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Murder Most Foul: True Crime Stories of Murder and Mayhem
Bizarre, compelling, terrifying and authentic true crime stories of murder and mayhem. In these pages you will find details of 18 chilling crimes that could only be perpetrated by the twisted minds and gruesome obsessions of coldblooded killers, the stuff that horror movies and novels are made of, brought to you from the vault of bestselling true crime author and serial killer expert Gary C. King. There are true stories of love affairs gone wrong, sex slayings, despicable child murders--including one who would be considered a serial killer by today's revised FBI standards, mass murders, and one about a killer who went so far as to impersonate his victim. These are terrifying, heart-pounding yet mostly obscure true crime stories guaranteed to keep you awake at night and your doors locked, each written with the true crime aficionado in mind!
- GenresTrue Crime
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 18, 2014
13 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Gary C. King
30 books939 followersGary C. King is a freelance author and lecturer who has published more than 500 articles in true crime magazines in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He is also the author of several true crime books including: Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer, Driven to Kill, Web of Deceit, Blind Rage, Savage Vengeance, An Early Grave, The Texas 7, Murder in Hollywood, Angels of Death, Stolen in the Night, Love, Lies, and Murder, An Almost Perfect Murder, Butcher, Rage, The Murder of Meredith Kercher, Crime Scene: True Stories of Crime and Detection, and Murder Most Foul: True Crime Stories of Murder and Mayhem.
Driven to Kill, the story of serial child killer Westley Allan Dodd's killing spree, was nominated for an Anthony Award in the Best True Crime Book category at Bouchercon 25.
Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer, details the bizarre case of Dayton Leroy Rogers, Oregon's worst serial killer. A German language edition of Blood Lust was published in 1995. Both Blood Lust and Driven to Kill were chosen as featured selections of Doubleday's True Crime Book Club.
King’s television appearances have included Entertainment Tonight, Larry King Live, Inside Edition, Court TV, MSNBC’s Headliners and Legends, E!, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Extra TV, and several other programs. He also frequently provides radio interviews and has given talks at libraries as well as organizations devoted to readers and writers interested in the genre of true crime.
After years of traditional publishing, King recently joined the growing ranks of indie authors.
Driven to Kill, the story of serial child killer Westley Allan Dodd's killing spree, was nominated for an Anthony Award in the Best True Crime Book category at Bouchercon 25.
Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer, details the bizarre case of Dayton Leroy Rogers, Oregon's worst serial killer. A German language edition of Blood Lust was published in 1995. Both Blood Lust and Driven to Kill were chosen as featured selections of Doubleday's True Crime Book Club.
King’s television appearances have included Entertainment Tonight, Larry King Live, Inside Edition, Court TV, MSNBC’s Headliners and Legends, E!, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Extra TV, and several other programs. He also frequently provides radio interviews and has given talks at libraries as well as organizations devoted to readers and writers interested in the genre of true crime.
After years of traditional publishing, King recently joined the growing ranks of indie authors.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 16, 2017
Murder Most Foul by Gary C. King was another great Read by the author. The book was full of some of the most horrifying crime stories. It details 18 chilling crimes that were committed by some of the sickest people around. These are some of the most compelling and terrifying stories.
April 10, 2018
I've enjoyed many books by this author. This is a good collection though not my favorite because it includes so many child-killers. Most cases are from the 1980s Northwest and I assume they were originally published in true detective type magazines.
A Bedroom Clue Nailed the Kinky Killer
1982 Oak Grove, Oregon
A gruesome murder in the Portland area. It's interesting to see the investigation unfold and snare the killer.
Riddle of the Young Wife’s Shotgun Slaying
1983 Milwaukie, Oregon
A tragic murder case with an obvious solution.
Hot Coals Shrouded the Shot-Gunned Bodies!
1983 Lacey, Washington
Arson is used to try and cover clues to a murder. Okay, but plenty of unanswered questions remain at the end.
The Killer Who Impersonated His Victim
1983 Los Padres National Forest, California
An interesting mystery right up to the sudden conclusion.
The Sex-Crazed Knife-Wielder Who Stalked Little Boys
1983 Bellevue, Nebraska
Not my favorite type of case since it involves youngsters, but interesting that investigators found detective magazines with the killers effects and theorized that they fueled his murderous fantasies.
Kill a Love Affair? It’s Murder!
1983 Spokane, Washington
A strange case of revenge killings by a jilted suitor.
The Creep Snuffed a Disabled Veteran
1984 Fern Prairie, Washington
A killer escapes capital punishment after the murder of a helpless victim, which naturally angers the victim's family.
Bludgeon the Mother, Execute the Kids!
1984 Merlin, Oregon
Hmmm...more children killed.
24 Hours of Screaming Hell!
1984 Springfield, Oregon<
Parents send their nine year old daughter to the store on a rainy winter night (WTF). Her killer turns out to be an ex-con who served ten years (!) for a previous murder.
“He’s Killing Me! He’s Cutting My Throat!”
1984 Yoncalla, Oregon
A 22-year old girl picks up a hitch-hiker who turns out to be a murderous prison escapee.
Family Slaughter by a Mixed-Up “Soldier!”
1985 Seattle, Washington
A prominent lawyer is killed (along with his family) by a crazed drifter. This case was also featured in Ann Rule's 1994 book YOU BELONG TO ME.
Sex-Slaying of the All-American Girl
1986 Vancouver, Washington
A murder investigation seems headed nowhere when an arrest comes out of the blue.
7,000 Years for the Freaked-Out Gunman!
1986 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
A nut goes on a murderous shooting spree after being fired.
New Year’s Eve Slaughter in Skamania!
1986 Skamania, Washington
A young man is grounded by his step-father and it leads to multiple murder.
Thrill Killer Cut the Blonde from Ear to Ear!
1991 Stevenson, Washington
A fifteen year old girl leaves home one night and never returns. She later turns up murdered.
Carnage at the University of Iowa
1991 Iowa City, Iowa
A Chinese-born graduate student goes on a murderous shooting spree when he's passed over for an academic prize.
4 Blasted in Postal Bloodbath!
1991 Royal Oak, Michigan
Another disgruntled employee goes berserk after being fired from his job at the Post Office.
Savage Sniper Hunted Cops!
1991 California, Missouri
A quiet small-town resident goes on an unexpected rampage.
A Bedroom Clue Nailed the Kinky Killer
1982 Oak Grove, Oregon
A gruesome murder in the Portland area. It's interesting to see the investigation unfold and snare the killer.
Riddle of the Young Wife’s Shotgun Slaying
1983 Milwaukie, Oregon
A tragic murder case with an obvious solution.
Hot Coals Shrouded the Shot-Gunned Bodies!
1983 Lacey, Washington
Arson is used to try and cover clues to a murder. Okay, but plenty of unanswered questions remain at the end.
The Killer Who Impersonated His Victim
1983 Los Padres National Forest, California
An interesting mystery right up to the sudden conclusion.
The Sex-Crazed Knife-Wielder Who Stalked Little Boys
1983 Bellevue, Nebraska
Not my favorite type of case since it involves youngsters, but interesting that investigators found detective magazines with the killers effects and theorized that they fueled his murderous fantasies.
Kill a Love Affair? It’s Murder!
1983 Spokane, Washington
A strange case of revenge killings by a jilted suitor.
The Creep Snuffed a Disabled Veteran
1984 Fern Prairie, Washington
A killer escapes capital punishment after the murder of a helpless victim, which naturally angers the victim's family.
Bludgeon the Mother, Execute the Kids!
1984 Merlin, Oregon
Hmmm...more children killed.
24 Hours of Screaming Hell!
1984 Springfield, Oregon<
Parents send their nine year old daughter to the store on a rainy winter night (WTF). Her killer turns out to be an ex-con who served ten years (!) for a previous murder.
“He’s Killing Me! He’s Cutting My Throat!”
1984 Yoncalla, Oregon
A 22-year old girl picks up a hitch-hiker who turns out to be a murderous prison escapee.
Family Slaughter by a Mixed-Up “Soldier!”
1985 Seattle, Washington
A prominent lawyer is killed (along with his family) by a crazed drifter. This case was also featured in Ann Rule's 1994 book YOU BELONG TO ME.
Sex-Slaying of the All-American Girl
1986 Vancouver, Washington
A murder investigation seems headed nowhere when an arrest comes out of the blue.
7,000 Years for the Freaked-Out Gunman!
1986 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
A nut goes on a murderous shooting spree after being fired.
New Year’s Eve Slaughter in Skamania!
1986 Skamania, Washington
A young man is grounded by his step-father and it leads to multiple murder.
Thrill Killer Cut the Blonde from Ear to Ear!
1991 Stevenson, Washington
A fifteen year old girl leaves home one night and never returns. She later turns up murdered.
Carnage at the University of Iowa
1991 Iowa City, Iowa
A Chinese-born graduate student goes on a murderous shooting spree when he's passed over for an academic prize.
4 Blasted in Postal Bloodbath!
1991 Royal Oak, Michigan
Another disgruntled employee goes berserk after being fired from his job at the Post Office.
Savage Sniper Hunted Cops!
1991 California, Missouri
A quiet small-town resident goes on an unexpected rampage.
March 6, 2015
Full review on The Crime Cove Book Review Blog
Murder Most Foul is a fabulous and diverse collection of crime stories. Even though the accounts are brief, each one is packed full of detail and sufficiently explained so that they inform and engage just as well as a longer account would. The proficiency and experience of this author certainly sheds light on why I compulsively read this book through the night. This author is a master of his craft.
One thing that dawned on me while reading this book...there are way more serial killers out there than we think. The behaviour of some of the people committing single murders is more akin to the serial killers we read about. Some killers are just caught before they get a chance to become full blown serial murderers.
Highly recommend this collection and will absolutely be seeking out more Gary C. King to read!
Murder Most Foul is a fabulous and diverse collection of crime stories. Even though the accounts are brief, each one is packed full of detail and sufficiently explained so that they inform and engage just as well as a longer account would. The proficiency and experience of this author certainly sheds light on why I compulsively read this book through the night. This author is a master of his craft.
One thing that dawned on me while reading this book...there are way more serial killers out there than we think. The behaviour of some of the people committing single murders is more akin to the serial killers we read about. Some killers are just caught before they get a chance to become full blown serial murderers.
Highly recommend this collection and will absolutely be seeking out more Gary C. King to read!
April 8, 2017
Murder Most Foul: True Crime Stories of Murder and Mayhem
: Gary C. King
A collection of true life crime stories. Some of these I remember from when they happened and a few were new to me.
The narration was well done. Dan Orders gave a chilling reading.
“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”
: Gary C. King
A collection of true life crime stories. Some of these I remember from when they happened and a few were new to me.
The narration was well done. Dan Orders gave a chilling reading.
“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”
April 11, 2017
This book summarizes 18 true crime cases from the 80s and early 90s. All of the murders described in this book were solved, some were murder/suicides.
It includes a case summary from which the phrase "going postal" was probably coined. The case descriptions are complete and interesting.
Dan Orders performance is poor. Words are mispronounced or missing altogether. For example, he consistently mispronounces the word "lengthy" as lengthly. But even worse, he reads much, much too slowly. I actually had to speed up the playback, something I almost never do.
NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
It includes a case summary from which the phrase "going postal" was probably coined. The case descriptions are complete and interesting.
Dan Orders performance is poor. Words are mispronounced or missing altogether. For example, he consistently mispronounces the word "lengthy" as lengthly. But even worse, he reads much, much too slowly. I actually had to speed up the playback, something I almost never do.
NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews