Shadows of Death (True Crime Box Set)

Notorious USA

by Katherine Ramsland

With photos!

Welcome to the newest box set (three books rolled in to one set) of the New York Times bestselling series, Notorious USA. In Shadows of Death, acclaimed Wall Street Journal bestselling author Katherine Ramsland take crime readers on a tour of New Jersey, New York and Delaware.

New Jersey

Home of the Jersey Devil, New Jersey has its share of other devils, from predatory nurses to thrill killers and sadists. Here you’ll find a family that preyed on one of their own, a mass murderer with a List of Grudges, an adulterous minister killed with his mistress, and a wife who cut up her husband. This state is rich in crime, with a significant number of high profile cases, like the Lindbergh and Reso kidnappings, Unruh’s rampage, and the celebrated success of America’s Most Wanted in tracking down a man who’d slaughtered his entire family. 


New York

The Empire State has witnessed many unique and perverse crimes. Quite a few triggered international headlines. This is where the phrase “serial killer” was born – for good reason! From genius killers to violent child molesters, New York has it all. We also find the demented assassinations of Stanford White and John Lennon, the strange case that inspired Edgar Allen Poe, murders that enthralled filmmakers, scandalous crimes that altered journalism, and even a murderous writer. Let’s not forget Amityville and the missing Judge Crater! But we must warn you: Don’t read this book at night!

Delaware

The first documented female serial killer in the U.S. came out of the tiny state of Delaware, as did a “signature killer” who attracted FBI profilers. Political intrigue winds though an unsolved mystery in Wilmington, while a high-powered attorney ruins his life to punish his mistress. We have poisoners and bludgeoners, and some privileged teenagers killing their baby. The corridor state between New Jersey and Maryland might be small, but it has harbored some very dark characters. 


Genres: True Crime

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 8, 2015

About the author

I've loved books since I was 3, and the library was a highlight of my childhood. I've been fortunate to be able to find great joy in what others have written and sometimes to give this to readers. I follow my own muse, because it leads me on interesting adventures. I began my writing career with "Prism of the Night: A Biography of Anne Rice." I had a bestseller with "The Vampire Companion." Since then, I've published 69 books and over 2,500 articles, reviews and short stories. I have also been an executive producer for "Murder House Flip" and "BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer." From ghosts to vampires to serial killers, I have taken on a variety of dark subjects, mostly in crime and forensics. I hold graduate degrees in forensic psychology, clinical psychology, criminal justice, creative writing and philosophy. Currently, I teach forensic psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University. My books include "I Scream Man," "How to Catch a Killer", "Confession of a Serial Killer", "The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds", "The Mind of a Murderer", "The Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation", "Inside the Minds of Serial Killers", "Inside the Minds of Sexual Predators", and "Inside the Minds of Mass Murderers". My background in forensic studies positioned me to assist former FBI profiler John Douglas on his book, "The Cases that Haunt Us", and to co-write a book with former FBI profiler, Gregg McCrary, "The Unknown Darkness", as well as "Spree Killers" with Mark Safarik, "The Real Life of a Forensic Scientist" with Henry C. Lee, and "A Voice for the Dead" with James Starrs. I speak internationally about forensic psychology, forensic science, and serial murder, and has appeared on numerous documentaries, as well as such programs as The Today Show, 20/20, 48 Hours, NPR, Dr. Oz, Coast to Coast, Montel Williams, Larry King Live and E! True Hollywood. Currently, I'm working on a fiction series, The Nut Cracker Investigations, which features a female forensic psychologist who manages a PI agency. "I Scream Man" is the first one.

Reviews

[Darth Jader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good book detailing cases from New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. I really enjoyed that the author kept each case short and sweet, only giving the key information in each case. Some chapters were really short, others were of decent length because of this. Each state covered in this omnibus was about 80-95 pages long and you can tell that this book was thrown together to sell as an omnibus because the different title pages were still present before each state. Now to get to what I didn't like: there were numerous grammatical and random spacing errors that made the book slightly cumbersome to read as the grammar errors made it hard to interpret what the author was trying to say. There were words randomly missing from sentences or words in a sentence that did not make sense which again, made it very hard to interpret what the author was trying to say. Far too often, I found myself spending time trying to figure out what a particular sentence was trying to say which really took my enjoyment out of the book. Overall, this would be a much better book if it was edited properly, as is, it is an okay book that covers numerous cases that are interesting and fun to read and learn about.

[Beth Shuler · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors

I love this author and her work but that being said I must admit I expected so much more out of this book. It was well written I just wish it was maybe longer or had more stories or newer stories...... but as always the research and the way it was written is great..... hope to read more soon