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Green River Killer: A True Detective Story
Throughout the 1980s, the highest priority of Seattle-area police was the apprehension of the Green River Killer, the man responsible for the murders of dozens of women, but in 1990, with the body count numbering at least forty-eight, the case was put in the hands of a single detective, Tom Jensen. After twenty years, when the killer was finally captured with the help of DNA technology, Jensen and fellow detectives spent 188 days interviewing Gary Ridgway in an effort to learn his most closely held secrets--an epic confrontation with evil that proved as disturbing and surreal as can be imagined. Written by Jensen's own son, acclaimed entertainment journalist Jeff Jensen, Green River Killer: A True Detective Story is bound to become a well-recognized member of the crime-genre graphic novel family, including titles like Darwyn Cooke’s The Hunter and Alan Moore’s From Hell.
234 pages, Hardcover
First published September 13, 2011
87 people are currently reading
4900 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Jensen
49 books26 followersJeff Jensen is an American writer. As a journalist he worked for Entertainment Weekly from 1998 to September 2017, most recently as the publication's television critic.
In 2012, Jensen and artist Jonathan Case won an Eisner Award for their work on the 2011 graphic novel, Green River Killer: A True Detective Story, published in 2011 by Dark Horse Comics.
His first prose novel, Before Tomorrowland, a prequel to the film and co-written with Case, was released on April 7, 2015.
In 2012, Jensen and artist Jonathan Case won an Eisner Award for their work on the 2011 graphic novel, Green River Killer: A True Detective Story, published in 2011 by Dark Horse Comics.
His first prose novel, Before Tomorrowland, a prequel to the film and co-written with Case, was released on April 7, 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 668 reviews
January 16, 2015
My reading/reviewing year is really getting off to an excruciatingly, abysmal slow start. I blame my Netflix addiction that includes a recent binge viewing of The Shield (from which I'm still recovering). In November, I became obsessed with Sarah Koenig's Serial podcast and literally lost weeks. Archer is back in full throttle splendor -- "We need a minute Captain Shit Nuts!" -- soon to be followed by the return of Season 3 of The Americans on the 28th.
Throw in work, sleep, eating, alcohol consumption and Words With Friends, and it's no wonder I've fallen way behind.
I don't have a real penchant towards reading about serial killers. I don't even like them in my movies usually. However, like most things, there are exceptions. One of my favorite films of all time is David Fincher's Zodiac (2007). It's an incredible movie that takes a cold case with a million moving pieces that went unsolved for decades and distills it down into this cerebral and frightening coherent narrative about obsession and loss of self. To this day, the Zodiac killer remains unidentified and the lingering torment and regret laid on the shoulders of the men who chased him in vain cannot be underestimated.
The Green River Killer was another notorious serial killer who almost got away. Gary Ridgway was eventually convicted of murdering 49 women but it's believed his kill count is much higher. The Green River murders began in 1982 and hit their peak in 1984. However, Ridgway would not be identified and arrested until 2001 thanks to DNA evidence.
The lead investigator for The Green River Killer was a man by the name of Tom Jensen. When the Green River Task Force was eventually disbanded, Jensen became the sole investigator. It was a case that would continue to haunt and obsess him right up until the day of Ridgway's arrest. It's a story that Jensen's son wants to tell, an intimate look at his father's entanglement with evil and desperation, frustration and determination.
I never would have believed this story could be contained in the black and white panels of a 200 page graphic novel. But contained it is. Jensen's version is a remarkable example of gritty police procedural balanced with a son's touching tribute to a father he obviously respects and cherishes deeply. The storytelling is sharp and rhythmic, bouncing back and forth from past to present in a seamless montage of events that is impressive. There are hardly any visual or textual clues to orient the reader in time; nevertheless, I was rarely left wondering 'where' and 'when' in the story I was.
This is one graphic novel that packs an emotional wallop. Not just because of the subject matter, but for the way in which the story is told.
Throw in work, sleep, eating, alcohol consumption and Words With Friends, and it's no wonder I've fallen way behind.
I don't have a real penchant towards reading about serial killers. I don't even like them in my movies usually. However, like most things, there are exceptions. One of my favorite films of all time is David Fincher's Zodiac (2007). It's an incredible movie that takes a cold case with a million moving pieces that went unsolved for decades and distills it down into this cerebral and frightening coherent narrative about obsession and loss of self. To this day, the Zodiac killer remains unidentified and the lingering torment and regret laid on the shoulders of the men who chased him in vain cannot be underestimated.
The Green River Killer was another notorious serial killer who almost got away. Gary Ridgway was eventually convicted of murdering 49 women but it's believed his kill count is much higher. The Green River murders began in 1982 and hit their peak in 1984. However, Ridgway would not be identified and arrested until 2001 thanks to DNA evidence.
The lead investigator for The Green River Killer was a man by the name of Tom Jensen. When the Green River Task Force was eventually disbanded, Jensen became the sole investigator. It was a case that would continue to haunt and obsess him right up until the day of Ridgway's arrest. It's a story that Jensen's son wants to tell, an intimate look at his father's entanglement with evil and desperation, frustration and determination.
I never would have believed this story could be contained in the black and white panels of a 200 page graphic novel. But contained it is. Jensen's version is a remarkable example of gritty police procedural balanced with a son's touching tribute to a father he obviously respects and cherishes deeply. The storytelling is sharp and rhythmic, bouncing back and forth from past to present in a seamless montage of events that is impressive. There are hardly any visual or textual clues to orient the reader in time; nevertheless, I was rarely left wondering 'where' and 'when' in the story I was.
This is one graphic novel that packs an emotional wallop. Not just because of the subject matter, but for the way in which the story is told.
March 4, 2018
Green River Killer was pretty riveting. The bounces back and forth in time were occasionally confusing and possibly not necessary, but I thought this was a fascinating look at a serial killer and the police detectives' attempts to get more information from him. In particular it was a portrait of Detective Tom Jensen, the author's father, and I really became invested in his personal story as the case unfolded across the decades. Of course, some of the images were deeply disturbing, but a certain amount of that is necessary to convey the full horror of the situation. I hadn't known much about the Green River Killer before beginning this book, but on both an intellectual and a visceral level I think it provided all the information I need. Recommended, if you can stomach it.
October 19, 2014
"Terrific. It's got the scariest opening sequence I've read in years, and the novel as a whole makes compelling stay-up-late reading. Great, creepy stuff." - Stephen King
If the title of this graphic novel isn't enough to grab you, King's cover blurb will. This was just as creepy as My Friend Dahmer, but I liked the inside perspective of the story. Jeff Jensen writes about his father, Tom Jensen's, twenty year search for the Green River Killer, while serving as a detective for King County's sheriff's department in Washington state.
How Gary Ridgeway is finally caught, and the controversial plea deal he was given is explained in detail. Jensen is brought back onto the case to interview Ridgeway, who has agreed to cooperate in locating the remains of some 47 women he's been accused of murdering as part of the plea bargain.
This was pretty gritty. Gritty because it happened not too long ago, and because no one, not even Ridgeway himself, could explain the most important question: why?
"Ridgeway believed the fundamental difference between himself and other people was a lack of 'caring.' Asked to rate his evil on a scale of one to five...Ridgeway gave himself a three."
Check out my review of My Friend Dahmer if you're interested: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
March 28, 2019
A true crime story about the Green River Killer, one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. Told through the eyes of Tom Jensen by his son Jeff Jensen. Tom was the the lead detective on the case as GRK evaded police for almost 20 years. Most of the story is told as Gary Ridgeway takes the police around the Seattle area as he details where additional bodies are buried. It's truly chilling how Ridgeway tries to buddy up with the detectives like he's helping them out and didn't do anything wrong. He comments on things like "After we're done here today, we need to stop at K-Mart so I can buy some new boots." Jonathan Case does a fine job of bringing the story to life in black and white.
December 13, 2011
This is the true crime story of Gary Ridgway, aka the Green River Killer, who murdered a number of women in Seattle starting in the 80s and remains one of the most notorious serial killers in history.
The detective tasked with bringing the killer to justice is the author's father, Tom Jensen (who looks like Commissioner Gordon), who sees the case through to its remarkable conclusion in 2003 when Ridgway was finally apprehended thanks to DNA evidence taken in 1987, and in order to bargain his fate from death to life imprisonment, he was moved into a bunker to live separate from other prisoners, with police around him at all times, to provide information on more women who were missing and whether he killed them and where he buried them.
The book is a fascinating and grim look at this sad, disturbed psychopath and the terror he wrought upon scores of victims. Despite Ridgway's confessions, many of the missing women he claimed to have killed were never found and remain unknown to day. Ridgway himself is still alive serving 48 life sentences for his crimes.
Jeff Jensen does a fine job of telling this complicated case through the life of his father, for whom this book is written for. The story shifts from the present to the past effortlessly weaving in moments from decades ago and showing their relevance in the case as it was being built. The book is well written and the details morbidly fascinating, as is the case with all true crime. Ridgway himself remains something of an enigma, as his motivations are either unclear to himself or he is hiding them from others. The best he can offer is "I just had to kill".
Jonathan Case's black and white inks compliment the story well and the book is easier and enjoyable to read through his treatment of Jensen's script.
This is a true horror story that's captivating from start to finish and all fans of comics and true crime will find plenty to enjoy here, especially fans of Rick Geary's work. For the more casual reader, this is a dark yet compelling story of a horrifying individual and the stark brutality of his world, and is definitely worth reading for that. "Green River Killer" is an excellent book that I couldn't put down and felt smarter for having read it - a true highlight in comics this year.
The detective tasked with bringing the killer to justice is the author's father, Tom Jensen (who looks like Commissioner Gordon), who sees the case through to its remarkable conclusion in 2003 when Ridgway was finally apprehended thanks to DNA evidence taken in 1987, and in order to bargain his fate from death to life imprisonment, he was moved into a bunker to live separate from other prisoners, with police around him at all times, to provide information on more women who were missing and whether he killed them and where he buried them.
The book is a fascinating and grim look at this sad, disturbed psychopath and the terror he wrought upon scores of victims. Despite Ridgway's confessions, many of the missing women he claimed to have killed were never found and remain unknown to day. Ridgway himself is still alive serving 48 life sentences for his crimes.
Jeff Jensen does a fine job of telling this complicated case through the life of his father, for whom this book is written for. The story shifts from the present to the past effortlessly weaving in moments from decades ago and showing their relevance in the case as it was being built. The book is well written and the details morbidly fascinating, as is the case with all true crime. Ridgway himself remains something of an enigma, as his motivations are either unclear to himself or he is hiding them from others. The best he can offer is "I just had to kill".
Jonathan Case's black and white inks compliment the story well and the book is easier and enjoyable to read through his treatment of Jensen's script.
This is a true horror story that's captivating from start to finish and all fans of comics and true crime will find plenty to enjoy here, especially fans of Rick Geary's work. For the more casual reader, this is a dark yet compelling story of a horrifying individual and the stark brutality of his world, and is definitely worth reading for that. "Green River Killer" is an excellent book that I couldn't put down and felt smarter for having read it - a true highlight in comics this year.
October 8, 2015
A true crime story, only slightly fictionalized, of catching the Green River serial killer in the Seattle area, the worst serial killer in American history, who killed at least 48 prostitutes, and confessed to each of them, and made those confessions credible with details. It is also a tribute to the author's father, who was the lead detective on the case for almost twenty years on the case. This is gruesome and interesting, especially if you are like me interested in true crime detective stories. I am also reading a lot of father and son stories, and this is in a sense one of those, I'm also coincidentally taking my time rereading Crime and Punishment, so crime stories, all kinds, are just page turners for me.
That said, the art here is just competent and straightforward standard black and white true crime style. The storytelling is good, competent, sort of true to actual casework, plodding, frustrating, not Hollywood. .. though there are dramatic and horrific moments in it. Those details make it hard to read and maybe not recommendable for everyone, but the father tribute part of it, the case study of the detective, is pretty well done.
There's a lot of famous people who write breathless blurbs for the back cover. I liked the book, but agree with almost none of them who find the book riveting. I liked it and if you like true crime stories, you'll like this and find it hard to put down.
That said, the art here is just competent and straightforward standard black and white true crime style. The storytelling is good, competent, sort of true to actual casework, plodding, frustrating, not Hollywood. .. though there are dramatic and horrific moments in it. Those details make it hard to read and maybe not recommendable for everyone, but the father tribute part of it, the case study of the detective, is pretty well done.
There's a lot of famous people who write breathless blurbs for the back cover. I liked the book, but agree with almost none of them who find the book riveting. I liked it and if you like true crime stories, you'll like this and find it hard to put down.
August 1, 2019
Detective Tom Jensen tracked the Green River Killer for twenty years. He then spent 180 days interviewing Gary Leon Ridgway trying to bring closure to families still hoping against hope that their loved ones would still come home. Written by his son (Jeff Jensen) this is a powerful testament on the toll evil takes on victims, their families and the people tasked with finding and stopping predators - who can no longer control their dark impulses - highly recommended.
August 8, 2021
This graphic novel is just beyond terrifying. Thankfully Ridgway has been convicted (obviously as this depicts him trying to remember where he left bodies and leading the cops to them) but to know that it took so long to catch this monster is just horrifying, he was just hiding in plain sight the WHOLE time. It gives me shivers just thinking about it! I originally read about this case in Ann Rule’s fantastic book about it but getting to see it flipped into graphic novel form was truly something else. I love the perspective it was written from, especially since it came from so close to Ridgway and those who worked his case. I also really loved that this focused on after Ridgway’s arrest and trying to find closure for the families of the victims. This is one hell of a true crime story and it translates incredibly well into graphic novel form. It’s definitely a must read for any true crime fan!
August 2, 2012
In my Baby's in Black review , I discussed the difficulties that confront non-fictional accounts of historical events. The primary hurdle is reader foreknowledge. If you're already aware (spoilers!) that Amelia Earhart doesn't complete her round-the-world flight, that Lee surrenders at the Appomattox Courthouse, that Jesus comes back to life in the end—then all the drama surrounding those events is sucked out of the telling. Reader investment, then, must be engaged in other ways.
Titanic, for instance, couldn't just be a movie about how a boat sank (since the only reason anyone is aware of the Titanic is because it sank). James Cameron decided to make it a love story set on the backdrop of a sinking boat because everybody would go into it well aware that the boat wouldn't survive the end credits. The drama then was not in whether the boat would sink but in the romance and survival of its principal couple.
True crime is as much beholden to this rule as any other genre, and in many cases everyone goes into the story knowing the end of the matter. The Ted Bundy story ends either with Bundy getting caught or with his execution. The Unabomber story ends perhaps with the arrest or trial of Theodore Kaczynski. The John Wilkes Booth story ends with Booth dead on a porch at Garrett's farm. And the Green River Killer was Gary Ridgway and he was discovered and arrested two decades after his first murders. These are known facts, and prior knowledge of them could destroy any sense of anticipation in reading a retelling of the events. Fortunately, author Jeff Jensen has something better up his sleeve.
When one recalls the stale story direction of David Fincher's film adaptation, Zodiac, which followed the unsolved case of the Zodiac Killer, it becomes doubly apparent how deliciously good The Green River Killer is. Rather than give a rote recountment of events and try to hold onto the mystery of the murderer's identity for as long as possible, Jensen rather quickly zooms the reader from a chilling introduction to the killer in 1965 to Detective Tom Jensen's 2003 interrogation of Gary Ridgway, two years after his arrest. Ridgway is introduced as the Green River Killer by page 32. From then and onward, author Jeff Jensen treats the reader to a narrative that hops back and forth across the prior twenty years as Detective Jensen and Ridgway discuss and to some extent relive Ridgeway's murder of more than fifty women. The tension and drama come in as we discover that the detective (who is the real-life father of Jeff Jensen, the book's writer) wants to come away from his 188 days interviewing the murderer with a very particular piece of information. What is it and will Tom Jensen's curiosity be satisfied? Will he and his family survive in the meantime? These are the threads that weave through Green River Killer: A True Detective Story, and watching them resolve is exciting and satisfying.
Serial killers hold an often irrational grasp over the imaginations of the public. When I was a kid growing up in Orange County, the entire community (so far as I could tell) lived in terror of Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker. Even though no one in my town (a small beach community far from the freeway) was a potential victim, we lived on alert, fearing that we could be next. Seattle (at least in Jensen's book) likewise reacted to the Green River Killer—who only killed prostitutes—with a kind of widespread, irrational panic. Perhaps it's the loss of faith in a city's paid protection that sparks fear in a victimized community. Or maybe it's founded on the sense of helplessness that accompanies the knowledge that there is a serial murderer at large—a killer that the police seem inadequate to the task of detecting, let alone capturing. Jeff Jensen and Jonathan Case do an admirable job capturing Seattle's sense of panic, even if rarely showing any member of the community who isn't either a detective, a corpse, or a killer.
Jensen does this other interesting thing with Green River Killer: he writes Ridgway as almost sympathetic. Certainly he's still a creepy sociopath with more victims than perhaps any other American serial killer. But by the time the narrative catches up with him, Ridgway's just a sad-sack, middle-aged man trying his darnedest to be of assistance to the detectives interviewing him. He's a little bit bewildered and a little bit vulnerable. And he rarely exudes anything resembling an aura of menace. He timidly jokes with his captors and tries to make friends with them even as he details his murders in order to plea bargain down to a mere lifetime-imprisonment. It's unnerving once you recognize that you've grown comfortable with the character. (That is if you do grow comfortable, of course. I did, but I presume others might not so easily forget how sinister the man is.) This on its own is a huge triumph of the book and one for which Jensen should be proud.
Still, enough about Jeff Jensen and his "words." I have a crush on Jonathan Case and want to have his art babies. I'm not certain who exactly is responsible for pairing Jensen and Case on this project (Sierra Hahn, maybe?), but the marriage is unblemished. I actually can't imagine a better artistic direction for depicting these figures and the macabre muck through which they must wade in their quest for Truth. Case's art is reminiscent of David Lapham's Stray Bullets-era work, only slightly more polished and employing far less punk-lunacy. His opening salvo of a young Ridgway testing the waters of his mania is devastating and perfect. In reviewing Uzumaki , I wrote how I didn't believe comics could adequately convey a sense of horror because of the unsurprising way in which panels pace a story. If there was ever a counter-argument, I believe this story segment is it.
[This panel of Ridgway is so pregnant with apprehensive malice that a book filled with such moments would be utterly exhausting.]
I'm not huge on true crime (though I've enjoyed Eric Larsen's The Devil in the White City —me and 98% of the people who've read it!—and Rick Geary's Treasury of 19th/20th Century Murder ) and I rarely see it handled in a way that makes me want to take it up as a regular staple in my reading queue, but I loved Green River Killer. If I run into a few more examples of the genre that are this good, I might just revise my position to: Avid Reader of Good True Crime.
_____________________
[Review courtesy of Good Ok Bad]
March 27, 2018
I'm always fascinated to hear a true crime story told from the perspective of the men and women who solved it. There's something very gratifying about seeing the aftermath when the bad guy gets his comeuppance and there's some justice for the victims and survivors. But it isn't all a Lifetime movie or an episode of Rescue 911 (which I'm betting 90% of you have never heard of! Yay! I'm old!). Solving murders and putting people in prison takes time and effort and a lot of that effort is boring and hopeless and years can pass with no leads.
That was definitely the case with Gary Ridgway, possibly the most prolific serial killer in American history (his official body count is 48 but he's suspected in over 100 murders). Ridgway began his "career" in the early 80's and was considered a suspect for a long time but it wasn't until DNA evidence came into use as a criminal investigation tool that law enforcement was finally able to conclusively link him to the murders and arrest him. A huge part of that investigation was handled by one detective. For over twenty years detective Tom Jensen hunted the Green River Killer largely on his own and when he was finally caught Jensen spent 180 hours interviewing Ridgway about his crimes.
Now in a bleak but beautiful graphic format Jensen's son tells his father's story and by extension the story of the Green River Killer. But this isn't a sensational pulp magazine story. It's dismal and depressing. Jensen isn't hunting Hannibal Lecter (I'm sorry I try not to bring him up all the time but its hard guys). He's looking for a pathetic loser of a human being with no redeeming features who's more or less blindly stumbled his way out of law enforcement's grasp due entirely to blind luck. This monster isn't frightening so much as he is disgusting and barely worth the oxygen he's taking up to survive.
Jeff Jensen's admiration for his father is obvious. It's rare and frankly wonderful to read a piece of true crime history where the detective trying to crack the case is a loving and devoted father and husband who has the support and respect of his wife and children. Detective Jensen is, simply put, a good man. A man who hunts monsters and who frequently finds himself at a loss for how to move forward in a world that allows men like Ridgway to exist, but a good man nonetheless.
Detective Jensen is also a damn good detective. I don't mean just as an investigator, though he's clearly a dogged and determined one. What makes him such a remarkably good detective is the deep compassion and care he shows for Ridgway's victims and their families.
They call them "the lesser dead." Its an appalling moniker if ever there was one. If you're a sex worker or someone who lives a "dangerous lifestyle" its still widely assumed even today that if you wind up murdered you had it coming. So you can imagine what it was like in the 1980's. Ridgway's victims were all either sex workers or women considered at risk. That's partly why it took so long to catch him, because no one gave a shit that they were dying in droves.
But Jensen never saw them as anything other than someone's daughter, mother, or friend. For every single woman who feel victim to the Green River Killer Jensen had a name, a face, or a loved one desperate to learn what had happened to them. The most moving part of this book for me is the desperate sorrow and anger that finally overcomes Jensen as he is forced to acknowledge that Ridgway cared so little for his victims he can't be bothered to remember what they looked like let alone what their names were. He's so blindly angry you can see its all he can do not to throttle Ridgway from across the interview table. That he doesn't is yet another mark of his exceptional character.
So in a strange way this book is really a celebration of a good and noble man who worked tirelessly for decades not just to end Ridgway's horrific reign of violence but to bring closure to the hundreds of loved ones left behind in its wake.
This is a hard read and it isn't pretty but its worthwhile. I am incredibly glad to have learned Detective Jensen's story, to know that there are men like him in the world. It gives me hope, something that is often in short supply these days.
That was definitely the case with Gary Ridgway, possibly the most prolific serial killer in American history (his official body count is 48 but he's suspected in over 100 murders). Ridgway began his "career" in the early 80's and was considered a suspect for a long time but it wasn't until DNA evidence came into use as a criminal investigation tool that law enforcement was finally able to conclusively link him to the murders and arrest him. A huge part of that investigation was handled by one detective. For over twenty years detective Tom Jensen hunted the Green River Killer largely on his own and when he was finally caught Jensen spent 180 hours interviewing Ridgway about his crimes.
Now in a bleak but beautiful graphic format Jensen's son tells his father's story and by extension the story of the Green River Killer. But this isn't a sensational pulp magazine story. It's dismal and depressing. Jensen isn't hunting Hannibal Lecter (I'm sorry I try not to bring him up all the time but its hard guys). He's looking for a pathetic loser of a human being with no redeeming features who's more or less blindly stumbled his way out of law enforcement's grasp due entirely to blind luck. This monster isn't frightening so much as he is disgusting and barely worth the oxygen he's taking up to survive.
Jeff Jensen's admiration for his father is obvious. It's rare and frankly wonderful to read a piece of true crime history where the detective trying to crack the case is a loving and devoted father and husband who has the support and respect of his wife and children. Detective Jensen is, simply put, a good man. A man who hunts monsters and who frequently finds himself at a loss for how to move forward in a world that allows men like Ridgway to exist, but a good man nonetheless.
Detective Jensen is also a damn good detective. I don't mean just as an investigator, though he's clearly a dogged and determined one. What makes him such a remarkably good detective is the deep compassion and care he shows for Ridgway's victims and their families.
They call them "the lesser dead." Its an appalling moniker if ever there was one. If you're a sex worker or someone who lives a "dangerous lifestyle" its still widely assumed even today that if you wind up murdered you had it coming. So you can imagine what it was like in the 1980's. Ridgway's victims were all either sex workers or women considered at risk. That's partly why it took so long to catch him, because no one gave a shit that they were dying in droves.
But Jensen never saw them as anything other than someone's daughter, mother, or friend. For every single woman who feel victim to the Green River Killer Jensen had a name, a face, or a loved one desperate to learn what had happened to them. The most moving part of this book for me is the desperate sorrow and anger that finally overcomes Jensen as he is forced to acknowledge that Ridgway cared so little for his victims he can't be bothered to remember what they looked like let alone what their names were. He's so blindly angry you can see its all he can do not to throttle Ridgway from across the interview table. That he doesn't is yet another mark of his exceptional character.
So in a strange way this book is really a celebration of a good and noble man who worked tirelessly for decades not just to end Ridgway's horrific reign of violence but to bring closure to the hundreds of loved ones left behind in its wake.
This is a hard read and it isn't pretty but its worthwhile. I am incredibly glad to have learned Detective Jensen's story, to know that there are men like him in the world. It gives me hope, something that is often in short supply these days.
November 22, 2023
3.5 stars. So the writer of this book is the son of the actual detective that worked this case. Pretty cool. The Green River killer, or Gary Ridgway, killed some 80 odd women in Washington state during the 80s and 90s. The story is told from two sides, the beginning where they start finding the bodies, and from almost the end where that have already captured Gary the killer. The beginning works its way up to the capture while the part where he’s already captured shows them working with him to get the full confession and for him to show the detectives where additional bodies are buried. Solid story telling concept. I felt bad for all these woman who had no idea they were about to meet their demise. Some of these woman he would even go back to the next day after killing them and have sex with their dead bodies. Wild. This investigation went on for years. Once Gary was convicted, I liked what the writer did with the epilogue. I though it was a nice touch what happened with the detective and the closure he brought at the end. Solid book with some nice black and white art.
February 21, 2015
I don't do much reading about real serial killers now, though I did kind of go through a phase when I was a weird teenager. So I didn't go in knowing much about Gary Ridgeway, the Green River Killer. That might have been useful, because this is not a strictly linear account, nor is it terribly concerned with the minutia of the investigation. If that's what you're looking for, this is not going to be the best choice for you. But if, like me, you just need to be able to follow what's going on, or if you come in with significant background knowledge already, there's a lot to be gained here.
Written by the son of the lead investigator, this book naturally spends a lot of time personally involved with that same investigator. So it becomes very much about him, and about how the case affected him and defined a big chunk of his life. It's also way less graphic than it could have been. Much of the book is actually set during the period when Ridgeway was in custody and was being questioned in the hopes that he would give up more information about the women he had killed, so it's kind of after the fact. Which is good. Those kinds of details can be difficult to stomach in text, and could be unbearable in comic book format.
I did end up learning quite a bit about the case. But what will actually stay with me is the (somewhat unlikely) emotional impact of the book. A lot of true crime books (in my experience) about serial killers kind of miss the human impact, but this one doesn't, thankfully. It's sort of in shorthand, because everything in this book is, but it's prominent enough that it will be what I remember best.
Written by the son of the lead investigator, this book naturally spends a lot of time personally involved with that same investigator. So it becomes very much about him, and about how the case affected him and defined a big chunk of his life. It's also way less graphic than it could have been. Much of the book is actually set during the period when Ridgeway was in custody and was being questioned in the hopes that he would give up more information about the women he had killed, so it's kind of after the fact. Which is good. Those kinds of details can be difficult to stomach in text, and could be unbearable in comic book format.
I did end up learning quite a bit about the case. But what will actually stay with me is the (somewhat unlikely) emotional impact of the book. A lot of true crime books (in my experience) about serial killers kind of miss the human impact, but this one doesn't, thankfully. It's sort of in shorthand, because everything in this book is, but it's prominent enough that it will be what I remember best.
August 20, 2014
The first page is great. Horrifying, but great.
And then I was confused as all fuck for a while.
The thing is, the story bounces all around a timeline. From the time bodies start appearing in the woods until the time Gary Ridgeway is caught and questioned. Things smooth out about half way through, maybe a little further, but I kept getting lost in trying to figure out where we were in time.
It's not good enough to put a date in. It's a comic book! Give me a half dozen good, visual cues. The great thing about a comic book, you can be obvious about this stuff without crazy dialogue that never happened. "Hey, this Michael Jackson, who is currently a child, is going to be a big star as an adult, I reckon." No, you can just show me some things that anchor me in the time periods. A specific car. Have the character dress in the same, slightly weird tie. Something.
I know, I can be a lazy and stupid reader sometimes. Sue me.
But I do feel like everybody is always trying to mess with a timeline rather than telling a story straight from the beginning to the end.
This story, the idea behind this book, is excellent. And I can see why they made the choice to jump through time. The detective character is haunted by the Green River Killer and it's lorded over his life, his whole life. But hell, I think the story loses something really important when I feel like I have to stop and say, "Okay, what year is it? And during that year, in the narrative, we're...let me consult my timeline."
And then I was confused as all fuck for a while.
The thing is, the story bounces all around a timeline. From the time bodies start appearing in the woods until the time Gary Ridgeway is caught and questioned. Things smooth out about half way through, maybe a little further, but I kept getting lost in trying to figure out where we were in time.
It's not good enough to put a date in. It's a comic book! Give me a half dozen good, visual cues. The great thing about a comic book, you can be obvious about this stuff without crazy dialogue that never happened. "Hey, this Michael Jackson, who is currently a child, is going to be a big star as an adult, I reckon." No, you can just show me some things that anchor me in the time periods. A specific car. Have the character dress in the same, slightly weird tie. Something.
I know, I can be a lazy and stupid reader sometimes. Sue me.
But I do feel like everybody is always trying to mess with a timeline rather than telling a story straight from the beginning to the end.
This story, the idea behind this book, is excellent. And I can see why they made the choice to jump through time. The detective character is haunted by the Green River Killer and it's lorded over his life, his whole life. But hell, I think the story loses something really important when I feel like I have to stop and say, "Okay, what year is it? And during that year, in the narrative, we're...let me consult my timeline."
May 10, 2022
I liked this one a lot! The story of Gary Ridgeway’s crime spree is told in a confession tape style jumping from current time (him caught and confessing) to the past (him committing the murders) through the POV of the police that spent months interviewing him. It was almost like a true crime documentary in graphic novel form.
September 11, 2021
Me ha gustado mucho este cómic escrito por Jeff Jensen y magnificamente ilustrado por Jonathan Case. En él se nos relata un True crime, un caso en el que participó el padre del autor, Tom Jensen, el caso del asesino de Green River que fué inculpado por el asesinato de aproximadamente unas 50 mujeres, todas ellas prostitutas, aunque luego confesó haber matado a un número mayor.
Este cómic esta dividido en dos lineas temporales, la primera es la investigación inicial de los asesinatos y la segunda, 20 años más tarde, cuando se detienen al asesino de Green River y le interrogan.
Dicen que la verdad supera con creces la ficción, pues eso me ha ocurrido a mí con el interrogatorrio final de este cómic me ha superado, ha conseguido ponerme los pelos de punta.
Este cómic esta dividido en dos lineas temporales, la primera es la investigación inicial de los asesinatos y la segunda, 20 años más tarde, cuando se detienen al asesino de Green River y le interrogan.
Dicen que la verdad supera con creces la ficción, pues eso me ha ocurrido a mí con el interrogatorrio final de este cómic me ha superado, ha conseguido ponerme los pelos de punta.
February 20, 2013
A graphic-novel account of Green River killer Gary Ridgway's decades-long murder career and his eventual capture by the King County sheriff's office. It's a look into the mind of a serial killer and the cops who hunted him.
The story jumps around in time but focuses mostly on the seven months of interrogation in which Ridgway tried to locate his many victims as part of his plea agreement. It's a long slog of incomplete information and weirdly polite interactions between the police and the killer.
There are some nice emotional and personal moments scattered throughout, like when the protagonist learns that his partner has Lou Gehrig's disease, or when he promises a missing girl's mother that he will always call before visiting so as not to scare her.
It's not dazzling or anything, but Green River Killer is a solid, well-told, interesting story.
The story jumps around in time but focuses mostly on the seven months of interrogation in which Ridgway tried to locate his many victims as part of his plea agreement. It's a long slog of incomplete information and weirdly polite interactions between the police and the killer.
There are some nice emotional and personal moments scattered throughout, like when the protagonist learns that his partner has Lou Gehrig's disease, or when he promises a missing girl's mother that he will always call before visiting so as not to scare her.
It's not dazzling or anything, but Green River Killer is a solid, well-told, interesting story.
March 14, 2018
This is one of those graphic novels that goes backwards and forwards in time like the movie pulp fiction. However, they don’t show apparent timelines and it gets confusing.
Apart from that it was a good story with good black and white artwork.
Apart from that it was a good story with good black and white artwork.
October 22, 2016
4 1/4 stars
Read
March 19, 2012[ETA: No star rating, because I fucking hate those and wish I'd never started with them. SORRY.]
Obligatory GoodReads X-Files quote: "You've seen the things I do in the past as well as in the future....terrible things....So tell me, please, why have I done them?" "Don't you understand yet? ....You do the things you do because you're a homicidal maniac." - Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
Not quite sure what to say about this one. "Much less tasteless and exploitive than other histories of the Green River Killings I've read"? "Should have gotten it from the library because now I feel uneasy about it lurking in my house" (Why do I have books on the Green River Killings in my house anyway....)? "Ignore that Stephen King blurb, it's total bullshit"? (It really is. Steve, you should be ashamed.)
No women, unless you count the detective's wife (bit of a smartass, I like her) and the murder victims, who are almost never shown alive. The parts I liked best were, predictably, the backroom black-humour quips (Ridgway complains about a meal in the bunker and one detective sighs: "There goes our Zagat rating"). I swore off true crime for a while after reading Shot in the Heart, one of the most devastating books ever written about the causes and effects of crime; I felt like Trent Reznor being confronted by Sharon Tate's sister. Are you exploiting my sister's death by living in her house?....When she was talking to me, I realized for the first time, "What if it was my sister?" I thought, "Fuck Charlie Manson." I guess if this book provokes a "Fuck Gary Ridgway" response, that might be good enough. He's certainly no Hannibal Lecter (and people idolizing Charlie Manson was bad enough. At least when you see Manson, it is immediately and scarily obvious THIS MAN IS BATSHIT. Lecter's just all quippy and well-groomed and Deep In His Heart, He Loves Her &c &c. Clearly what we need is a "Fuck Hannibal Lecter" cultural response, which ain't ever gonna happen). Even just after he's killed, no especially just after, he's pathetic, worthless and awful -- barely there somehow. It's like all those women were smothered to death by a Shmoo.
Obligatory GoodReads pic:
Reading this I can kind of see why graphic novels are so popular -- they're sort of like slowed-down movies, and some nice things can be done with "voiceovers," juxtaposition and close-ups, just like in regular film. Only it takes even less time to read one of these than it does to sit through a film. I still don't think I've ever seen anything in US comics that's as amazing as Saiyuki, though.
Recommended? ....I guess? Sort of? Not really? If you're interested in Green River stuff, it's probably as close to a memoir by Tom Jensen as we're ever likely to get, although a lot of the stuff is already available in existing books, if less arrestingly (heh, heh) presented. I hope some small percentage of the profits goes to the families, that'd be nice....but I doubt it.
Obligatory GoodReads musical accompaniment to this review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScT9eo...#
Obligatory GoodReads X-Files quote: "You've seen the things I do in the past as well as in the future....terrible things....So tell me, please, why have I done them?" "Don't you understand yet? ....You do the things you do because you're a homicidal maniac." - Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
Not quite sure what to say about this one. "Much less tasteless and exploitive than other histories of the Green River Killings I've read"? "Should have gotten it from the library because now I feel uneasy about it lurking in my house" (Why do I have books on the Green River Killings in my house anyway....)? "Ignore that Stephen King blurb, it's total bullshit"? (It really is. Steve, you should be ashamed.)
No women, unless you count the detective's wife (bit of a smartass, I like her) and the murder victims, who are almost never shown alive. The parts I liked best were, predictably, the backroom black-humour quips (Ridgway complains about a meal in the bunker and one detective sighs: "There goes our Zagat rating"). I swore off true crime for a while after reading Shot in the Heart, one of the most devastating books ever written about the causes and effects of crime; I felt like Trent Reznor being confronted by Sharon Tate's sister. Are you exploiting my sister's death by living in her house?....When she was talking to me, I realized for the first time, "What if it was my sister?" I thought, "Fuck Charlie Manson." I guess if this book provokes a "Fuck Gary Ridgway" response, that might be good enough. He's certainly no Hannibal Lecter (and people idolizing Charlie Manson was bad enough. At least when you see Manson, it is immediately and scarily obvious THIS MAN IS BATSHIT. Lecter's just all quippy and well-groomed and Deep In His Heart, He Loves Her &c &c. Clearly what we need is a "Fuck Hannibal Lecter" cultural response, which ain't ever gonna happen). Even just after he's killed, no especially just after, he's pathetic, worthless and awful -- barely there somehow. It's like all those women were smothered to death by a Shmoo.
Obligatory GoodReads pic:
Reading this I can kind of see why graphic novels are so popular -- they're sort of like slowed-down movies, and some nice things can be done with "voiceovers," juxtaposition and close-ups, just like in regular film. Only it takes even less time to read one of these than it does to sit through a film. I still don't think I've ever seen anything in US comics that's as amazing as Saiyuki, though.
Recommended? ....I guess? Sort of? Not really? If you're interested in Green River stuff, it's probably as close to a memoir by Tom Jensen as we're ever likely to get, although a lot of the stuff is already available in existing books, if less arrestingly (heh, heh) presented. I hope some small percentage of the profits goes to the families, that'd be nice....but I doubt it.
Obligatory GoodReads musical accompaniment to this review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScT9eo...#
January 21, 2012
Throughout the 1980s, the highest priority of Seattle-area police was the apprehension of the Green River Killer, the man responsible for the murders of dozens of women. In 1990, with the body count numbering at least forty-eight, the case was put in the hands of a single detective, Tom Jensen. After twenty years, when the killer was finally captured with the help of DNA technology, Jensen spent 180 days interviewing Gary Leon Ridgway in an effort to learn his most closely held secrets--an epic confrontation with evil that proved as disturbing and surreal as can be imagined.
Written by Jensen's own son, acclaimed entertainment writer Jeff Jensen, Green River Killer: A True Detective Story presents the ultimate insider's account of America's most prolific serial killer.
They say a picture paints a thousand words, well a Chinese proverb states "One picture is worth ten thousand words."
Certainly with drawings covering the murder investigation, this is one that will stay in a portion of your thought process for some time. It's has black and white drawings basic artwork and not one for excellence in artwork but a dark true story of the search for truth for one cop that takes up most of his career time. His persistence pays off and truth prevails.
Watch the the court confession of the convicted man on more2read my webpage
Written by Jensen's own son, acclaimed entertainment writer Jeff Jensen, Green River Killer: A True Detective Story presents the ultimate insider's account of America's most prolific serial killer.
They say a picture paints a thousand words, well a Chinese proverb states "One picture is worth ten thousand words."
Certainly with drawings covering the murder investigation, this is one that will stay in a portion of your thought process for some time. It's has black and white drawings basic artwork and not one for excellence in artwork but a dark true story of the search for truth for one cop that takes up most of his career time. His persistence pays off and truth prevails.
Watch the the court confession of the convicted man on more2read my webpage
August 12, 2016
Interesting story. Only when I finished did I realize the writer was "Doc" Jensen, who used to write some of the most stimulating articles about the television series Lost in the pages of Entertainment Weekly! This graphic novel is the story of his father, one of the lead detectives on the Green River serial killer case.
January 6, 2024
2024: Nič sa nezmenilo, možno len že ma to bavilo ešte o kus viac ako naposledy. Fakt skvelá vec.
2019: Už dlho ma nič tak nebavilo, ako toto.. plus to ani nemám rada čiernobiele veci, ale tu to k tomu skvele sedelo.
2019: Už dlho ma nič tak nebavilo, ako toto.. plus to ani nemám rada čiernobiele veci, ale tu to k tomu skvele sedelo.
November 27, 2025
This book was amazing
October 7, 2017
Jeff Jensen's father is Tom Jensen, the detective who kept the Green River case alive between 1990 when the task force was shut down & 2001 when advances in DNA testing meant they could actually match Gary Ridgway's DNA to DNA found in the bodies of Opal Mills and Carol Ann Christensen. Jensen's the guy who did the thankless soul-destroying data entry on the thousands and thousands of tips the task force received. Ann Rule calls him the keeper of the flame, and that's not wrong. This graphic novel is his side of the story.
I like collecting parallax views of serial killers & infamous murderers, so I found it particularly interesting to match Jensen's narrative up against Rule & Keppel. Things do look different from where he stands, while still clearly being the same story. Jensen isn't exaggerating his father's contributions (WHICH WERE ENORMOUS) or trying to skew the facts to create a different interpretation. But he's looking at the investigation from the inside out, instead of, like Rule, from the outside in, and it does make a difference in what kind of story you end up telling. Jensen's story is about heroism of a weird and private kind that almost no one is going to recognize as heroism: the dogged persistence with which Tom Jensen preserved the Green River case, the decade-long waiting game he played without any guarantee that the case would EVER be solved. Also, the dogged persistence with which he interrogated Gary Ridgway, trying in this situation to work from the outside in, trying to figure out how to COMMUNICATE with Ridgway, who is portrayed as someone who is incomprehensible, to himself as much as to anyone else, who simply doesn't have the intellectual equipment to explain what he is. (And who may also be lying his ass off at any given moment.) And, maybe most importantly, the kindness Jensen gives the families of the victims. Jeff Jensen changes all the names, so I don't know for sure which families are shown, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if he's made up a composite to stand in for all the victims and all their families. The important part is the kindness. The compassion and respect. The refusal to dismiss the victims as unimportant just because they had been driven to prostitution.
(That was another thing I yelled at the audiobook of The Serial Killer Whisperer: How One Man's Tragedy Helped Unlock the Deadliest Secrets of the World's Most Terrifying Killers about: Earley asserts that women came to Anchorage in the '80s because of the "easy money" to be made in prostitution. That's not easy money, dickface. That's desperate money.)
This is a graphic novel, and not a massive one like From Hell or a multivolume extravaganza like Sandman. It's giving a very partial view of the Green River case, and that is okay. It's preserving an important viewpoint. We need this kind of dog's-eye view just as much as we need the bird's eyes of Rule & Keppel.
I was not super keen on the art, which owes a lot to Scott McCloud and is clearly heavily influenced by Watchmen (I recognize the structural tricks in the composition of panels and the segues). It wasn't bad or obtrusive, but it did not rock my world, and I'm not entirely sure it brought more to the story than Jensen would have had with a straight text narrative. But I'm willing to believe that's just me.
I like collecting parallax views of serial killers & infamous murderers, so I found it particularly interesting to match Jensen's narrative up against Rule & Keppel. Things do look different from where he stands, while still clearly being the same story. Jensen isn't exaggerating his father's contributions (WHICH WERE ENORMOUS) or trying to skew the facts to create a different interpretation. But he's looking at the investigation from the inside out, instead of, like Rule, from the outside in, and it does make a difference in what kind of story you end up telling. Jensen's story is about heroism of a weird and private kind that almost no one is going to recognize as heroism: the dogged persistence with which Tom Jensen preserved the Green River case, the decade-long waiting game he played without any guarantee that the case would EVER be solved. Also, the dogged persistence with which he interrogated Gary Ridgway, trying in this situation to work from the outside in, trying to figure out how to COMMUNICATE with Ridgway, who is portrayed as someone who is incomprehensible, to himself as much as to anyone else, who simply doesn't have the intellectual equipment to explain what he is. (And who may also be lying his ass off at any given moment.) And, maybe most importantly, the kindness Jensen gives the families of the victims. Jeff Jensen changes all the names, so I don't know for sure which families are shown, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if he's made up a composite to stand in for all the victims and all their families. The important part is the kindness. The compassion and respect. The refusal to dismiss the victims as unimportant just because they had been driven to prostitution.
(That was another thing I yelled at the audiobook of The Serial Killer Whisperer: How One Man's Tragedy Helped Unlock the Deadliest Secrets of the World's Most Terrifying Killers about: Earley asserts that women came to Anchorage in the '80s because of the "easy money" to be made in prostitution. That's not easy money, dickface. That's desperate money.)
This is a graphic novel, and not a massive one like From Hell or a multivolume extravaganza like Sandman. It's giving a very partial view of the Green River case, and that is okay. It's preserving an important viewpoint. We need this kind of dog's-eye view just as much as we need the bird's eyes of Rule & Keppel.
I was not super keen on the art, which owes a lot to Scott McCloud and is clearly heavily influenced by Watchmen (I recognize the structural tricks in the composition of panels and the segues). It wasn't bad or obtrusive, but it did not rock my world, and I'm not entirely sure it brought more to the story than Jensen would have had with a straight text narrative. But I'm willing to believe that's just me.
December 17, 2023
This true-crime graphic novel about Gary Ridgway aka the Green River Killer was surprisingly tender and an unapologetic love letter from the author to his father who was one of the lead detectives on the case. Author Jeff Jensen’s father, Detective Tom Jensen, worked the Green River case for two decades and once Ridgway was caught, he was on the task force that interviewed him for details on his crimes. Having a real-life connection to the case, similar in a way to My Friend Dahmer, made the narrative obviously more authentic and poignant.
The story begins in 1965 when a teenage Ridgway attempts to kill a young boy just for the joy of killing. While unsuccessful, while serving in Vietnam a few years later, he begins his unhealthy fascination with prostitutes and brings that sickness home to Seattle. It is after his second divorce that he goes on his crime spree, killing most of his victims from 1982-84, although he would periodically kill for years afterward. Almost all of his dozens of victims were young prostitutes that were killed after he raped them and were dumped near the Green River.
We are introduced to Tom Jensen, who was also a soldier and joined the police force afterward, eventually becoming a respected detective. He begins investigating the case along with a large group of other detectives, but after the crimes drop off and many of the detectives are re-assigned he doggedly continues with the case. New advances in technology link several victims with a swab that was taken from Ridgway earlier, as he had been an early suspect, and he was apprehended in late 2001.
The chronology skips around in the narrative showing both Jensen and Ridgway on parallel tracks, both former soldiers and fathers, but who are polar opposites with their morality. This fresh take on the tired trope of a manhunt for a serial killer showcases Jensen’s life and work on the case, so it is more the man than the hunt we end up caring about. It is also Jonathan Case’s artwork that brings the story into focus. Done in black and white, Case’s linework is excellent, and his moody panels expertly bring you in and out of different eras in Jensen’s and Ridgway’s lives. He captures the look of Seattle with its outlying woods and the realistic aging of the characters.
While a sobering subject matter, the book was a quick read. The author is upfront that the story is not truly non-fiction as details were changed to preserve privacy for some, and it is more a story about his father than a true recounting of Ridgway’s crimes. While there is certainly graphic content and no shying away from the horror of the killings, the story is more about good persevering in the midst of evil. For a unique take on true crime, this book can’t be beaten.
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2019/07/1...
The story begins in 1965 when a teenage Ridgway attempts to kill a young boy just for the joy of killing. While unsuccessful, while serving in Vietnam a few years later, he begins his unhealthy fascination with prostitutes and brings that sickness home to Seattle. It is after his second divorce that he goes on his crime spree, killing most of his victims from 1982-84, although he would periodically kill for years afterward. Almost all of his dozens of victims were young prostitutes that were killed after he raped them and were dumped near the Green River.
We are introduced to Tom Jensen, who was also a soldier and joined the police force afterward, eventually becoming a respected detective. He begins investigating the case along with a large group of other detectives, but after the crimes drop off and many of the detectives are re-assigned he doggedly continues with the case. New advances in technology link several victims with a swab that was taken from Ridgway earlier, as he had been an early suspect, and he was apprehended in late 2001.
The chronology skips around in the narrative showing both Jensen and Ridgway on parallel tracks, both former soldiers and fathers, but who are polar opposites with their morality. This fresh take on the tired trope of a manhunt for a serial killer showcases Jensen’s life and work on the case, so it is more the man than the hunt we end up caring about. It is also Jonathan Case’s artwork that brings the story into focus. Done in black and white, Case’s linework is excellent, and his moody panels expertly bring you in and out of different eras in Jensen’s and Ridgway’s lives. He captures the look of Seattle with its outlying woods and the realistic aging of the characters.
While a sobering subject matter, the book was a quick read. The author is upfront that the story is not truly non-fiction as details were changed to preserve privacy for some, and it is more a story about his father than a true recounting of Ridgway’s crimes. While there is certainly graphic content and no shying away from the horror of the killings, the story is more about good persevering in the midst of evil. For a unique take on true crime, this book can’t be beaten.
This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2019/07/1...
July 23, 2021
Jeff Jensen does a fantastic job of telling his father Tom's story in the search for The Green River Killer. Tom was a police officer who was on the Green River Task Force and spent 20 years in pursuit of answers and justice. Illustrated by Jonathan Case, the amazing line work, stark black and white panels and judicious use of details perfectly bring this story to life. The pace of the story telling is wonderful as it really draws you along while jumping back and forth in time between the suspect being interrogated and the chase to find him years earlier.
This wasn't an overly gory book, but it's certainly somber and grim. I think the thing I was most impressed by is just how economical everything was. There was no wasted dialogue, not extraneous panels, just tight story telling that was well edited and gripping. This is what I think a lot of other books, true or not, hope to be. Jeff doesn't paint his father as a perfect figure, but Tom is understandable, engaging and likeable. He's human and his motives are real and relatable. This is overall a very satisfying read and an easy recommendation for fans of true crime or police stories.
This wasn't an overly gory book, but it's certainly somber and grim. I think the thing I was most impressed by is just how economical everything was. There was no wasted dialogue, not extraneous panels, just tight story telling that was well edited and gripping. This is what I think a lot of other books, true or not, hope to be. Jeff doesn't paint his father as a perfect figure, but Tom is understandable, engaging and likeable. He's human and his motives are real and relatable. This is overall a very satisfying read and an easy recommendation for fans of true crime or police stories.
March 6, 2017
This true crime graphic novel is about one of the most prolific serial killers of all time. It's told through the eyes of one of the lead detectives Tom Jensen. It profiles his hunt for Gary Ridgway who was eventually caught and convicted of murdering 49 women and girls, most of whom were prostitutes or runaways.
As weird as it sounds, I find serial killer reads to be pretty interesting. This one has an even additional twist as Tom Jensen's son, Jeff is the author. The story is chronicled pretty thoroughly and gives you the insight to the determination and work it took for all involved to capture Ridgway as well as a small glimpse into the mind of a nutjob.
As weird as it sounds, I find serial killer reads to be pretty interesting. This one has an even additional twist as Tom Jensen's son, Jeff is the author. The story is chronicled pretty thoroughly and gives you the insight to the determination and work it took for all involved to capture Ridgway as well as a small glimpse into the mind of a nutjob.
February 4, 2015
This had been on my "to read list for a few years, and it finally was available through my library system. Not bad. It gave insight into the life of a man who devoted his career to finding a serial killer.
July 12, 2023
Nice simple catching a killer book and trying to find out why he did it. All the characters are interesting enough though not mind-blowing. The crimes are disturbing as expected. Reminds me of a episode of Mind Hunter. A 4 out of 5.
March 12, 2021
What a fantastic graphic novel. Jeff Jenson has done a brilliant job of telling the story of his father Tom and his job in the police on the search and eventual, painstaking arrest of the Green River Killer Gary Ridgway. I'm quite an avid fan of true crime and knew of the GRK, but even I didn't know the true extent of a) the number of women he killed and b) the stories behind the women and the reasons why. It was very interesting to read the novel from the point of view of Ridgway too, showing that despite his horrendous crimes he is still a man, just like the policemen assigned to his case and bizarrely, he has a heart too.
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