A Violent Act

by Alec Wilkinson

When we read about violence, we hunger for explanations that will reassure us that violence is understandable, perhaps preventable. Yet this elegantly written book--about a madman who kills his probation officer then goes on a rampage of carjackings, robberies, and more murders across southern Indiana--offers only facts. As Christopher Lehmann-Haupt writes in the New York Times, "Surprisingly, one of the most powerful effects of A Violent Act is to make you feel how callous to violence we've been made.... By telling an apparently simple story yet not presuming to understand what made it happen, Mr. Wilkinson has restored the mystery and terror of violence to their true and properly overwhelming scales." This is true crime as an accomplished nonfiction writer tells it (portions of the book were first published in The New Yorker): in a soft tone of voice, with silences in which the pain and horror can be keenly felt.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published February 9, 1993

Reviews

[Matthew Eisenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

On September 22, 1986, Mike Wayne Jackson killed his probation officer and 3 others in Indianapolis before seemingly disappearing. In A Violent Act, author Alec Wilkinson recounts both the killing spree and subsequent manhunt in great detail.

The book is separated into 5 segments:
1. The crime spree/Jackson’s background
2. The manhunt
3. The tracker who finally catches Jackson
4. The effect on the probation officer’s family

Parts 1, 3, and 4 are excellent. Part 2 is not. Unfortunately, Part 2 is the longest segment of the book. It’s 120 pages of nothing happening, and it’s exhausting. “This person thought they saw him, but they didn’t.” “They thought this might’ve happened, but it didn’t.” Uggh. I wanted to stab myself in the eye with a fork. Fortunately for you, having read this review, you can read the first 20 pages of the manhunt segment and then skip ahead 100 pages to where something actually happens.

The writing is superb. Wilkinson writes in a simple, sparse manner that is remarkably direct and unsparing. This is black and white reporting, just the facts—Wilkinson offers no explanation for what happened, nor any lesson to be learned. Basically it says, “This is the world we live in. Bad shit happens. The probation officer visited the wrong ex-con on the wrong day and got his head blown off, and as a result his wife is a widow and his kids don’t have a father, and their pain and suffering do not abate with time.” My takeaway was “life can really suck, so count your blessings.”

Bottom line—this was a quick and pretty good read. Skip the last 80% of the manhunt section, and you’ll probably greatly appreciate it (I use the word “appreciate” instead of “enjoy” because the subject matter is pretty dark and depressing).

[Nate Hendrix · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have enjoyed all of Wilkinson's books. This book chronicles a tragedy you have probably never heard of. It started as a story for the New Yorker about the tracker, a man who trails law enforcement personnel from around the nation, but then expanded to involve this horrible crime and its aftermath.

[Olga Vannucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many people passed the buck
To restrain him. Then he struck.

[Amy Bairstow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just OK, a really sad story of mental illness given to my daughter by a pool friend..

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little afraid that this book would focus a little too much on graphic violence, kind of like Helter Skelter, but it didn't. While it does go into the violent crimes, it focuses a lot more attention on the repercussions for the victims and their families. These interviews with the victim's families were by far the most touching and important parts of the book. In particular, interviews with the wife of one of the victims, even ten years later, were devastating.