Meet Me For Murder

by Don Lasseter

The horrifying true story of Victor Paleologus, a sexual predator who lured hopeful Hollywood beauties to a fake casting call and murdered one of them. The case has been featured on NBC's "Dateline." of photos. Original.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Don Lasseter has written five true crime books for Pinnacle plus 16 magazine articles that were reprinted in Pinnacle's anthology books about murders. In addition to being a crime writer, Mr. Lasseter is a WWII historian who frequently lectures on the subject in schools, at service clubs, and for veteran's groups. He accompanies his talks with slide packages titled "WWII, Then and Now", consisting of photos he took while actually retracing most major battles in Western Europe and in the South Pacific. Taking black and white combat photos with him, Mr. Lasseter laboriously searched for the exact spots on which the photographers stood and shot the same scenes as they look today. He accumulated over 1500 such pictures associated with various battles including the Normandy invasion, Battle of the Bulge, crossing the Rhine, taking Berlin, and other major engagements.

A native Californian, Mr. Lasseter resides in Orange County. He has served as guest lecturer in criminology classes at California State University, Fullerton. Hollywood history is Mr. Lasseter's third major interest. His personal library includes an extensive collection of movie books, and he takes pride in being able to name hundreds of old character actors whose faces are often seen in classic films. One day, Lasseter says, he will write books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the golden era of film production and the people involved.

Reviews

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Interesting Read

I say that this book is an interesting read, as it somehow feels wrong to label any true crime book as enjoyable, although of course it is. However this book did in fact have an underlying issue that really did pique my interest, that being the factor of prejudicial statements, backgrounds etc that are not allowed in the American legal system so to as not taint the defendant in the eyes of the jury.

I’d say I understand this, and I guess I do in a lofty highly moral way, but in a real honest way I really really don’t.

For example .. Would it affect the way a jury would see a defendant who is on trial for rape, if they found out he’s been suspected or even been found guilty of any similar thing before ? Of course it is, 1 +1 = 2 after all, and you know what it should !

How on earth can a jury really give an honest true verdict if they’re not given all the relevant facts. IMHO they should know everything about any defendant, the good and the bad, if information is kept back, how on earth can they truly follow the trail of (especially in this case) circumstantial evidence or similar.

If something can make a person look guilty, there’s generally a good reason for it, showing that the person is innocent DESPITE all of the evidence, and I do mean ALL is the job of the defence lawyer. So nope, I don’t believe in keeping one iota, or teeny scrap of information away from the jury. Give them everything and let them judge.

Oh and as for the book, well you can see from the above it completely got me thinking way beyond just the story, which was actually just as great as the authors others.

[Eileen Granfors · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was going to complain about this book because there seemed to be so much filler in it.

However, the ending and after notes really left an impression.

The story centers on the abduction and murder of an aspiring model. It follows the perpetrator's "career" of scams and abductions, including a prison sentence.

Lasseter goes over many similar cases of young, beautiful women going somewhere isolated with a man who promises to make them famous through photographs he takes.

What stuck with me is that Lasseter ends the books with a list of DANGER SIGNS as well as a list of SAFETY MEASURES. He is not saying women should not enter modeling or acting. He is saying young women need to pay attention to their own safety and always always always have a chaperone, their own car, and phone access. I think the lessons should be featured in more websites and newspapers.

[Jean Merritt Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read from Don Lasseter!

I have to admit, although I really hate to, this book was a little bit slower of a starter than other books of Mr. Lasseter's. Once I got past that point, it was just as thrilling a read as any others I've read!
At first I felt I'd been thrown a curve ball when he introduced other serial killers. However, I soon saw the importance of their stories mixed in with this tale.
One can only hope and pray the people truly affected by these events (police department, sheriff department, the District Attorney office, and most importantly Ms. Kristi Johnson's family members & friends) work tirelessly to see he doesn't get parole anytime in the near future.

[Lorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should

be recommended reading for young women who have aspirations of becoming models or actresses. It's well documented, informative and important information regarding women who lost their lives in pursuit of their dreams.
These sexual predators always repeat their crimes and if caught, simply add murder to their repertoire after serving a sentence and being released. They should never be released after their first infraction, they are incapable of changing, in my opinion.

[Shirley Leavitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book fives because the author did a really excellent job writing about this true crime story. The story is about Victor Paleologus,a very dangerous predator of young women in the L.A. area who are looking for fame and fortune and find themselves lured into believing this man can help them, to only fine in the end he has deceived them, to rape and injure and murder them for his pleasure. The book also mentions some other terrible predators of young women. Interesting book, if you like true crime stories.

[Cecilia Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesomely Written

Wonderful advice at the end of the book on how not to become a statistic if you happen to be a beautiful woman. And before that a hair raising account of how several models in LA got lured into rape and death. Very well written, highly recommended.
I wonder who approved the book cover. It's such a good book that it deserves something far more slick and sophisticated, not the "murder story" cheap looking cover it has.

[seb gratz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulously written

This is a terrifically insightful true story. One can't help but think it could happen to any of us given the right circumstances ( or wrong ones) .Not only was the story extremely well told but the advice at the end was terrifically helpful and so educational that this book should be passed around every high school and college

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good read from Don Lasseter, about one of those "serial killers everywhere you look" type of scenarios. The trial of the last guy was very interesting, and pretty unusual as far as the legal issues go. All of the killings described in the book -- there were probably too many to get into all of them -- were utterly tragic. Recommended.

[Sandra Laymon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I expected

Although this book starts out as the tragic story of one young woman it evolves into a "Who's Who in the Murder of Young Pretty Girls" and gives copious details of many crimes. It was repetitious and at times boring. I would not recommend it.

[Loraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author’s research is beyond reproach. The book reads like a thriller and succeeds in keeping the tension until end. However too much information on the characters, spoils the storyline. Padding a true crime story seems to be a common problem with true crime writers.

[Rose Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

meet me for murder

Great true crime read! So very sad and also disgusting that scumbags do these disgusting crimes! They will all rot in hell!

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cautionary tale for women.

[Eva-Marie Nevarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent true crime book. I read a lot of true crime and a lot of books by excellent true crime authors so I guess this didn't stand out so much because of that. The story itself is about a man who posed as a photographer to young girls around L.A., in the mall, the street, etc. The same amount of detail and past experiences in any other t.c. book and the writing is definitely okay. Definitely not in the ranks of Ann Rule and Jack Olsen and some others though.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting book about a creepy con man who approached beautiful young girls in shopping malls and offered them work on a phony James Bond film. Also included are shorter accounts of similar cases involving models and murderous photographers. My only complaint is that toward the end of the book, author Don Lasseter turns the narrative over to LA prosecutor Ron Bowers, a move that significantly weakens the the effort.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had an interesting subject .

[Samantha Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel bad for the girl all of them I liked the book