The Serial Killer Books: 15 Famous Serial Killers True Crime Stories That Shocked The World

by Jack Rosewood, Dwayne Walker (Introduction)

There are reasons why some of the most famous serial killers in the world have names that stick in our memories, send shivers up our spines, make us double-check to make sure the doors are locked at night, and maybe peek under the bed to be sure nothing is lurking there before we turn off the lights. These are monsters who are real, whose crimes are so reprehensible, so horrific, that they become seared in our memories. For this true crime anthology, we’ve combed the serial killer files to give you a closer, more intimate look at some of the worst of the worst from the world of serial killer, combining multiple stories into one perfect late-night read that’s just the thing to keep you up at night, unable to stop turning the pages. For those who love criminology, who can’t put down the latest true crime stories, this collection of stories rivals the best serial killer books, and give you deeper insight into killers ranging from the charismatic, cunning Ted Bundy to the long-abused Aileen Wuornos, whose unimaginable troubles finally came to a very violent head. This diverse collection of serial killer stories, culled from the annals of history, is an ideal choice for the true crime buff who wonders why the monsters of our imaginations came to life and walked the streets, lurking in dark corners to wait for their next victim.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Audiobook, Ebooks

378 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 24, 2017

About the author

I live in one of the most beautiful places in Florida, Jupiter, with my wife, two kids and our golden retriever, Vincent. I've been a full time author for the last 15 years and I wouldn't trade it against anything in the world!

My father was a journalist and wrote about some of the worst crimes you could ever imagine, and that's where my big interest from serial killers and other horrible crimes comes from. Just to hear my father talk about the evil acts of Ted Bundy as we were out fishing as a kid are some of my best memories.

Reviews

[Lee Peckover]

This feels a little rushed and scattered. It's sort of like paying to flick through a load of wikipedia pages about serial killers, which you can just do for free.

[Jessica Cann]

I really enjoyed this read.

I didn't give this book 5 stars because it had quite a few editing problems. Other than that I really enjoyed this read. I have read about some of the serial killers he talks about in the book, but there was quite a few I had never heard of. I cried reading about the hate crimes. And I really liked how the victims were talked a lot about as well. Normally only the killer is made known and the victims forgotten. I feel like you really get to know the victims in most of the stories as well as the killer. I'm sure I'll be reading more of Jack's books.

[Daniel]

A decent brief overview of a number of serial killers. I received a free download of the book in exchange for an honest review. I do not wish to discourage an aspiring writer especially since I hope to have some things I have written published and I'm sure my writing isn't perfect either. Unfortunately, The Serial Killer Books suffered from awkward attempts at nonlinear storytelling and a number of factual errors, including dates contradicted one paragraph to the next. A good editing and fact checking would greatly improve the book as many of the errors are just a need for a good reread of the work before publication to fix obvious typos, incorrect autocorrections and very awkwardly phrased passages. The author is obviously knowledgeable and interested in the subject but would be well served by a professional editor.

[Bonnie Kernene]

What a great set of books. Killers I had never heard of before. The stories were told well and straight to the point. No extra fluff needed here. The horrific acts of these killers were enough in this. It is well written and well researched. I looked forward to reading it and it paid off. Jack Rosewood has become one of my favorite authors. I do recommend this. Great reading here!

[Edwina Book Anaconda]

Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

The author needs to find himself a proofreader to correct his many, many mistakes before publishing his work. Nonsensical sentences and poor grammar make for an annoyed reader, that's why it took me more than a year to slog through this book.

[Tony Parsons]

My favorites not a good choice of word but: Cannibal killers Chapter 3: Violent Katherine Knight; Chapter 4: The Boston Strangler; Tool Box Killers Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker; Chapter 5: Jesse Pomeroy, The Boy Fiend; Chapter 7: Aileen Wuornos’ Cries Unheard; Chapter 10: Andrei Chikatilo, the Killer School Teacher; Ahmad Suradji; Alexander Pichushkin; Gerald Gallego; Chapter 14: H.H. Holmes started with corpses & the gay/transgender hate crimes.

Fanny Fannie (?)

Rumors later suggested that Charlie had been having an incestuous relationship (no relation what so ever) with his baker daughter, Marie, and had killed the family not only to hide her pregnancy, that (than; pg. 118)

This isn’t biblical times PPL don’t even live this long, ridiculous, Chapter 8 Gary Ridgway:
“480 years to his 48 life sentences.” & even more silly sentences Moses Sithole & Richard Speck.

My favorite clients to work with was borderline personality DO (female) & schizophrenia (male).
The state MH agencies were pretty adamant about those male/female diagnoses.
Once again, I guess I got lucky none of my clients were serial killers.
The other party in the couple’s murders who were accomplices in these heinous brutal crimes don’t deserve to get out of prison! Rot in there.
Got to meet Matthew Shepard’s mom Judy & hear her horror story, while Fred Phelps’ group protested across the street from the college campus.

Warning: This book contains extremely graphic adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive to some readers.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written true crime book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were a few grammar/typo errors, but no repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great true crime movie, college PP presentation, or better yet a mini TV series or even a documentary (True Crime; American Crime Story; Investigative Discovery). Once again you cited references at the end but you didn’t put them in your text. I will still only rate it at 4/5 stars.

Thank you for the free LAK Publishing; Author; PDF book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Lidia]

This is a slightly altered review of the audiobook version that I posted on Audible:

"A set of gruesome stories that keep you listening"

It's another set by Jack Rosewood that I would recommend to everyone interested in real life crimes. It's also a set that will make you cringe and shudder at the extent of human cruelty towards another human being. Stories which the set comprises range from an unimaginable horror of a family member killing all his/her relatives, to serial rapists and murderers, to hate killings, to an unfathomable murder of 8 innocent nurses with no reason or motive whatsoever... And it's a set that will keep you listen late at night...
The reader/listener must be warned, though: the author describes the crimes in vivid, sometimes drastic details, not trying to hide the more horrific aspects of the murders/killings... It may be disturbing for some (it definitely was for me) but it also emphasizes the reality of those heinous acts of depravity...

As for the interpretation:
Kevin Kollins narration was good - factual and not too emotional, which was perfect for the content of the book... I liked the pace of his reading and slight voice alterations when quoting people involved in particular crimes.

There are, however, some technical aspects of the recording that I've found a little annoying: there are unnaturally long pauses between the sections of a given chapter (and some of those sections are really short, like 3-4 sentences only), and there's also one instance when two sections appear in the wrong places (the "Notable" sections concerning Starkweather and Gilmore were interchanged...).

So overall my rating would be 4.5 rather than 4:)

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Píaras Cíonnaoíth]

This is yet another great read that’s really hard to put down. It's an insightful and graphically detailed account of some of the most horrific serial killers. In fact, while reading yet another of Jack Rosewoods books (with Rebecca Lo), I just had to keep turning the pages yet again. Not necessarily because it's all that enjoyable in any way, shape or form, to delve a little too deeply into the malefic minds of such murderous men, but because I sincerely believe that most people are fascinated in one way or another by serial killers. Perhaps it’s the human morbid fascination with death. I’m not exactly sure. However, maybe it just astounds the average person as to how depraved other individuals can be.

Even if you are a seasoned campaigner of true crime, The Serial Killer Books: 15 Famous Serial Killers True Crime Stories That Shocked The World will surely raise more than a few hairs on the back of your neck. It was a good read and the author gave a perspective to these horrific crimes that was both fascinating and intriguing. This was one of the better true crime books that I have read recently.

I would highly recommend this read to all fans of the true-crime genre. I’m also a big fan of Jack Rosewood so it’s another 5 Stars from me. Well done again!

[Elgyn]

s. 180 Fugateová byla (...) 21. listopadu 1958 odsouzena k doživotí. (...) Rozsudek Fugateové byl později změněn – byla podmínečně propuštěna. Stalo se tak v červnu 1986, po 18 letech v nápravném zařízení...

Takže 1958+18=1986.

s. 199 Za oponou stálo pět střelců (...) Čtyři byly nabité ocelí opláštěnými náboji, pátá slepými.
Nebo taky ne.
s. 200 že jednotka bude složena z pěti mužů. Čtyři budou střílet slepými náboji a jeden ostrými


s. 180 holými pažemi a obolenou hlavu s přidělanými elektrodami
obolenou?

Ne že bych chtěla fotky z místa činů, ale ani jeden jediný obrázek?


s. 16 tchýni
s. 99 tchýni
s. 119 řeka [řekla]
s. 282 uděřil

špatné dělení slov - s. 107, 189
uvozovky - s. 201, 255, 270

[Bonnie Dale Keck]

Kindle Unlimited though got it on a freebie day, when got a heads up from the writer. Pretty sure I agreed to read this for possible review on LibraryThing.

This book collection was very informative and very gross; I will have to let my kid read it, as he is all in to serial killers, including Dexter yes, but the even deadlier real ones. Oh, and by 'kid' I mean my kid, he's grown now, so js. Noticed the writer's amazon list of books; there are lots of grossly interesting books and sets in there. Not to slight this collection, in which this also lots of grossly interesting stories, so buckle in and keep hold of the barf bag if you don't have a strong stomach.

[PunkRockLibrarian]

I received this #Audible #audiobook in exchange for an honest review via #LibraryThing.

It doesn't seem to matter how many of Jack's books I read about serial killers, I am still utterly shocked, disgusted and horrified by the behavior of these people (if you can call them that).

With that being said, I was able to blast through this book because it's definitely rapid fire stories that keep you interested...it's digesting the material afterward that causes an issue as remembering these are TRUE stories will keep anyone up at night.

Definitely recommend to those who are interested in serial killers and their stories.

#punkrocklibrarian

[Roz Curney-Sherod]

Interesting book! The usual suspects show up i.e. Gacy, Dahmer, Bundy, H.H. Holmes, Jack the Ripper, etc. But we did get a history lesson and learned about killers I had never heard of who did the most gruesome things. We even got a bit of trivial and learned which horror movies were based on real killers. Each chapter was categorized by either type of killer, male/female, young killers, pedopiles, couples and so on. If you're interested in True Crime then this is the book for you! The killers are not limited to the United States but span the globe which makes it a fascinating anthology with more in depth look at the killers.

[Julie Haigh]

Terribly good!!!!!

This is a great collection, fascinating and full of surprises. I’ve read quite a few of Jack Rosewood’s true crime compendiums now and he keeps managing to select even more varied cases, situations and scenarios.

This compilation is set out in fifteen chapters containing lots of information on some of the most famous true crime cases and some I hadn’t heard about before too. Each chapter focuses on one particular case and then at the end of the chapter more serial killers with similar traits are also mentioned briefly. I really liked this format.

So many times I exclaimed Arrgh, ooh, eeek, and my goodness while I read this book! Reading some of the content will really have you cringing. How would one ever recover from seeing some of these terrible things if you were one of the first Police officers at the scene? This is the stuff nightmares are made of but for some people, this was real life. And then death.

Explores killers where sometimes there is just no reason, and sometimes their lives have had a catalogue of disasters which lead them down a desperate road. So many horrible events absolutely beyond belief.

Here is more of the worst you've ever heard of. This is a bigger compilation than some of Rosewood's but not overly detailed and an engrossing quick read. The gruesome acts described will keep you awake reading about them-and then keep you awake thinking how truly terrifying what you've just read was!

[April]

The Serial Killer Books: 15 Famous Serial Killers True Crime Stories That Shocked the World
: Jack Rosewood

This is another fine collection of brief concise histories of infamous serial killers. Jack Rosewood serves up ugly truths about things the general population don't understand. It's scary that the person you meet on the street could just be the next serial killer.




The narration was well done by Kevin Kollins.



"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

[Jeff]

Some of these cases were new to me, others were not. As far as I could tell, all information about these cases was obtained from books, news articles, documentaries and other publications, and not from court transcripts or interviews. Most were interesting.

Kevin Kollins' performance was adequate, although I heard several mispronunciations and a couple of fairly serious production errors.

NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Aňu Mock]

Není to úplně odborná literatura, spíše sesbírané střípky příběhů o sériových vrazích... Ti co se tím zabývají, tak jim to moc asi nedá, ale pro ty, co znají jen ta "velká" jména jako Čikatilo nebo Ted Bundy (ty jsem znala já), tak zjistí že podobných individuí bylo mnohem více a že tihle snad ani nebyli nejhorší... Musím říct, že mě kniha zasáhla, ono o podobných případech člověk slyší non-stop, ale většinou jen z knih, filmů a bere tyhle vrahy jako fiktivní postavy... Na téhle knize je nejhorší, že to o čem čtete se opravdu stalo...

[Emma]

Not my kind of book: I've only read it because I needed to for a book challenge.

While I can appreciate true crime books if they are memoirs of victims or their families, or when they provide an interesting pov/analysis, here this is just a catalogue of famous serial killers and honestly I don't get the point of such books.

This was not the worst when it comes to sensationalism but still, I wasn't a fan of the tone used in this book.

And finally the author was in dire need of a proofreader because the book was absolutely full of mistakes.

[books, tatts & naked cats]

I’m giving this book 2 stars and that’s being nice, to be honest. When I got the book I was super stoked to read it, however when I was finished with the book I was disappointed. The amount of errors, spelling mistakes and incomplete sentences is crazy. It drove me nuts. It had some good info in it, but I think it was a bit biased and needed more research at times. Sadly, I won’t be reading any more books by Mr. Rosewood. .

[Bettye McKee]

Excellent true crime stories

This book was a good read. Some of the cases I had heard about but didn't know the story, so I learned a lot. There are no photos, so I Googled most of the cases to gain a visual reference point.

I was especially affected by the story of Emmett Till.

42

[Ashley Hedden]

The Serial Killer Books: 15 Famous Serial Killers True Crime Stories that shocked the world by Jack a Rosewood was a great Read. This anthology was a closer more in depth look at serial killers and what makes them do what they do. This is a must read for anyone that likes true crime stories. I can't wait to read more by Jack Rosewood.

[Pat Ison]

It's a mixed up world

Interesting and some were real tragedies that could have been prevented this new world of sex change and gays has added another world for people of the older generation and it is confusing and unreal to this age group. What a world we live in and is the end time coming

[Liberty]

This book was interesting and covered a lot of diverse cases but it did feel like each chapter was written by a different person, there’s no distinct author’s voice.
I preferred the last two chapters and how they focus on the victims rather than the murderer’s story and I think that’s how the rest of the book should have been written.

[Elisabeth Brookshire]

Decent bang for your buck

This book series is made up of various true types of crimes and murders. It's well-written, I just happened to know most of the stories previously. I wish there were pics too.

[devonlouise]

Amazing

This book garden gripped from start to end. Like the fact had loads of different stories in and give you detail description it also made you want to be in the jury shouting Guilty

[Leanne Keenoo]

Been listening to this intermittently on Audible for ages.
Basically just true stories of serial killers.
Reasonably interesting but only ever listened between other books and the narration was awful

[Shylo]

No flow, poorly written

There was some good information in this book but the wiring was so inconsistent it was hard to really focus on what I was reading because I was trying to decipher sentences and wade through excessive repetition.

[Jeffrey M.]

Glad this was a free book.

The book is nothing more than a compilation of news stories and tidbits found on television. The writing is replete with numerous grammatical errors. A very disappointing book.

[Mrs A. J. Turbfield]

A quite infomative series of articles about what drives men and women to kill. Touching on the more

Difficult topics of rascism and hatei. Not as in . depth as I was expecting, and a fair amount of air brushing of details.

[Loo_na]

Knizku som zacala citat po par vyborne natocenych dokumentarnych serialov o seriovych vrahoch a dufala som ze knizne spracovanie tejto tematiky bude putave. Zial kniha ide po povrchu, miestami som mala pocit ze ked autor nevedel o com viac pisat tak pisal o vsetkom moznom co k osobe vraha nasiel.

[Konrad laughman]

Good read

If your into serial killers this is a good read. Very in depth. Would recommend to someone wanting a good book.