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The Atlanta Child Murders: the Night Stalker
The Atlanta Child Murders is a true-crime thriller chronicling a city frozen in fear for two years and 28 murders of children and young people while under the vigilant eyes of a Task Force of Federal and State agents, ending with the sensational trial of Wayne B. Williams in 1982.
- GenresNonfictionTrue Crime
392 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 17, 2009
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108 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 1, 2016
I am so grateful to have read this book! After all the stuff I've waded through saying Wayne Williams was railroaded, here at last is the story of why the prosecutor and the jury decided he was guilty. This answers just about all my questions about the case, even if I did in the process learn more than I ever wanted to know about the hydrology of the Chattahoochee River. This is well written overall, but clearly self-published and desperately needed the attention of a copyeditor before it went to press. The spelling was great for a change, but the punctuation was pretty eccentric and formed a kind of floor show on the side of an already interesting book. If you're interested in this case at all, read this one. It should become the basic text on the hideous string of murders we all remember too well.
August 14, 2013
I appreciated the perspective, but the writing was very clumsy.
June 14, 2025
Book Review
Title: The Atlanta Child Murders: The Night Stalker by Jack Mallard
Genre: Non-Fiction, Crime
Rating: 3.75 Stars
In The Atlanta Child Murders: The Night Stalker, former prosecutor Jack Mallard provides a firsthand account of one of the most harrowing and controversial cases in American criminal history. Covering the tragic period between 1979 and 1981, during which at least 29 Black children and young adults were murdered in Atlanta, Mallard chronicles the investigation and eventual conviction of Wayne Williams, offering readers a courtroom insider’s view.
As one of the prosecutors in the trial, Mallard writes with authority and precision. His narrative combines legal analysis, crime scene details, and courtroom drama, aiming to clarify the evidence that led to Williams’ arrest and conviction for the murders of two adult victims—charges authorities connected to the broader series. The book presents a firm stance: that Wayne Williams was guilty not just of the two murders tried in court, but of many, if not all, of the Atlanta Child Murders.
However, The Night Stalker is not without its controversy. Mallard’s perspective is unambiguously prosecutorial, and some critics argue that it downplays the lingering doubts and skepticism many still hold about the case. The book is less an exploration of competing theories and more a defense of the official conclusion. For readers looking for an unbiased or comprehensive overview of the case’s complexities and criticisms, this may feel one-sided.
Still, as a historical document and legal memoir, Mallard’s account is valuable. It provides unique insight into the inner workings of the prosecution, the challenges of managing a media-saturated case, and the immense pressure faced by law enforcement during a time of fear, outrage, and racial tension.
A detailed and passionate account from a key figure in the prosecution, though its singular perspective may leave readers wanting a broader, more balanced analysis of one of America’s most disturbing and debated cases.
Title: The Atlanta Child Murders: The Night Stalker by Jack Mallard
Genre: Non-Fiction, Crime
Rating: 3.75 Stars
In The Atlanta Child Murders: The Night Stalker, former prosecutor Jack Mallard provides a firsthand account of one of the most harrowing and controversial cases in American criminal history. Covering the tragic period between 1979 and 1981, during which at least 29 Black children and young adults were murdered in Atlanta, Mallard chronicles the investigation and eventual conviction of Wayne Williams, offering readers a courtroom insider’s view.
As one of the prosecutors in the trial, Mallard writes with authority and precision. His narrative combines legal analysis, crime scene details, and courtroom drama, aiming to clarify the evidence that led to Williams’ arrest and conviction for the murders of two adult victims—charges authorities connected to the broader series. The book presents a firm stance: that Wayne Williams was guilty not just of the two murders tried in court, but of many, if not all, of the Atlanta Child Murders.
However, The Night Stalker is not without its controversy. Mallard’s perspective is unambiguously prosecutorial, and some critics argue that it downplays the lingering doubts and skepticism many still hold about the case. The book is less an exploration of competing theories and more a defense of the official conclusion. For readers looking for an unbiased or comprehensive overview of the case’s complexities and criticisms, this may feel one-sided.
Still, as a historical document and legal memoir, Mallard’s account is valuable. It provides unique insight into the inner workings of the prosecution, the challenges of managing a media-saturated case, and the immense pressure faced by law enforcement during a time of fear, outrage, and racial tension.
A detailed and passionate account from a key figure in the prosecution, though its singular perspective may leave readers wanting a broader, more balanced analysis of one of America’s most disturbing and debated cases.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2021
A very dry read. While the writing was reasonable, it was a drawn out affair and should never have been as long as it was. Instead, we’re forced to read so much unnecessary fluff. I would have expected a book with more punch from a prosecutor who worked the original trial. The overuse of exclamation marks where none were needed was very strange.
October 13, 2018
Great Read
A thorough and detailed account of how Wayne Williams was caught and convicted. Must read for people who still think he is innocent.
A thorough and detailed account of how Wayne Williams was caught and convicted. Must read for people who still think he is innocent.
December 1, 2021
Enjoyed it!
Good book! Well written synopsis from an inside point of view. Detailed proceedings of law in prosecuting a monster. WBW a wolf in sheepskin.
Good book! Well written synopsis from an inside point of view. Detailed proceedings of law in prosecuting a monster. WBW a wolf in sheepskin.
February 12, 2011
Not so impressed with it in a literary sense thus far but Jack Mallard was the prosecuting attorney in the Wayne Williams trial so I think by default it is a significant historical document most likely. I have the Barnes and Noble Nookbook version which is 1,034 pages in length which given Mr. Ballards scholarly background in law suggests this should be the most thorough accounting of the case to date and indeed having read to the point where Part II starts and Mr. Williams is identified I would believe this to be the case. I've seen write ups of the involvement of FBI profilers but those tend to be chapters whereas this is a book entirely on the specific events which were beyond question of historical significance both in the United States and the world at large.
I was alive during the time in question and about the age of many of the boys being killed so I remember it well. The post traumatic stress among Atlanta's black children was noted at the time even though they did not have that name but the murders struck fear across the country and were followed on a daily basis around the world. I recall in my own youth people in predominantly white rural Minnesota warning their kids about strangers because even though it was in Atlanta some monster could emerge as a copycat elsewhere.
I think another reason I'd say this series of murders is pretty significant is that it was one of the things that cemented the notion still well ensconced today of not trusting the stranger and for warning children of not getting into cars. That's how William's got many of his victims on the premise of hiring them to do some yard work or the like so ironically many of the kids he killed were the go getters and hard workers. If you wonder why the world is like it is and think it is sad that kids are taught to fear strangers this is a case that helped form our modern collective concept of serial murderers who prey on children. It wasn't always so although there were of course always killers but Williams along with Bundy and others were the ones to first hit the big stage of modern media arguably.
Some people still hold out that Wayne Williams is innocent including Mr. Williams of course but frankly I doubt it. I also would suspect that this book is in part an answer to those assertions given it's length and detail it does in essence assert the case against him and dispel doubts. The very circumstances of his capture are hard to ignore if you wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt there being a body land in the river on a bridge under surveillance and in a river where no other cars had been observed that night but his. This is to say nothing of the trace evidence that was the actual element generally thought to be responsible for his conviction.
It is worth noting that at the time there were those who believed it was a sort of race war and that either a white man was doing it or an organized group like the KKK. Some may hold to that view today but the arguments against it are fairly strong. Given how many kids were taken and in broad daylight in the heart of black Atlanta it is difficult to conceive of a bunch of white redneck clansmen operating for two years or more without detection. Ditto on the white man theory.
To a certain extent any questions over Williams are for legal experts which this author obviously is but there is also the bigger picture in that historically this was a landmark case that reshaped modern society in any number of way.
I was alive during the time in question and about the age of many of the boys being killed so I remember it well. The post traumatic stress among Atlanta's black children was noted at the time even though they did not have that name but the murders struck fear across the country and were followed on a daily basis around the world. I recall in my own youth people in predominantly white rural Minnesota warning their kids about strangers because even though it was in Atlanta some monster could emerge as a copycat elsewhere.
I think another reason I'd say this series of murders is pretty significant is that it was one of the things that cemented the notion still well ensconced today of not trusting the stranger and for warning children of not getting into cars. That's how William's got many of his victims on the premise of hiring them to do some yard work or the like so ironically many of the kids he killed were the go getters and hard workers. If you wonder why the world is like it is and think it is sad that kids are taught to fear strangers this is a case that helped form our modern collective concept of serial murderers who prey on children. It wasn't always so although there were of course always killers but Williams along with Bundy and others were the ones to first hit the big stage of modern media arguably.
Some people still hold out that Wayne Williams is innocent including Mr. Williams of course but frankly I doubt it. I also would suspect that this book is in part an answer to those assertions given it's length and detail it does in essence assert the case against him and dispel doubts. The very circumstances of his capture are hard to ignore if you wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt there being a body land in the river on a bridge under surveillance and in a river where no other cars had been observed that night but his. This is to say nothing of the trace evidence that was the actual element generally thought to be responsible for his conviction.
It is worth noting that at the time there were those who believed it was a sort of race war and that either a white man was doing it or an organized group like the KKK. Some may hold to that view today but the arguments against it are fairly strong. Given how many kids were taken and in broad daylight in the heart of black Atlanta it is difficult to conceive of a bunch of white redneck clansmen operating for two years or more without detection. Ditto on the white man theory.
To a certain extent any questions over Williams are for legal experts which this author obviously is but there is also the bigger picture in that historically this was a landmark case that reshaped modern society in any number of way.
June 3, 2018
Most pieces written onThe Atlanta Child Murders tend to play up the conspiracy hype that surround the infamous case. With this book, we finally have something from the perspective of those who prosecuted the case. Mallard takes the time to explain the legal process undertaken to prosecute Wayne Williams and how solid the evidence really was, despite what lover's of conspiracy would have one believe. Mallard even dedicates sections of the book to address the most well known conspiracy involving possible involvement by the KKK and Dekalb County's subsequent and fruitless reopening of the case. Those intrigued by the case will not be disappointed with this book, but might be with some of the careless editing. The only part of the book I could not agree with was the author claiming Dettlinger's book "The List " to be a biased account in favor of Williams' innocence. He never identifies him by name or the book, but those who have followed the case for years will recognize it right away. Dettlinger's book is the authoritative text for The Atlanta Child Murders. He explores so many avenues and possibilities that go beyond Williams and the trial. Dettlinger's book even suggests Williams' guilt more than once. However, Mallard's book is a great companion to
"The List " and provides a detailed account of the prosecution and fresh details not available in the past.
"The List " and provides a detailed account of the prosecution and fresh details not available in the past.
June 16, 2023
Mr. Mallard wrote this book as if it were taken straight from his courtroom argument notes. One might think this was great idea. He presented the facts with (often, too much) exclamation. But anyone researching this topic can and should agree that Williams was guilty of murdering two adults; as is substantiated in this book. It reads like a combination of a memoir and elaborated notes, but offers a wealth of information.
May 10, 2015
I did not actually finish this book. It was so poorly written I couldn't finish it. This almost never happens. Avoid at all costs.
May 21, 2015
I'll say this-Mr. Mallard sure knows how to toot his own horn!!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews