Diary of a Predator: A Memoir

by Amy Herdy

This groundbreaking tour de force presents the gripping, true account of one of America's most notorious serial rapists and the tough female journalist assigned to cover his case.

Following an exhaustive manhunt and his capture in 2005, Brent Brents sent letters and his journal to Denver Post reporter Amy Herdy -- with the condition that she alone tell his story. Here, then, in his raw and uncensored words, Brents reveals shocking details about his childhood abuse and the monstrous acts he later committed. Going way beyond just the facts, he gives us an unprecedented look inside the twisted mind of a sociopath.

At the same time, Amy has a personal story to tell. Rocked to the core by Brents' disturbing case, she sets out to understand this ruthless criminal only to be confronted with her own troubled past. Ultimately, she must make a choice that will change her life forever.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Biography

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 2011

Reviews

[Sabrina Gutierrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to rate a true crime book on the star system...I'm not rating it high because I condone the amount or severity of the violence the book describes. However, as someone who is so interested in the morbidity of human nature, this book was undeniably intriguing.

Brent Brents' story is many things: horrifying, traumatizing, haunting, terrifying. His crimes were horribly violent and seemingly unforgiveable. And yet, somehow, Herdy manages to show her readers that Brents wanted so desperately to be "normal", and that's almost just as heartbreaking.

This book is EXTREMELY hard to read sometimes. Even the most hardcore true crime fan will take pause at some point. It's graphic and intense and almost unimaginable in the amount of violence he inflicted upon his victims. But despite all that, I couldn't put it down. Herdy's own journey intertwined with Brents shows that even the most violent criminals are human who maybe, just maybe, could have led very different lives if only they had been treated decently. It's no excuse, and it doesn't absolve Brents of his crimes. But it does speak to the power of our human experience. And this story is a hard lesson in the horror and hope in all of us.

[Kirsta]

It's hard to choose a rating for this book based on the star criteria provided by goodreads. I appreciated it, I think it was well done, but to say that I really liked it or loved it, that's tough. This is an experience as much as it is a read and I can't say that the experience or my thoughts or reactions were pleasant, based on the subject material. I question Herdy's boundaries or lack thereof, while I commend her for looking something square in the face that most choose to ignore.

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two views

This book shows two views of life for a predator and his author. I liked reading from both perspectives, his outlook and hers. They became friends and supporters , therefore both lives were changed forever. He learned to trust, and she learned to forgive. I am looking forward to discussing this in our book club later.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book really interesting. I do feel that do to the graphic nature it would be difficult for most readers. I know that many people did not enjoy that she had so many letters from Brent Brents and how all of this involved her life but I felt it added to the story.

[Cee Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rough glimpse into the world of sociopaths

I really wanted to love this book and opened it up with high expectations.

It is about the life and crimes of serial rapist Brent J Brents-- a man i recall in the news twice in my life, when he raped children in the late 80s and then went on a rabid rape spree in Denver in the early 2000s. The news stories had a great effect on me and I still look at the place where one of the crimes occurred and think about it.

This book is well and meticulously written by former Denver Post reporter Amy Herdy. She had exclusive rights to Brent J Brents ear and confidence during his arrest and trial and after and so is able to write the book with all the graphic and intimate details a blood hungry true crime junkie could ever want in today's society .

It's also a documentation of Amy Herdy's own childhood, insecurities and her journey to resolve her memories with her abusive brother who was a lot like Brent Brents.

For me I saw Brents come across as a compulsive liar, a slippery sociopath and sadist who follows in the footsteps of Ted Bundy, Christian Longo and the likes in putting a reporter on a pedestal, singling them out for flattery, insisting they're the ONLY ONES who can tell their story and thereby ensuring their story gets told .

I found myself caught up in being annoyed and sickened by Brents textbook psychopath "woe is me" whining and the chapter by chapter insistence that we need to feel bad for him .

Brents crimes are in no way excused by Amy Herdy who is a very good writer, fearless and thorough and filled to the brim with empathy for all victims to the crimes including the innocent child that Brents once was. This book in a strange way feels more like an inspirational self help novel about finding one's meaning and spiritual journey and it just creates an odd disjointed combo mixing scenes of protective balls of light and kidnapping teen prostitutes and torturing them.

A strange read to be sure.

[Allison Strate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book touched me.

I appreciate Amy Herdy and this book. The fact is that children are the future and there are way too many using children for their horrors and this is ongoing. Cycle of abuse or just sick adults who choose to make children pay for their sickness. The foster system is not adequately monitored- for every true good family there are several using the system for their own selfish needs. We fail children again and again and then act shocked when they turn into criminal adults. With so much corruption, the system that needs an overhaul will continue to be corrupt and fail our future. Its sad and it needs to be said and documented. Thank you Amy Herdy.

[Shakera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really going back and forth on whether or not I should rate this book. Its a little crass to rate such atrocities that left so many victims broken. However, this is well-written story that challenges the reader to not only empathize with the victims, but to lend a little compassion and understanding to those who are truly "the product of their environment". Without it, you yourself run the risk of becoming the person you never really intended to be. As the book often implied "It's easy to hate evil people but its harder to see what created them". I was amazed at the strength it took for Amy Herdy to even subject herself to such darkness in search of the light and I was taken aback by how some of the victims were able to forgive him for the horrors he inflicted. Yet this lesson on empathy, compassion, understanding and MOST OF All creating a loving, kind, home for our kids to thrive in, makes this worth reading. HOWEVER, READER BEWARE. Brent Betts is a serial rapist and sociopath whose crimes are outlined in enough detail to make your stomach flinch.

[April Kniess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a true story about a vicious serial rapist. I had to keep putting this book down to get a break from the horrific crimes this man (Brent) performed on innocent victims. Unfortunately his up bringing created lots of mental problems for him that carried into his adulthood. He turned into a sociopath with no way out without tons of treatment that he never received. It’s hard to feel sorry for him but at the same time I caught myself feeling sorry for his childhood. If only one adult could have loved him like a child should feel true love, safety and trust.

[E Post]

I couldn’t finish this book. I usually am a big fan of true crime but I could not deal with the author’s personal diary trying to parallel with the perpetrator. It did not make sense, it was not a relevant connection. If she wrote two separate books: one about her own personal childhood experiences and how that influenced her journalism career and ANOTHER book about just the true crime case without her weird personal influence on it.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNF it's supposed to be about Brent Brents one of the worst sexual predators in Colorado history but instead I read the Author's life story totally disappointed

[Suz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting book, a local story, for me, by a crime reporter from the Denver Post about her interactions with a notorious serial rapist, Brent Brents. Brents confided in her and gave her access to his letters and journals, many of which are reprinted in the book, as well as the correspondence between the two. This is not the sort of book I usually read, and I enjoyed it. I found myself wishing for more about Herdy's job and less about Brents, though. I think I would have liked a book where she focused on various in-depth stories she'd written and the politics of the Post with maybe a chapter or two about Brents. That would've been a much different book, of course.

[Ashlon Pineiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very disturbing. And bizarre considering I live in the Denver/Boulder area and I've been to alot of the locations referenced in the book. The accounts of sexual relations with his immediate family were especially rough. I think Amy spent too much time talking about herself and trying to compare her situation to his, which is complete nonsense. Her personal 'trauma', which consists of average middle-class white problems, holds no candle to the crap that Brent went through. She needs to take the self pity down a notch. Otherwise, very edgy and entertaining.

[Venessa Johnstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still thinking about it......