Innocence Lost

by Carlton Stowers

Undercover officer George Raffield's job was to pose as a student in the small town of Midlothian, Texas and infiltrate the high school drug ring. When Raffield's cover became suspect, word spread through a small circle of friends that the young officer would pay with his life. No one stopped it. On a rainy fall evening in 1987, Raffield was lured to an isolated field. Three bullets were fired-one unloaded into his skull. The baby-faced killer, Greg Knighten, stole eighteen dollars from Raffield's wallet, divided it among his two young accomplices, and calmly said, "it's done."

With chilling detail, Carlton Stowers illuminates a dark corner of America's heartland and the children who hide there. What he found was an alienated subculture of drug abuse, the occult, and an unfathomable teenage rage that exploded at point blank range on a shocking night of lost innocence...

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

336 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very disturbing story about a young undercover police officer investigating drug use in a Texas suburban high school by befriending a group of students, two of whom were eventually responsible for his murder.

I think this was a tragic event that could have been prevented by using less intrusive methods of addressing drug use in schools.

[Koren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very a very sad story about a young cop who goes undercover in a high school to search out drug dealers and ends up getting killed. Looking at the pic of the guy in the book, it wasn't surprising to me that some people suspected right away that he was too old to be a high school student. I think there are a lot of things that could have been done differently in this story. It held my interest until almost to the end, but at times was a bit confusing as it went back and forth in time rather abruptly.

[John Allen · Rating 1 out of 5]

A bunch of good old boys put a 25 year old "undercover cop" with a five o clock shadow in a Texas high school to make busts for marijuana and speed. One of the boys--who was befriended by the deceased hero of the story--finds out, goes nuts and shoots the cop. Nobody wins.

[♥ Marlene♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorry do not remember and cannot find any data about it except that I thought it was worth reading according to best of list. so it could also be a 3 star book.

[Christgau4 · Rating 1 out of 5]

A terrible book. Stowers is incredibly negligent in his reporting. Was this written at the behest of the hapless Midlothian Police Department and the supremely incompetent Roy Vaughn and Billy Fowler? Roy Vaughn, especially, is one of the great losers in the history of Texas law enforcement. Make no mistake: the teens indicted for the murder of George Raffield are solely responsible for his death. But it is clear that the employees of the Midlothian Police Department were in way over their heads. This wasn't LA or Miami. This was a little town in Texas, "protected" by a bunch of silly cowboys. Tragic.

Also, Stowers writes the worst recreated dialogue in the true crime genre.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Innocence Lost by Carlton Stowers is the true crime retelling of an undercover investigation with a very sad ending. A small Texas town with a drug problem in the high school, and a police department determined to get the problem under control. This book recounts the entire investigation, beginning with the decision to put an undercover officer in the high school.
This is the first true crime novel I’ve ever read and I really enjoyed it. I think the telling of the story is intriguing, although sometimes I was confused by unexpected changes in POV. All in all I think Stowers did a great job on this book. I recommend it and will definitely read more of his books.

[Kay Claxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Innocent Town Lost!!

I lived and worked in Midlothian not long after this tragedy. I may have never even heard about it, except for the fact that I worked with two of the people mentioned in this book. After reading this story, I was amazed at how well I knew some of the people who were prominently featured in this story. My heart goes out to the Raffield family, and I have high praise for the Midlothian police officers and for George Turner. I'm so sorry for the whole town.

[Robyn]

This was the first gift my sweetie gave me, when I was in hospital having surgery 2 weeks after we met. He knew by then that I like to read, wanted to bring me something to read in hospital, but didn't know what type of books I enjoy so he got this because I worked for the police dept. I hate true crime stories & will never read it, but can't get rid of it because of the nostalgia of the gift. :)

[Shay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book straight through. I found it very interesting and heartbreaking. Although Carlton Sowers is an Edgar Award winning author - and I do enjoy his writing - he can sometimes get too tedious. I did not find that to be true in this book. Tragic story all the way around.

[Elyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Innocence Lost is a well-written and suspenseful true crime book about an undercover cop who was murdered by high school students in a small Texas town.

[Rhonda O'meilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story took place literally in my back yard! Disturbing! Folks in town still don't want to talk about it!

[Tyler Nals · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

In part something that another, more literary person wrote about Carlton Stowers and in part my own words, I feel this quote sums ups not only this particular book but all books written by Carlton Stowers. As Follows:

"The book made a huge impression on me because Carlton’s writing was beautiful, his pacing flawless, his ability to characterize through nuance reminiscent of our best novelists. Perhaps most important of all, he exhibited that special sensitivity and gift for creating intimacy with victims and their families unique to the finest practitioners of the genre…….and passing this on to his readers in a very personal and intimate manner".

[Alexander K Landry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book,review

I always compare his books to ann rule. In fairness his are of a slightly different tone. All of his true crime books are good. He goes into almost as much family and community dynamics as she. His other books outside of true crime may be good also. I have never read any.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book. Not too heavy on the details that some others get into (like the name of every person ever involved in the case that means nothing) and a story that wants you to keep reading. Unfortunately it ends as so many do with lawyers stepping in at trial time and twisting everything for their client and in the end, justice does not get served as it should.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I raised my kids in Duncanville in the 80^s and 90’s and watched so many friends of ours move to Midlothian due to issues in schools with drugs and culture. I was horrified by this story and the outcome. It was a walk back in time for me and enjoyed the history of all the cities and times!

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unsettling, tragic story of an undercover drug operation in a Texas high school. One of those "well, duh, you really aren't SURPRISED the kids in this town do drugs, are you? Oh, wait, you are?" books.

[Frances C · Rating 5 out of 5]

great writing

A journalist’s style of storytelling but also so well researched that the story is enhanced , and the author’s empathy is palpable.
I like this author so much I’ve downloaded more of his books.

[Nancy L. Mounce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and sad read about the town I live in and tragic killing of an undercover cop.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part oFmy true crime binge.

[ErikaShmerika Wine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really thoroughly researched and compassionately told.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Innocence Lost by Carlton Stowers an undercover police officer is hired to go as a teenager in a high school in Midlothian, Texas filled with marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and a lot of drug deals. His name is George Raffield. One day, he goes missing, and nobody can find him. So they start a county wide search which eventually spreads out farther. Officials kept interviewing people who could have possibly known where he was going, had air and foot searches. His sister was devastated to hear the news. She had thought to herself what she was going to do with all these candied apples. She never thought that her brother would have gone missing at the age of 21. He was crazy for candied apples and aspired to be a police officer ever since he was a little child. The investigation continues on, and police finally come across a teenage boy, but he isn’t just any normal teenage boy. The book jacket of this book made me more curious and interested to read this book. The book jacket offered where the town was and that is was a nice, rural, farming community 30 miles outside of Dallas. Midlothian was becoming a place where it was safe to raise kids because the violence was diminishing. Then on day, a Midlothian teenager committed one murder that Midlothian, Texas will never forget. The book jacket then says that the undercover police officer was lured into a field and was found lying down in the field the next day. This information made me more interested to read the book because it tells an interesting plot, but still doesn’t tell us why this event ever happened. So it makes me want to read it to find out. The cover artwork fits into the theme of the book because it shows small town buildings. Then, it has a caption saying, “The true story of a quiet Texas town and the coldblooded murder committed by its kids.” The title fits into the theme of the book by stating how someone’s innocence was taken away by a ruthless act of a kid. Police officer George Raffield had no right to be killed because he was doing his job by patrolling the Midlothian high school. His innocence as a person was stolen because of that one crime committed. The author’s purpose would be to shock people about the carelessness that people have towards other people. Especially since it was a crime that should not have been followed through with. The intended audience of this book is targeted for young adults to adults because of the content of this book. Carlton Stowers is qualified to write about this topic because he won a Edgar Award for his book Careless Whispers. His books Innocence Lost and Open Secrets were Pulitzer Prize nominated books. The illustrations help with this book because it shows the people in real life. It brings a visual to us of what the people actually looked like, and that the story was actually a true story. The illustrations showed the perpetrator of the crime that was committed which brought a sense of realness of who it actually was. One scene that was particularly written well was when the author said that the searchers just found Officer George Raffield lying face down in the field. It brought a feeling of mystery and curiosity. At the beginning of the book, the author is telling about how brought down and depressed the sister and family was when they found out when George was missing. The sister was bringing back memories of George with his candied apples and his aspiration to be a police officer since he was a child was a sad scene. One thing I did not like about the book is that there were too many characters to remember what everyone’s role was in the story. There isn’t really anything I would change about the story besides decreasing the amount of characters in the book. I would recommend this book for someone to read. I generally would recommend this book to older people because it is not suitable for younger readers.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great true crime book- I read this during the few years I spent reading pretty much nothing but true crime and since then I've forgotten most of them. Usually I can remember something about them when I see the book or read an excerpt but not always. This one however, I do remember a lot about. Carlton Stowers is a great author and I think that's another reason this story stuck with me. You're left feeling so utterly bad for George Raffield and his family that it's horrible. This book does a great job at showing exactly how EVIL people today, including children, can be.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite an absorbing book. This is a true story that reads like a movie drama, with well fleshed-out characters. Even though you know what has happened within the first 30 pages, the author still has you engaged throughout and really puts into perspective how a life can be ruined by a simple act of rage.

[Lori Bankhead · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was well written, but I was more engrossed because this took place too close to home. Too much of this .... the town, the people, the drug culture...resembled the life I grew up with in the late 70's and early 80's in Texas. It saddens me that this could have happened in any number of small towns like Midlothian. Sad story.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

You have to follow the story carefully because it goes back and forth alot. So you can get an point of veiwed each person that was involed in this case. Like the chief was involed in the case of John F.Kennedy and escorting Oswald when Jack Ruby shot Oswald.

[terri Schwartzkopf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

A must read

this is a great book. I feel they should have gotten a stiffer penalty than they did. All of them. they killed a police officer in cold blood. we keep handing down lite sentences they will keep doing it. Let's get tough on crime.

[Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those of us that were in High School from the mid 70's to the mid 80's this strikes a cord, could have happened in almost any high School in those days. Very well written, of course Stowers is a True Crime Ace.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting case and a well-written book with attention to detail.