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Against Their Will: Sadistic Kidnappers and the Courageous Stories of Their Innocent Victims
DEPRAVED KIDNAPPERS, HORRIFIC ORDEALS, COURAGEOUS SURVIVORS
True stories of twisted criminals who hold their victims in endless captivity to satisfy their perverse desires, Against Their Will is a comprehensive compendium of the most disturbing kidnappings of all time.
Jaycee Lee Dugard — lived to tell the tale of her 18 years of captivity in paroled rapist Phillip Garrido’s suburban backyard.
Elizabeth Smart — bravely held on for 9 long months in a forced marriage to religious fanatic Brian David Mitchell, who repeatedly raped her in the name of God.
Elisabeth Fritzl — amazingly overcame 24 years trapped in a basement dungeon built especially for her by her father, Josef.
Colleen Stan — heroically endured 7 years as a sex slave, brutally tortured with the full consent of her captor’s wife.
Tina Marie Risico — escaped certain death at the hands of a killer by being an unwilling accomplice in other kidnappings.
True stories of twisted criminals who hold their victims in endless captivity to satisfy their perverse desires, Against Their Will is a comprehensive compendium of the most disturbing kidnappings of all time.
Jaycee Lee Dugard — lived to tell the tale of her 18 years of captivity in paroled rapist Phillip Garrido’s suburban backyard.
Elizabeth Smart — bravely held on for 9 long months in a forced marriage to religious fanatic Brian David Mitchell, who repeatedly raped her in the name of God.
Elisabeth Fritzl — amazingly overcame 24 years trapped in a basement dungeon built especially for her by her father, Josef.
Colleen Stan — heroically endured 7 years as a sex slave, brutally tortured with the full consent of her captor’s wife.
Tina Marie Risico — escaped certain death at the hands of a killer by being an unwilling accomplice in other kidnappings.
400 pages, Paperback
First published June 12, 2012
132 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Nigel Cawthorne
316 books124 followersNigel Cawthorne is an Anglo-American writer of fiction and non-fiction, and an editor. He has written more than 80 books on a wide range of subjects and has contributed to The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph Daily Mail and The New York Times. He has appeared on television and BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Many of Nigel Cawthorne's books are compilations of popular history, without footnotes, references or bibliographies. His own web site refers to a description of his home as a "book-writing factory" and says, "More than half my books were commissioned by publishers and packagers for a flat fee or for a for a reduced royalty".
One of his most notable works was Taking Back My Name, an autobiography of Ike Turner, with whom he spent a number of weeks working with him on, taking up residence in Turner's house. The book caused much controversy, resulting in court cases for three years following its release.
Cawthorne currently lives in Bloomsbury, London with his girlfriend and son, Colin (born 1982).
Many of Nigel Cawthorne's books are compilations of popular history, without footnotes, references or bibliographies. His own web site refers to a description of his home as a "book-writing factory" and says, "More than half my books were commissioned by publishers and packagers for a flat fee or for a for a reduced royalty".
One of his most notable works was Taking Back My Name, an autobiography of Ike Turner, with whom he spent a number of weeks working with him on, taking up residence in Turner's house. The book caused much controversy, resulting in court cases for three years following its release.
Cawthorne currently lives in Bloomsbury, London with his girlfriend and son, Colin (born 1982).
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 28, 2021
TRIGGER WARNING: This book is HARD to read because of the descriptions of sexual, physical and mental abuse and torture of the survivors, most of whom were children when this happened. This book is not for the faint of heart. If you survived a similar trauma, I don’t know that you’d want to read this.
That said, this is a 5 star book because it does a good job of reporting on horrible crimes. Nothing is left out. Nothing is glossed over. It’s RAW and shocking and disgusting. However you have to understand what they went through to really appreciate how they overcame their captors. Also it was intriguing and shocking also to see how the captors saw themselves. Some knew what they were doing and admitted to it in the end. Some sincerely thought they did no wrong. I’m not sure how that’s possible.
I was literally glued to this book. I couldn’t put it down. Many of the kids in this book eventually wrote a book about their experiences. So after reading this book, you can look at the bibliography to find out about their books if you want to know more. One last thing that I found shocking, a few of the captive kids had access to TV and actually saw other kids from this same book after they escaped or were found on TV. The still captive kids used the freed kid’s story as hope for themselves.
That said, this is a 5 star book because it does a good job of reporting on horrible crimes. Nothing is left out. Nothing is glossed over. It’s RAW and shocking and disgusting. However you have to understand what they went through to really appreciate how they overcame their captors. Also it was intriguing and shocking also to see how the captors saw themselves. Some knew what they were doing and admitted to it in the end. Some sincerely thought they did no wrong. I’m not sure how that’s possible.
I was literally glued to this book. I couldn’t put it down. Many of the kids in this book eventually wrote a book about their experiences. So after reading this book, you can look at the bibliography to find out about their books if you want to know more. One last thing that I found shocking, a few of the captive kids had access to TV and actually saw other kids from this same book after they escaped or were found on TV. The still captive kids used the freed kid’s story as hope for themselves.
September 14, 2016
This book has made it onto my list as one of my all time favorite summary books of all time!
Why?, you may ask. Well my dear friend I am going to tell you why.
The title of Against Their Will rings completely true to the contents within, (unlike so many other books). To me the most important word is "AND". Many summary books on cases of kidnapping or sadistic killers focus their attention on either the victim, or the kidnapper. Cawthorne however, gives equal space to both. He retells a shortened version of the story highlighting the most important facts for both sides.
This book includes 16 different tales of kidnappings ranging in time from the early 1990's to the early 2000ths, in locations all over the globe. The author covers cases of children from both genders in all age ranges. Each case is given ample room for explanation, with some cases being shorter than others, due to the shorter duration of the case itself. I had previously read a few of the original in depth books on the cases, from which he pulled his information. This is how I can confidently say that you are really getting a detailed short version of the cases. As a recreational researcher or true crime reader you will love this book. It is a great way to learn about a lot of cases quickly and decide which ones you may want to dive deeper into.
I had previously read reviews on this author, with some claiming that he summarized without a reference list. This is untrue(at least for this book), he does create a beautiful summary but includes all of his sources in the back of the book; making it easy for the reader to obtain more information on any of the 16 cases.
I also really enjoyed that the last case in the book described a Jane Doe case. Which is something you do not often see.
Overall I would highly recommend this book. It will stay on my shelf of favorites and I will be looking back on it in the future. I now intent to read further into some of the cases presented in the book, as well as more of this authors work. If you are doing serious research, I would not site this book as a source. However, as a recreational reader on this subject, Against Their Will is a must read.
Why?, you may ask. Well my dear friend I am going to tell you why.
The title of Against Their Will rings completely true to the contents within, (unlike so many other books). To me the most important word is "AND". Many summary books on cases of kidnapping or sadistic killers focus their attention on either the victim, or the kidnapper. Cawthorne however, gives equal space to both. He retells a shortened version of the story highlighting the most important facts for both sides.
This book includes 16 different tales of kidnappings ranging in time from the early 1990's to the early 2000ths, in locations all over the globe. The author covers cases of children from both genders in all age ranges. Each case is given ample room for explanation, with some cases being shorter than others, due to the shorter duration of the case itself. I had previously read a few of the original in depth books on the cases, from which he pulled his information. This is how I can confidently say that you are really getting a detailed short version of the cases. As a recreational researcher or true crime reader you will love this book. It is a great way to learn about a lot of cases quickly and decide which ones you may want to dive deeper into.
I had previously read reviews on this author, with some claiming that he summarized without a reference list. This is untrue(at least for this book), he does create a beautiful summary but includes all of his sources in the back of the book; making it easy for the reader to obtain more information on any of the 16 cases.
I also really enjoyed that the last case in the book described a Jane Doe case. Which is something you do not often see.
Overall I would highly recommend this book. It will stay on my shelf of favorites and I will be looking back on it in the future. I now intent to read further into some of the cases presented in the book, as well as more of this authors work. If you are doing serious research, I would not site this book as a source. However, as a recreational reader on this subject, Against Their Will is a must read.
February 1, 2016
This book is not for someone who has a weak stomach, it gives all the gory details of what went on in the years of the victims being held captive.
Jaycee Lee Dugard
She was strong, very strong. For 18 years she was held captive, was pregnant at 14 and lived in a backyard. It's amazing how she survived all of what she went through.
Elisabeth Fritzl
Her father (I don't even want to give him the privilege of being called a father because a father doesn't do what he did to his daughter) took away her life, her innocence, her will to live, her friends, the chance to graduate, married & have children normally not out of incest. He build and underground celler just to kidnap his daughter for his disgusting desires, then when she had children by him he had the gall to leave 3 of the kids of the door step to be raised by his wife. Didn't the wife think that the kids looked like him? Makes me wonder if the wife was in on it. All I could think of is what the heck was going through his mind when he did all of this????
Colleen Stan
This is the most horrifying & the most scariest case I've read.
The whole time I was reading it was like being in a horror movie, I was biting my nails all the while thinking there is no way in heck she's ever going to escape or survive this!!!! What type of sick person does this out of pleasure to a human being?! Cameron was sick. He beat , tortured & raped Colleen, then on top of that he electrocuted her, left her hanging from a pole, whipped her every night, locked her in a box and she had her be his maid. Then put her out into a field to make her run for hours while he chased her down with his car. Ugh!! All the while his wife Janice approved of his sick desires as long as she could have a baby and be left alone. I was surprised that Janice helped Colleen escape then it was said that the reason why is because in her sick mind she was jealous of sharing her husband with another woman. This case was just sad.
Gary Heidnik and the basement baby farms
Gary kidnapped a prostitute named Josefina Rivera, he was lonely and wanted babies. Josefina was one of many women who were kidnapped, Gary started collection women & trying to impregnate them. He took them to his basement where he tortured and chained them. Josefina outsmarted her captor and found a way to escape.
Sabine and Laetitia
These girls were locked in a celler. Sabine was first then he kidnapped Laetitia. Sabine did not want to discuss what her captor did to her but Laetitia said she was raped and beaten. Eventually her captor broke down and told the Police where they were.
Elizabeth Smart
Everyone knows who she is and what she went through. Her captor was a crazy man who put a twist on the Mormon religion trying to convince people that he was a Prophet & he had to have 49 wives. He made Elizabeth his 2nd wife. She went through 9 months of torture. Thank goodness someone recognized who Brian was and called the Police.
Natascha Kampuach
Her story is similar to Elisabeth Fritzl`s story. She story. She was held underground for 3,096 days.
Katie Beers
She was a neglected child, her mother didn't care about her, the house was always a mess, her mother had 22 cats and a dog, cockroaches were crawling all over the house, Katie clothes were always dirty and she had head lice. If her captor would have never broken down & said where Katie was at she would have never been found.
Steven Stayner
I remember his case from the movie "I know my first name is Steven" it's sad what he went through and that he died at age 24.
Charlene Lunnon & Lisa Hoodless
This case was sad also. They got kidnapped & abused by a man who'd been watching them for a long time.
John Jamelske
He collected women for his desires, first a 14 year old named Kristen, then another 14 year old named Catherine, then a 52 year old he made her work for him sewing quilts, hammering & sorting out screws. Eventually he let the woman go but the Police didn't believe what happened to her. Then he kidnapped Jennifer and let let her go, the Police didn't believe her either. All women were of different race, Native American, Latina, Asian, Caucasian & an African-American named Meikka whom he developed feelings for. Eventually he was caught & arrested.
Shawn Hornbeck
I read about him while reading Amanda Berry & Gina Dejesus book "Hope"
Shawn had access to the internet and a phone but refuse to call the Police for help because he promised not to flee in order to stay alive.
Zalina Israilova
She was kidnapped along with 10 other women. She escaped but was lured back by her brother because she knew too much. She was murdered & placed in an unmarked grave.
Tina Marie Risico
She was her captor`s accomplice, unwillingly she was forced to help her captor lure other victims into his car.
Sharon Marshall
This case was sad too. Warren Marshall & Sharon Marshall pretended to be daughter & father, in reality Warren kidnapped Sharon when she was just a toddler. They moved around a lot because every time Sharon made a friend they moved because Warren didn't want the friend to know too much about them. Then Sharon started using the name Connie and her & Warren posted as husband and wife. Sharon was involved in a hit & run, she was left to die on the side of the road. People say Warren did it because Sharon knew too much. She took their secrets to the grave with her.
Lena Simakina & Katya Martynova
These two girls going to a party got into a car with a man and a woman, thinking they were safe because a woman was in the car, they were wrong. The man laced the Vodka he offered them & there then in an underground dungeon. Lena gave birth twice in the dungeon. After 1,320 days they were able to escape, deprived of sunlight Lena could not longer walk without being helped, her skin was light green and she smelled of mold.
September 22, 2020
Did not disappoint
The accounts of the kidnappings, deaths, beatings and rituals of these sadistic criminals reported here were horrific. Each story was very specific. The survivors are all miracles... These inhumane creatures caused so much pain and torment to these women and children, that they should never be forgiven. They should be tortured for the rest of their lives like they tortured their victims. Incredible how they were allowed to repeat their offenses again and again as law enforcement, child services, parole and probation officers, the public, neighbors turned a blind eye to the red flags at every turn. I'm appalled at how these people can even sleep at night knowing that their laziness, cowardice, and flat out ignorance, caused the pain of these individuals to go on and on for the rest of the victims lives. Disgusting.
The accounts of the kidnappings, deaths, beatings and rituals of these sadistic criminals reported here were horrific. Each story was very specific. The survivors are all miracles... These inhumane creatures caused so much pain and torment to these women and children, that they should never be forgiven. They should be tortured for the rest of their lives like they tortured their victims. Incredible how they were allowed to repeat their offenses again and again as law enforcement, child services, parole and probation officers, the public, neighbors turned a blind eye to the red flags at every turn. I'm appalled at how these people can even sleep at night knowing that their laziness, cowardice, and flat out ignorance, caused the pain of these individuals to go on and on for the rest of the victims lives. Disgusting.
April 15, 2022
This book is far more graphic than I anticipated. I thought it would be focused more on how the victims were able to survive and escape, however there was a lot of very graphic focus on the abuse they experienced. There is a disclaimer in the front of the book, but it was still pretty shocking. In addition there were quite a few grammatical errors and the writing often read like a wikipedia or reddit post than an actual book. It is amazing either way how some of these victims have survived and managed to escape after years of being hidden from the world.
September 21, 2020
Victims and survivors
Well detailed account of multiple abductions and sexual toeture. Both American and European accounts . Difficult reading because it is a detailed.
Well detailed account of multiple abductions and sexual toeture. Both American and European accounts . Difficult reading because it is a detailed.
August 20, 2023
act read a book called ‘their innocent flower’ but didnt find it on gr lol
October 16, 2025
Just ok. Didn’t like the writing style.
August 18, 2016
So, I haven't actually finished the book at this point. I'm just starting chapter 9, which is the one about Steven Stayner. So far I do like the book. The chapters are fairly short, about 20 pages each. Especially when you take in to account all that these children endured, and the length of time that they were gone. There is one thing about the book that really bothers me though. I absolutely cannot believe the amount of typos that are in this book. There is one specific sentence on the very first page of chapter 9, which is page 221, that really frustrated me though. "In the mornings, the eldest child, Carey, a sixth grader, would reluctantly shepherd her three younger siblings, Steven, Cindy, and Jody, the twelve blocks to school." First of all, I don't think I've ever seen a sentence with that many commas in it ever. Secondly, and this is what really bothered me, Carey is NOT a girl! HE actually ended up becoming famous, or infamous rather, in his own right. he grew up to become the Yosemite Killer. You would think that someone who researched the details about these abductions would know something like that. There are many other typos that I have come across so far as well, including a couple more on the same page.
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November 30, 2015I can't rate books like this. It's hard when the stories are real and the pain is real. So I have chosen not to read it.
It's all short stores about (as the title states) victims of sadistic people who kidnapped them and did horrible things to them. It was disturbing, and sad and very real. Some of the stories you already know like Jaycee Dugard and Elizabeth Smart, others I didn't know about.
I think the most disturbing one is Sharon Marshall. I won't give anything away but this one really bothered me out of all of them. Again even thou they are all disturbing and horrible in their own way.
I did not like the writing. It was very dry and matter of fact. To tell of a courageous story of a victim you think there would be a little bit of emotion in the stories, but nothing what so ever. It was...this happening, this is how they survived...and this is what happened to the perp. I know it's hard to write about this but I did expect a little more compassion for the victims.
This is a book for true crime lovers for sure. Won't read it again myself.
It's all short stores about (as the title states) victims of sadistic people who kidnapped them and did horrible things to them. It was disturbing, and sad and very real. Some of the stories you already know like Jaycee Dugard and Elizabeth Smart, others I didn't know about.
I think the most disturbing one is Sharon Marshall. I won't give anything away but this one really bothered me out of all of them. Again even thou they are all disturbing and horrible in their own way.
I did not like the writing. It was very dry and matter of fact. To tell of a courageous story of a victim you think there would be a little bit of emotion in the stories, but nothing what so ever. It was...this happening, this is how they survived...and this is what happened to the perp. I know it's hard to write about this but I did expect a little more compassion for the victims.
This is a book for true crime lovers for sure. Won't read it again myself.
July 13, 2012
This is a collection of several stories about kidnappers, psychopaths and the torture they inflicted on their victims. I thought it was going to focus more on the survivors and how they overcame the experiences but it focused on the actual crimes. It got a bit repetitive because some of the stories were similar, apparently kidnappers are not to original. It was easy to pick out patterns that could be used to teach children about kidnapping and what to do if it happens to them.
September 13, 2015
Although this book concerns a grisly topic, I feel that the author's writing level wasn't up to standard. I thought that the book was going to concentrate more on the survivors of these cases, however it's more a detailed case of the abuse suffered by the victims. overall, I found this book rather disappointing as my expectations were higher.
December 3, 2015
This book did focus greatly on the atrocities that so many young people had to endure, but I would have liked to have more insight to the aftermath and the paths of healing that the survivors were able to accomplish. I as well noticed many spelling and grammatical errors in this book that should not have been overlooked if edited properly.
December 15, 2015
I have heard of a few of the victims mentioned in this book before and some I haven't heard of. The author outlines the case histories of each in small chunks. My heart goes out to all those who have been victims and have lost their childhood / families / lives to these sadistically horribly people.
I disagree with many of the other reviews. I felt this book was very well written.
I disagree with many of the other reviews. I felt this book was very well written.
October 22, 2013
Its shocking to think that those type of people exist. But yet so interesting as to why and what they did. This book is for people who are into real crime, it is a true story and will want you to keep reading!
September 26, 2013
Scary! Made me know about a lot of stuff that I probably would have been better off NOT knowing about.
September 9, 2016
All the icky details of horrible kidnapped victims, most who amazingly survived and have lived on.
July 17, 2014
this book is amazing and really shows how sadistic some people could be.
February 21, 2015
Grisly topic but well done book on variety of notorious kidnapping and sexual assault cases. Disturbing that there are so many trusting young girls who can fall prey to molesters and murderers.
May 15, 2015
this is a very disturbing book, and the author in my opinion isnt the best writer.
April 29, 2021
Since I'm interested in this kind of content, I thought this was a great book. However, there were a ton of spelling and grammar mistakes that I didn’t appreciate.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews