Killer Girlfriend: The Jody Arias Story

by Brian Skoloff, Josh Hoffner

On January 2, 2013, the murder trial of Jodi Arias began, setting off a national obsession with Jodi's story of sex, lies, and murder. Jodi Arias became a household name overnight when she was charged with the heinous murder of her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander. Travis was found dead in his shower, with approximately thirty stab wounds, his throat slit, and a bullet hole in his forehead.


From nightly news specials covering every moment of the trial to CNN Headline News featuring daily updates on the case, the media circus only fueled the hunger of the public to learn more about this twisted tale.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

132 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2013

Reviews

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry. Rating a book a 1 star, is something I rarely do. I might change my mind and give it a 2. Because I did read parts of it.

But it was a DNF. And because I didn't finish it, I kinda feel bad for the low rating.

Can't help it though. Allow me to explain.

Everybody knows about Arias. Her trial was in the news for months.

And occasionally I like true crime. And I found this book. I'd read other books about Arias.

That's the thing. I've read far to many true crime books to be able to take this seriously.

There was way to much empahasis on sex. OK - I get it -- one wants to sell books and sex sells. But in this case -- less is more.

I wanted to know, as I always do when I read true crime - about the sociopath in question. And about the relationships in question. I do not care how many orgasms they have.

Don't get me wrong. Jody's past relationships were spoken about as was her relationships with other men and with Travis himself.

But everything was glossed over. Her relationship with Travis was mostly described with sex tidbits.

I wanted to know more about HIM -- and her. What did he tell his friends about her? What did they think of Jody?

The book gets into this stuff for like a few paragraphs and predictably pivots.

Also, there was little depth. They meet. check. They date. Check. They break up. Check. She's psycho. Check.

In between all this, sex is described in grueling detail. If I wanted a bodice ripper that's what I would have picked. I wanted psychology. I didn't get it.

And Jodie's past relationships are described as traumatic in their own ways. I speak of the romantic relationships.

And a few sentences are devoted to each relationship. I'd have preferred a few CHAPTERS.

Ann Rule did True Crime great. She knew we didn't want some tiresome tabloid fodder. We wanted the psychology -- the human dynamics.

I got none of that here. None.

I just couldn't make it to the end. I did a DNF and I can't say I'm sorry about it.

This was a bad choice by me. I need to be a little careful when choosing my true crime in the future.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short and contained very little information that couldnt be gleaned by a wikipedia or google search. I feel as though it was rushed just to capitalize on the fame of the case "while its still hot".... Interesting but a google search would be quicker and provide as much or more information.

[Melinda Brasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up when I saw it at the library because I was in the jury pool for the Jodi Arias trial (luckily not chosen), so the whole affair has always held a sort of grim fascination for me. I didn't watch the trail day by day, but I did follow the main points. However, it's been a while and I've forgotten a lot of details.

I don't usually read this sort of book, so it's hard to compare to other similar works, but I'm rather torn. It was absorbing. I read it very quickly, not wanting to put it down. At the same time, I thought the writing itself was often choppy or repetitive. I also wished there were a few more references cited (or ANY references), to assure me that statements that felt rather like opinion or guesswork were based in something more solid.

It's a disturbing case, and this book presents it well without getting bogged down in minutiae. If you want a really detailed account, however, you might want to look elsewhere.

Warning: fairly explicit violence and sexuality (required by the case, and done relatively tastefully)

More accurate rating: 3.5

[Michelle Silvestri-Oetinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short,fast read that quickly reviews the crime and trial. Not a lot if details or things that most people don't already know. I did get to meet the author and found his discussion of being at the trial very interesting.

[Karla Woodard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it is slanted on one side it gives good insight into what drives one to commit such a heinous act

[Jennie Kerns · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though facts and some speculation are always a part of murder cases, there were a number of unnecessary details about their sex life.

[Bill reilly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recently finished Shanna Hogan's book, Picture Perfect, and is a comprehensive account of the Jodi Arias case. She was a superb writer with great storytelling instincts. For those interested in the story, I highly recommend it.
Killer Girlfriend is a quick read and it only outlines the basic facts. Some of the details of the sex talk messages between the killer and victim are quite graphic. The victim, Travis Alexander was a supposedly "devout" Mormon who skated the rules regarding premarital sex and lied to several Mormon "good girls" he dated with the intentions of marriage to a nice, virgin bride.
He comes a across as a first rate narcissist and ***hole. He had the misfortune of meeting an equally self centered individual in Jodi Arias. They shared an intensely sexual relationship.
There was no happy ending to this story and the book is only a brief synopsis for those with short attention spans.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of people know all the stuff around this already...but I did not know Jodi went to the college where I work, lived in Yreka, was actually from Salinas...so lots of local and semi-local connections. The Yreka thing just hit me because we spent two nights there this summer, and it seemed like eternity so I am not surprised she wanted OUT of there...anyway, she was wacko. Quick read, not a purchase of which I am particularly proud!!!

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I watched this trial everyday and followed along with Wild About Trial on twitter. I appreciated Wild About Trials commitment to the case and their humor on twitter. But I think that's where their expertise should end. The writing style in this book was ATROCIOUS. Felt like I was reading something written by a middle school student. Not recommended. I couldn't finish the short book.

[Beaufort Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Killer Girlfriend is a detailed book giving the reader a closer look inside the Jodi Arias trial.

[Sara Gast · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very quick read. Although the Jodi Arias case happened quite a few years ago, I never really knew much about it until recently, after watching a show on it. As much of the nation was at the time of this trial, I was eager to find out more. This book didn't provide a whole lot of extra details I didn't already know from the show. Based on the size of the book, I probably should have expected that. It's a good read if you're looking for a basic overview of Jodi and Travis's history, the murder, and the trial. If you're looking for more in-depth information, I wouldn't suggest this one. Still made for an interesting read and I did learn some things I didn't know.

[Kaycie Brauer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book felt incredibly rushed, which conaidering it was published just months after the trial ended, I'd say it was.. It felt like the authors just looked at the public trial documents and wrote a book report about them. There was nothing new added to the narrative that you couldn't have gotten from just following the trial or looking at court documents yourself. They also focused a ton on the sexual aspects of the case to the point that it felt like that's what they actually wanted to write about. It was a bizarre thing the cherry pick and then detail so thoroughly and disproportionately to every other aspect of the case.

[Jessica Cleghorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dont know what it is about this particular case , but I've found it fasinating watching documentaries and learning about it over the past few days. I also enjoyed this book, but it didnt really provide any more information than the documentaries I've seen , except perhaps on the media frenzy around the case. The writing style was also not the most professional, as some other reviewers have said. It has more of a gossip column feel than a proper memoir or report. Nonetheless, an interesting, quick read that gives you all the details.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superrr trashy. Picked this up as a break between some dense books I’m reading. Her interrogation is probably the most disturbing I’ve ever seen so I was interested to learn more. Reads like a tabloid more than a true crime. The case is so straightforward though, so it’s not like establishing credibility is necessary.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

You won't find anything in this book that you haven't heard already through every news outlet that was around at the time of this story. In fact, you can get most of the information contained herein on any number of YouTube videos. I would not be surprised to hear the author got all his research & information from watching the 48hours broadcasts.

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

ugh, i hate that I read this. poorly written, self-congratulating (is it reporting if you mention your news site repeatedly) garbage. they didn't even put a conclusion on the ebook, just a link to their message board. It was only 130 pages so at least I didn't waste too much time.

[cj · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book literally didn't even tell you the last part of Jodi's conviction. I had to look up whether or not she got the death penalty. Also, it read like a persuasive essay and not an unbiased true crime novel.

[Briana Hollenbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet, to the point. No fluff.

[Christina Mages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned a lot of new information from this book.

[Lesly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember seeing this in the news when it happened, but it was an interesting read. If you like true crime you should read it! Very quick, interesting read!

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very quick and easy read. I enjoyed it very much. The chapters are really short and easy to read. The authors give you a look back at the trail of Jodi Arias some of the behind the scenes inside the courtroom. They also give you a look from the first meeting thru the killing of Travis. This book is done in a way that even though you may have sat thru the whole trail you can sit and read this book from start to finish and not get bored. I liked the way the chapters were done they were short and to the point, each one hit each point and didn't get bogged down in to much details. Interesting read.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very poorly written. I don't know if the trial did this itself but the author focused a great deal on their sex life and all the salacious details. And I am not justifying Jodi and what she did but he appeared to be a real dick. Running a pyramid scheme, converting people he just met to his religion, degrading her and being a hypocrite about his sex life. With that said he did NOT deserve what happened to him but it appeared that the author tried to paint him as better than he was. And yes it is reasonable for a girlfriend to confront the woman her boyfriend was cheating on her with. Why did you make that out to be such a "crazy" action?

[Karen Learning · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty poorly written. It was quite interesting for me though, as I was not overly knowledgeable about the case nor had I followed the trial on a daily basis like a lot of people. That is basically all the book is about though, it just gives the basics of the case and the trial. There is no insight into Jodi Arias at all but it was a quick and easy read. It really ended abruptly though which I did not like. My guess is that they rushed it to press so they could be the first Jodi Arias book on the market.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a straight forward and detailed story of the Jodi Arias trial that has been in the news 24-7. I haven't been watching the trial and I only knew bits and pieces of the story, so this book helped make sense of what actually happened. I recommend this book for people like me that haven't been watching the trial on TV. If you are familiar with the case, this book probsbly won't tell you anything you don't already know. It's a really quick and creepy read and it summed up all of the snippets of media coverage that I've seen here and there.

[Jolisa Gilchrist Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of Jodi Arias and her twisted realtionship with her two faced boyfriend Travis. As someone who was not able to follow the story as it happened, the facts of the case were new to me. I know that Jodi is still waiting for her sentencing but I Know this from the Lifetime movie I watched. This book does not tell you the outcome of the case. Whether this is because the book was released before the verdict or because the authors thought everyone knew the outcome, I don't know. It wasn't great to get to the end and have no ending.

[Darlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I never watched the trial on tv, then this book might have been interesting. It basically skimmed over the general information on Jodi Arias during her murder trial in Arizona where she brutally killed her boyfriend with 26 stab wounds,slicing his neck and then shooting him in the head. I watched the trial each day and I probably could have written a much better book than this one. Read in a couple days.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors did a good job of synthesizing the details into a well-paced narrative. It was a real page turner, and I finished it in one evening and the next morning. Overall the book is solid nonfiction that doesn't try to be showy but throws in timely analytical or transitional statements to keep things moving.

[Fit_girl_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much a straight ahead description of the jodi-travis relationship, the events leading up to the murder, the crime scene details, and the trial.....nothing really new here for those that have watched the trial and the news programs related to the case. Could have done so much more with the writing....left much to be desired

[Sue-Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't even heard about this story until CNN started talking about it in length in January 2013. This book although short allowed for me to be brought up to date about this story and Jodi Arias as well. The one thing I had hoped for but didn't have in the book was pictures.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book lots of facts and information on this sad case I have been watching the trial and following this story since i first heard about it i really hope travis alexander gets justice rip travis.