying true crime tale.

4/5 Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie

Summary:

A chilling, somewhat unsatisfying tale of a 19th century family of serial killers. The Benders reminded me of the family from the X-files episode called Home.

Additional Comments:

The book kind of skips around a lot, but the heart of the story is still disturbing.
Kind of hard to believe they could get away with that many killings but those were different times. People didn’t have the luxury of a cell phone in hand to keep abreast of news.
The author goes through about 4 possible endings for the family.
Sad to think they probably got away with it. That is the unsatisfying part.

Conclusion:

Interesting and dark tale of many gruesome murders.

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Many of my 57 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

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Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
River’s Edge Ransom – Prequel to Redeemer Chronicles (Amazon) (email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)

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Aeris Legends Books 1-3 ~17 hrs of epic fantasy. (Request a Review Copy)

4.5/5 Stars The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer by Anthony Bruno

October 1, 2021August 23, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Nonfiction, True Crime Anthony Bruno, Bronson Pinchot, serial killers

Narrated by Bronson Pinchot

Run Time: 8 hrs and 5 mins

Genre: Nonfiction, serial killers, true crime

Summary:

Nobody knows how many people got iced by Richard Kuklinski. He got the nickname The Iceman because he once put a body on ice 2 years to see what it would do in terms of preservation.

Additional Comments:

There’s hope for the true crime genre yet!
Richard Kuklinski led quite the interesting double life. Family man and hit man.
He’s not your stereotypical mob hitman. You wouldn’t cast a Hollywood heartthrob to represent him. He didn’t lead a heart-pounding life of danger and thrills. He did dark deals in back rooms.
His first crime was running off with a crate of wine, then puking his guts out. Later he killed a neighborhood bully.
Most of the people who got killed kind of deserved it, so it was a little hard to feel sorry for them.
There were tales of bravery too. Found it intriguing that the one dude went back to die to protect his family.
It’s like a true Sith tale, a master, an apprentice, and a betrayal when things go wrong.
Kind of makes you wonder about the history of the place you live in.
Was one heck of an investigation.
Cyanide is an undervalued poison. I found the range of Kukinski’s weapons intriguing. He didn’t hesitate to shoot people, but he also claimed to be able to make it look accidental with cyanide mist.
I found it even more fascinating because I recognized some of the places in New Jersey. Most of the famous serial killers come from other places.
Narration was fine. It’s not exactly a book that calls for a million voices, but the actor did a nice job distinguishing the 8-10 different people, both male and female.
Content Warnings: flagrant use of f-bombs. It fits the moment, but I wouldn’t exactly count this as a clean book.

Conclusion:

An interesting account of Richard Kukinski’s life and work and a bit about the guy who took him down.

*I got the book from Audible plus.

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Many of my 50 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian. (Amazon) (free codes)
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Amazon) (Please email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift. (Amazon) (free codes)
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma. (Amazon) (free codes)
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother. (Amazon) (free codes)
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble. (Amazon) (free codes)
More Scifi:
Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there. (Amazon) (free codes)

Guardian Angel Files:

Spirit’s Bane – Allister and Mina are training to be Guardians. Satan’s out to get them. (Amazon) (free codes)
Kindred Spirits – Mina’s exiled to Earth. Allister’s stuck in the Heavens. (Amazon) (free codes)

3.25 Cold-Blooded by Carlton Smith

September 27, 2021August 11, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Nonfiction, True Crime Carlton Smith, Paul Heitsch, true crime

Narrated by Paul Heitsch

Run Time: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Performance 4 stars, story 2.5 stars.

Summary:

This is a rambling account of stupid people. Rich, stupid people.

Additional Comments:

This is one of my first forays into true crime as a genre. My tenure here might be short. This was kinda boring.
I think it could have unfolded in about 4 hours, tops.
The author goes on major tangents that have zip to do with the murder. I don’t need to know the history of Reno to get to the murder mystery here.
Once upon a time, there was a sleazy, charismatic lawyer named Larry who had a drinking problem and a weakness for women and no ability to learn from past mistakes. Wife one, understandable. Wife two. Okay, okay, we all make mistakes. Wives 3-5?? Like yo, don’t get married unless you want to get taken to the cleaners, again.
Wife 5 for Larry was a doozy. She was a petty criminal turned big time by bigger opportunities. She won’t go down as the world’s smoothest crook. If fraudulent check writing were an Olympic sport, she’d at least make it there.
About an hour in to the actual story of Larry’s history (so about 5 hours into the book), I’m like, wow, this guy’s criminally dumb when it comes to his personal life.
Lauren and Sarah weren’t much more sympathetic as characters. Their life choices went from bad to worse. In that sense, it’s just kind of sad.
The tone of the story was so matter-of-fact that nobody came off as even remotely somebody you could root for. The cops were glossed over.
The performance was fine, though with 2/3 of the main people being women, it kind of would have made more sense to hire a lady to do the narration.
This book pretty much gives shady lawyers their bad reputation. Ambulance chasing personal injury lawyers just looking for a payday and cooking their own books.

Conclusion:

It’s really, really difficult to feel sorry for these people. Any of them. The book would have been much better if it focused some on the cops and their pursuit.

About the only life lesson in here is to avoid sleazy law offices like a plague.

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5 Stars FBI Undercover: The True Story of Special Agent Mandrake

September 10, 2021August 6, 2021 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Based on True Story, Nonfiction, True Crime Carlton Stowers, FBI, Larry Wansley, Shawn Compton, true crime

Narrated by Shawn Compton

Summary:

Subtitle pretty much spells out what you’re going to get.

Additional Comments:

Narrator did a nice job, but I don’t think he fit the main character very well.
This brings to light some of the stress that undercover work puts on any family, especially in prolonged campaigns.
Johnny was by far my favorite character. My favorite line was a question about somebody threatening the main character’s chastity.
It also brought to light some of the complications of bringing down likable bad guys. People make choices to do this or that for the money. Sometimes, that puts them on the wrong side of the law. Doesn’t make them any less likable in certain cases.
I’m not sure if they changed any names for the sake of privacy.
Content Warning: High profanity. I lost count of the f-bombs, but I don’t think there’s a way around that in a work like this. Speaking like a choir boy most likely would have gotten this guy shot and dumped in a storm drain.
I’m used to mostly fictional accounts of agents, so it was nice to hear something from somebody who actually lived the excitement and danger.

Conclusion:

The FBI fascinates a lot of people, me included, but it takes a special kind of person to be able to walk in those shoes.

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