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Carr: Five Years of Rape and Murder
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist gets inside the mind of a serial killer—and uncovers what makes truly evil men kill.Robert Frederick Carr III was clever and appeared friendly, the perfect lure to draw in his next victim. His crimes were he kidnapped fifteen people, raped and tortured most, and murdered four before being arrested. After confessing to his grisly crimes and leading police on a cross country grave digging trip to recover the bodies, Carr begged Edna Buchanan, the police reporter for the Miami Herald, to write about him, to help prevent future crimes like his. During long hours of interviewing him in his jail cell, Buchanan found Carr to be an instinctively intelligent sadist, a predator who abandoned his wife and children to pursue a five year odyssey of violence. Carr's story is a chilling look into the dark soul of a born killer.
261 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1979
30 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Edna Buchanan
55 books160 followersEdna Buchanan knew she wanted to be a writer since she was 4 years old. She moved to Florida where she got a job at a small newspaper. Ms. Buchanan became a reporter for the Miami Beach Daily Sun in the late 1960s.
In 1970, she was hired as a general assignment and police-beat reporter at the Miami Herald. In 1973, Ms. Buchanan became a police beat reporter, which coincided with the rise of Miami as a center of the international drug trade.
Winning a Pulitzer Prize, Ms. Buchanan became one of the best-known crime reporters in the U.S. She discussed some of her assignments in the books, The Corpse Had a Familiar Face (1991) and Never Let Them See You Cry (1993). She has retired from journalism and writes mystery novels. The main character in her crime mystery series is Britt Montero.
In 1970, she was hired as a general assignment and police-beat reporter at the Miami Herald. In 1973, Ms. Buchanan became a police beat reporter, which coincided with the rise of Miami as a center of the international drug trade.
Winning a Pulitzer Prize, Ms. Buchanan became one of the best-known crime reporters in the U.S. She discussed some of her assignments in the books, The Corpse Had a Familiar Face (1991) and Never Let Them See You Cry (1993). She has retired from journalism and writes mystery novels. The main character in her crime mystery series is Britt Montero.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 11, 2016
I've long been a fan of Edna Buchanan so I picked this one up a while ago and just ran across it again recently and decided to dive into it now. The author managed to get lots and lots of time with this twisted killer once he was in jail and even after he was moved, she continued her questions long distance. What she got from him is so in-depth and gut-wrenchingly packed with details that at times it was hard to read.
Parts of the book she wrote in his voice, telling about the numerous people and even children that he kidnapped, raped, and at times began killing during this 5 year period. When the urge came upon him to rape or murder he would often drink heavily and take off from his wife and 2 kids to another part of the country and go "riding". He would drive around the area he was staying in, and look for a likely person, usually someone vulnerable, and then he would act friendly to get them to accept a ride with him. Once they got in, it was usually too late. Although later in the book it describes some that flipped out when he let them know it was a kidnapping, and they managed to get away, at times by throwing themselves out of the moving car. One even flung himself out through the open window when the door handle wouldn't work.
The author gives quite a look into the sick mind of this killer, Robert Frederick Carr III, who had begged her to write about him, saying he wanted to help prevent future crimes. She found him to be very street wise, a very intelligent sadist, who would abandon his family when things became stressful and just take off to hunt victims. The marriage had been the only thing that had kept him out of serious trouble for some periods, but eventually even his family wasn't enough to hold him back from committing his evil acts.
Parts of the book she wrote in his voice, telling about the numerous people and even children that he kidnapped, raped, and at times began killing during this 5 year period. When the urge came upon him to rape or murder he would often drink heavily and take off from his wife and 2 kids to another part of the country and go "riding". He would drive around the area he was staying in, and look for a likely person, usually someone vulnerable, and then he would act friendly to get them to accept a ride with him. Once they got in, it was usually too late. Although later in the book it describes some that flipped out when he let them know it was a kidnapping, and they managed to get away, at times by throwing themselves out of the moving car. One even flung himself out through the open window when the door handle wouldn't work.
The author gives quite a look into the sick mind of this killer, Robert Frederick Carr III, who had begged her to write about him, saying he wanted to help prevent future crimes. She found him to be very street wise, a very intelligent sadist, who would abandon his family when things became stressful and just take off to hunt victims. The marriage had been the only thing that had kept him out of serious trouble for some periods, but eventually even his family wasn't enough to hold him back from committing his evil acts.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2020
This book is very disturbing! I picked it up because I've loved Edna Buchanan books ever since I first read The Corpse Had A Familiar Face more than 30 years ago. That, however, was a work of fiction. This true story delves into the mind of a very, very sick man and left me feeling dirty after reading it. There are very few books I wish I hadn't read; this is one of them.
March 11, 2024
I came across this book almost forty years ago when one of my grandmother's employers gave her a copy of it along with other books that she was no longer reading. A decade later while in graduate school at Andrews University in Michigan, I found another copy in the social sciences section. This was one of Ms. Buchanan's earliest true crime works, analyzed by several forensic psychiatrists. With her series of interviews with Carr, we are taken inside the mind of a very dangerous and conflicted man who spent five years terrorizing women and young people in the states of Florida and Connecticut, taking four young people's lives in the process; two of his victims being eleven-year-old runaways. Carr's spree of rape and murder ended in his arrest for rape in 1976 and his eventual confession of his four murders. Not only did this book reveal the mind of a sociopath, but the failures of the criminal justice system to ensure that he could not be in a position to commit sexual assault and eventual murder. Out of curiosity, I searched the internet to learn of the fate of Robert Carr after he was convicted of his crimes and sentenced to life in prison in Florida. According to one website, Carr died in the mid to late 1990s from some gastrointestinal disease while serving out his sentence.
January 21, 2018
great book If he wasn't let go so much he probably wouldn't have gotten so many victims.
July 18, 2020
Awful because of the content, told in the first person.
July 15, 2021
Tough to read. Disturbing. Cringe-worthy. But if you want to truly know what it’s like to be in the mind of a psychopath, this book is for you.
September 5, 2022
I am always amazed at the sickness of men.
February 17, 2016
Good
Thank for the wonderful stories that we get to read. Hope to find some good one's just like this one. Could not stop reading till the end.
Thank for the wonderful stories that we get to read. Hope to find some good one's just like this one. Could not stop reading till the end.
February 17, 2016
Disturbing content. It shows how the cycle of violence continues.
It's amazing how someone like this gets through the justice system. He is still in prison in Fl state prison.
It's amazing how someone like this gets through the justice system. He is still in prison in Fl state prison.
March 20, 2016
I absolutely loved this book. Awesome true crime read! You flow right through...the author did a great job.
May 9, 2016
Depression
This book was a trial to read. I was sorry I purchased it...what nonsense! A rambling account of nothing worth spending time on.
This book was a trial to read. I was sorry I purchased it...what nonsense! A rambling account of nothing worth spending time on.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews