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The Hillside Stranglers
For weeks in the fall of 1977, as the body count of sexually violated, brutally murdered young women escalated, the Los Angeles newspapers headlined the increasingly alarming deeds of a serial killer they named the Hillside Strangler. But it would take more than another year and the mysterious disappearance of two young women in Seattle before the police would arrest one man—the handsome, charming, fast-talking Kenny Bianchi—and discover that the strangler was actually two men. Like Truman Capote in In Cold Blood and Norman Mailer in The Executioner's Song, Darcy O'Brien weds the narrative skill of an award-winning novelist with the detailed observations of an experienced investigator to bring the story of Bianchi and his animally magnetic cousin Angelo Buono vividly to the page. First exploring the symbiotic relationship between these two men who shared a lust as insatiable as their hate for women, O'Brien goes on to examine the crimes themselves and the lives of the victims.
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
424 people are currently reading
5810 people want to read
About the author
Darcy O'Brien
16 books40 followersDarcy O'Brien was born in Los Angeles, the son of Hollywood silent film actor George O’Brien and actress Marguerite Churchill.
O'Brien attended Princeton University and University of Cambridge, and received a master's degree and doctorate from the University of California, Berkely. From 1965 to 1978 he was a professor of English at Pomona College. In 1978 he moved to Tulsa, and taught at the Univesity of Tulsa until 1995.
O'Brien was married three times and had one daughter named Molly O'Brien.
O'Brien died of a heart attack in Tulsa on March 2, 1998.
O'Brien attended Princeton University and University of Cambridge, and received a master's degree and doctorate from the University of California, Berkely. From 1965 to 1978 he was a professor of English at Pomona College. In 1978 he moved to Tulsa, and taught at the Univesity of Tulsa until 1995.
O'Brien was married three times and had one daughter named Molly O'Brien.
O'Brien died of a heart attack in Tulsa on March 2, 1998.
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September 14, 2025
Mi Numi (My Gods)...
You Are My Fate, My Destiny
THE HILLSIDE STRANGLERS
by Darcy O'Brien
4 1/2 stars. In today's urban America, murder has become so common-place that, at times, it goes unnoticed.
However...
Every now and then, certain murders gain notoriety due to their unusual horrors, causing mass anxiety.
This was the atmosphere in the 1970s in Los Angeles County when the Hillside Stranglers came on the scene.
Two cousins, Angelo Buono 44 and Kenneth Bianchi 26, began killing women between 1977 and 1979.
Because, as Angelo Buono liked to say: Some girls deserve to die.
They raped, tortured, and strangled young women and girls, leaving their bruised bodies on hillsides northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Angelo told Kenny: Mi Numi (my gods), you are my fate, my destiny.
The victims' ages ranged from 12 to 28. They appeared to have been picked at random from Hollywood, Glendale, and the San Fernando Valley.
They were black, Hispanic, and white. Some were prostitutes, others were students and working women.
Then, suddenly...
The killings stopped, but in 1979, Kenneth Bianchi moved to Washington state, where he killed two more women.
His California drivers license revealed his address to be the same as two of the victims, breaking the case open at last.
Eventually...
Both cousins were given life sentences. Buono died in prison of natural causes at age 67. Bianchi is now 74 and serving a life sentence in the notorious Walla Walla prison.
Their trial was the longest in American history at that time, spanning more than 2 years.
I would caution readers that this book details the gruesome murders of eight women and two female school children. Some readers felt the book was exploitive, but I think of it as more a cautionary non-fiction account. If you're easily upset or fearful, this true crime story may not be for you.
IMHO, this is a top-notch true crime account, but not for the squeamish. The story alternates between the police finding a body or bodies, then the killers and how they chose victims, taking them back to their lair for a night of rape and torture before finally dumping their bodies along LA county hillsides.
You Are My Fate, My Destiny
THE HILLSIDE STRANGLERS
by Darcy O'Brien
4 1/2 stars. In today's urban America, murder has become so common-place that, at times, it goes unnoticed.
However...
Every now and then, certain murders gain notoriety due to their unusual horrors, causing mass anxiety.
This was the atmosphere in the 1970s in Los Angeles County when the Hillside Stranglers came on the scene.
Two cousins, Angelo Buono 44 and Kenneth Bianchi 26, began killing women between 1977 and 1979.
Because, as Angelo Buono liked to say: Some girls deserve to die.
They raped, tortured, and strangled young women and girls, leaving their bruised bodies on hillsides northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Angelo told Kenny: Mi Numi (my gods), you are my fate, my destiny.
The victims' ages ranged from 12 to 28. They appeared to have been picked at random from Hollywood, Glendale, and the San Fernando Valley.
They were black, Hispanic, and white. Some were prostitutes, others were students and working women.
Then, suddenly...
The killings stopped, but in 1979, Kenneth Bianchi moved to Washington state, where he killed two more women.
His California drivers license revealed his address to be the same as two of the victims, breaking the case open at last.
Eventually...
Both cousins were given life sentences. Buono died in prison of natural causes at age 67. Bianchi is now 74 and serving a life sentence in the notorious Walla Walla prison.
Their trial was the longest in American history at that time, spanning more than 2 years.
I would caution readers that this book details the gruesome murders of eight women and two female school children. Some readers felt the book was exploitive, but I think of it as more a cautionary non-fiction account. If you're easily upset or fearful, this true crime story may not be for you.
IMHO, this is a top-notch true crime account, but not for the squeamish. The story alternates between the police finding a body or bodies, then the killers and how they chose victims, taking them back to their lair for a night of rape and torture before finally dumping their bodies along LA county hillsides.
April 19, 2019
Technology created the serial killer and (fingers crossed) it’s looking like technology has uncreated him too. There were no serial murders before there were cities and plentiful urban transport. When you stay within a 30 mile radius of your village you won’t find many victims. But when you have a nice car and all of LA at your disposal, then the sky is the limit. However, now we have DNA science, so you only get to do one, maybe two murders now before they’re knocking on your door at 5 am. And plus the chilly effect of the internet, which takes victims off the streets, to a great degree. Streetwalking is now done with an app. And who has seen a hitchhiker in 15 years? So let’s hope there will be no more of these ghastly men. And you know that Emily Dickinson says that hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul. I’ll second that emotion.
THE OLD ONE ABOUT MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER
Two of a Kind is the tangled story of Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi. They killed 10 women and children between the ages of 12 and 27 in a short space of time, October 1977 to February 1978, in and around Glendale, Los Angeles. The whole thing was exceptionally gruesome. It’s hard to think that there are guys who could pick up a young woman so they could watch her die just for fun. But there are. Before World war Two, you might have thought that there wouldn’t be many guys who could machine-gun a whole lot of people one day, then the next day another whole lot of people. But it turned out there were plenty of guys who could do this without feeling ill or fainting, it was all okay with them.
Well, I’m drifting away from the subject here.
Eventually there was a falling out between the cousins, and Kenny decamped for Bellingham, Washington, where, flying solo, he killed two other women in one evening (11 January 1979). But without the street smarts of his older cousin to guide him Kenny made real bad mistakes, you would have thought he’d have learned a thing or two, and whereas the 10 LA murders were whodunits that baffled the cops, these two were open and shut cases and Kenny was picked up the next day.
The cops found out he’d moved from LA so they contacted the LAPD and in five minutes they’d all had the lightbulb moment – this was one of the Hillside Stranglers. (The cops knew there were two guys working as a team.) After 18 months of getting nowhere, finally - here he was.
While he was cooling his heels, Ken watched tv, and saw a movie called Sybil, starring Joanne Woodward and Sally Field. He also came across The Three Faces of Eve at the same time, and thought ah, what I will do, because I am clever, is I will convince these police idiots that I have multiple personality disorder. Then I will not go to prison.
Naturally, the two shrinks they got to interview him (at great, vast length) under hypnosis agreed that yes, he had an entity inside him that had done the murders, along with his cousin Angelo.
Eventually, one of the shrinks realized that people facing the death penalty will lie to the authorities to try to avoid their fate. This psychiatrist was shocked! It was all an act.
SERIAL KILLER GROUPIES
As you know, when a notorious criminal is apprehended, and his photos show him to be a handsome young fellow, as Ken was, it will not be long before some females are writing to him and saying all kinds of embarrassing nonsense. One such person was Veronica Lynn Compton, a wannabe playwright with substance abuse issues. Before long Ken and Veronica had cooked up a cunning plan.
Our author Darcy O’Brien did not care for Veronica much. Here’s his remarkable description :
In every sense, she was a striking woman. Twenty-three, in appearance a dark, Latin spitfire, her burnished flesh emanating an equatorial heat… she was a beauty except for her nose, which was upturned to the point of snoutishness and lent her face a porcine effect.
(I hasten to say that Darcy doesn’t write like this very often, which is a great relief. It’s fun but you wouldn’t want a whole true crime book like that. )
TRUTH IN THIS CASE STRANGER THAN FICTION
The cunning plan was that (wait for it) Veronica would visit Ken and smuggle some of his semen out of the prison. Then, she would strangle a woman (anyone convenient) and dump his semen on the victim. Then, when the cops found this new body, the semen would be an exact match with that found on Ken’s previous victims, and this would show that Ken could not have done any of these murders.
Well, how to get the semen out of the jail was a bit of a head-scratcher, but Ken was resourceful. With a snipped off finger from a rubber glove, a piece of twine and a smuggled book, it was done. On to phase two.
You have to keep reminding yourself this actually happened.
Veronica located a victim, got her to come back to her motel room, surreptitiously laid out the rubber semen finger, then attacked the woman from behind with a cord. Had to strangle her like that to make it fit with the other Hillside murders.
The woman tried to draw air, tried to force a scream but only gargled, threw back her arms and grabbed at Veronica’s wrists, held, dug nails in, pulled with everything she had, wrenching from side to side, and with one great effort flipped Veronica up and over her. Veronica lost her grip, cartwheeled, smashed the small of her back going down against the arm of the chair, and collapsed moaning to the floor.
So the poor victim got the hell out of there, called the cops and Veronica was arrested for attempted murder. The crazy plot was discovered and she got a life sentence. As far as I know she’s still inside.
THE FINAL RECKONING
Angelo Buono also got life after a hugely long and ridiculous trial and he died in 2002 at the age of 67.
Ken Bianchi plea bargained and avoided the gas chamber. He got life and he’s still serving time in Walla Walla prison, Washington. He’s now 67 years old, so he’s been inside for more than 35 years.
The twelve women and girls are still dead.
THE OLD ONE ABOUT MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER
Two of a Kind is the tangled story of Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi. They killed 10 women and children between the ages of 12 and 27 in a short space of time, October 1977 to February 1978, in and around Glendale, Los Angeles. The whole thing was exceptionally gruesome. It’s hard to think that there are guys who could pick up a young woman so they could watch her die just for fun. But there are. Before World war Two, you might have thought that there wouldn’t be many guys who could machine-gun a whole lot of people one day, then the next day another whole lot of people. But it turned out there were plenty of guys who could do this without feeling ill or fainting, it was all okay with them.
Well, I’m drifting away from the subject here.
Eventually there was a falling out between the cousins, and Kenny decamped for Bellingham, Washington, where, flying solo, he killed two other women in one evening (11 January 1979). But without the street smarts of his older cousin to guide him Kenny made real bad mistakes, you would have thought he’d have learned a thing or two, and whereas the 10 LA murders were whodunits that baffled the cops, these two were open and shut cases and Kenny was picked up the next day.
The cops found out he’d moved from LA so they contacted the LAPD and in five minutes they’d all had the lightbulb moment – this was one of the Hillside Stranglers. (The cops knew there were two guys working as a team.) After 18 months of getting nowhere, finally - here he was.
While he was cooling his heels, Ken watched tv, and saw a movie called Sybil, starring Joanne Woodward and Sally Field. He also came across The Three Faces of Eve at the same time, and thought ah, what I will do, because I am clever, is I will convince these police idiots that I have multiple personality disorder. Then I will not go to prison.
Naturally, the two shrinks they got to interview him (at great, vast length) under hypnosis agreed that yes, he had an entity inside him that had done the murders, along with his cousin Angelo.
Eventually, one of the shrinks realized that people facing the death penalty will lie to the authorities to try to avoid their fate. This psychiatrist was shocked! It was all an act.
SERIAL KILLER GROUPIES
As you know, when a notorious criminal is apprehended, and his photos show him to be a handsome young fellow, as Ken was, it will not be long before some females are writing to him and saying all kinds of embarrassing nonsense. One such person was Veronica Lynn Compton, a wannabe playwright with substance abuse issues. Before long Ken and Veronica had cooked up a cunning plan.
Our author Darcy O’Brien did not care for Veronica much. Here’s his remarkable description :
In every sense, she was a striking woman. Twenty-three, in appearance a dark, Latin spitfire, her burnished flesh emanating an equatorial heat… she was a beauty except for her nose, which was upturned to the point of snoutishness and lent her face a porcine effect.
(I hasten to say that Darcy doesn’t write like this very often, which is a great relief. It’s fun but you wouldn’t want a whole true crime book like that. )
TRUTH IN THIS CASE STRANGER THAN FICTION
The cunning plan was that (wait for it) Veronica would visit Ken and smuggle some of his semen out of the prison. Then, she would strangle a woman (anyone convenient) and dump his semen on the victim. Then, when the cops found this new body, the semen would be an exact match with that found on Ken’s previous victims, and this would show that Ken could not have done any of these murders.
Well, how to get the semen out of the jail was a bit of a head-scratcher, but Ken was resourceful. With a snipped off finger from a rubber glove, a piece of twine and a smuggled book, it was done. On to phase two.
You have to keep reminding yourself this actually happened.
Veronica located a victim, got her to come back to her motel room, surreptitiously laid out the rubber semen finger, then attacked the woman from behind with a cord. Had to strangle her like that to make it fit with the other Hillside murders.
The woman tried to draw air, tried to force a scream but only gargled, threw back her arms and grabbed at Veronica’s wrists, held, dug nails in, pulled with everything she had, wrenching from side to side, and with one great effort flipped Veronica up and over her. Veronica lost her grip, cartwheeled, smashed the small of her back going down against the arm of the chair, and collapsed moaning to the floor.
So the poor victim got the hell out of there, called the cops and Veronica was arrested for attempted murder. The crazy plot was discovered and she got a life sentence. As far as I know she’s still inside.
THE FINAL RECKONING
Angelo Buono also got life after a hugely long and ridiculous trial and he died in 2002 at the age of 67.
Ken Bianchi plea bargained and avoided the gas chamber. He got life and he’s still serving time in Walla Walla prison, Washington. He’s now 67 years old, so he’s been inside for more than 35 years.
The twelve women and girls are still dead.
December 13, 2021
Story 5/5
Narration 5/5
RTC
Narration 5/5
RTC
July 30, 2014
I was always aware of Darcy O'Brien as an impeccable fiction writer, especially for his book, A Way of Life, Like Any Other, which won the prestigious Ernest Hemingway Award. However, I did not know that he was equally adept at writing true crime, and The Hillside Stranglers is indeed his pièce de résistance. O'Brien gets into the nitty gritty of the underbelly of the deviant Los Angeles sex scene where booze, violence and pimping all went hand in hand. Added to that is the depictions of the gruff, cynical and world weary mentality of the investigators, particularly Detectives Frank Salerno and especially Bob Grogan, whose rough edged view of the California seedier side was reminiscent to that of a sewer system, a man who yearned for a Biblical flood to wash all the garbage away.
Lurking in that garbage were two men-Angelo Buono and Kenny Bianchi-cousins, who were linked by their conscious-less sex fetish depravity to abduct, rape, torture, sodomize and strangle ten females without remorse; the more horrific they could be, the better they liked it, and from 1977 to 1979, the hills of Los Angeles would be the dumping ground where these innocent victims would be placed. O'Brien does a very good job at detailing the crimes without being too graphic and macabre. Yet, he shows a sympathetic respect for the victims, their families and all those involved. A difficult treading act, to be sure. The backgrounds of the victims, while not always rosy and happy, depicted some of them as woman or young girls on the edge, but they had the potential to be more than what they were often portrayed as in the mass media.
How does a serial killer come into being? What are the ingredients that makes someone indifferent to the tortured pains of another human being? Darcy O'Brien is also very good at exploring this dynamic. While not a sociologist or psychiatrist, he lets the simple facts of the case speak for itself. Merging case points of the crime with a human profile of the killers, he is able to create a reliable picture that brings to the forefront the grim backgrounds of Angelo Buono and Kenny Bianchi. They were two peas in a pod, and the former certainly had a dark and disturbing affection for the latter, for he called him Mi Numi, a Sicilian phrase that means something close to blood brother or something in that vein. Both of their backgrounds oozed serious problems that would definitely manifest itself in later life, and without a doubt, they hated women to the fullest. They were animalistic, conniving, indifferent and violent, Angelo especially. Ken was just a fast talking con man who followed his gutter talking violent cousin. When they came together, citizens paid the ultimate price.
The crimes aside, the most fascinating part of the book was the actual court case, the longest criminal court case in U.S. history. Judge Ronald George, who happened to be the author's old roommate while at Princeton University, played a pivotal role in bringing the case forward for criminal proceedings. The defense did everything humanly possible to not work and do the job at hand; their dismissal excuses also verged on the ridiculous, and more often than not, Judge George had to deal with the idiocy of the male ego as well as manipulative defense lawyers. Added to the circus was Ken Bianchi, whose defense tactic of Multiple Personality Disorder was such a farce that he was more a hinderance than a help. These things were all seen as a collective charade, and the case was able to continue forward, and justice ultimately did prevail. Darcy O'Brien's The Hillside Strangler was a disturbing and compelling read, richly detailed and scary, a work not for the faint of heart. It will be the definitive book for years to come.
Lurking in that garbage were two men-Angelo Buono and Kenny Bianchi-cousins, who were linked by their conscious-less sex fetish depravity to abduct, rape, torture, sodomize and strangle ten females without remorse; the more horrific they could be, the better they liked it, and from 1977 to 1979, the hills of Los Angeles would be the dumping ground where these innocent victims would be placed. O'Brien does a very good job at detailing the crimes without being too graphic and macabre. Yet, he shows a sympathetic respect for the victims, their families and all those involved. A difficult treading act, to be sure. The backgrounds of the victims, while not always rosy and happy, depicted some of them as woman or young girls on the edge, but they had the potential to be more than what they were often portrayed as in the mass media.
How does a serial killer come into being? What are the ingredients that makes someone indifferent to the tortured pains of another human being? Darcy O'Brien is also very good at exploring this dynamic. While not a sociologist or psychiatrist, he lets the simple facts of the case speak for itself. Merging case points of the crime with a human profile of the killers, he is able to create a reliable picture that brings to the forefront the grim backgrounds of Angelo Buono and Kenny Bianchi. They were two peas in a pod, and the former certainly had a dark and disturbing affection for the latter, for he called him Mi Numi, a Sicilian phrase that means something close to blood brother or something in that vein. Both of their backgrounds oozed serious problems that would definitely manifest itself in later life, and without a doubt, they hated women to the fullest. They were animalistic, conniving, indifferent and violent, Angelo especially. Ken was just a fast talking con man who followed his gutter talking violent cousin. When they came together, citizens paid the ultimate price.
The crimes aside, the most fascinating part of the book was the actual court case, the longest criminal court case in U.S. history. Judge Ronald George, who happened to be the author's old roommate while at Princeton University, played a pivotal role in bringing the case forward for criminal proceedings. The defense did everything humanly possible to not work and do the job at hand; their dismissal excuses also verged on the ridiculous, and more often than not, Judge George had to deal with the idiocy of the male ego as well as manipulative defense lawyers. Added to the circus was Ken Bianchi, whose defense tactic of Multiple Personality Disorder was such a farce that he was more a hinderance than a help. These things were all seen as a collective charade, and the case was able to continue forward, and justice ultimately did prevail. Darcy O'Brien's The Hillside Strangler was a disturbing and compelling read, richly detailed and scary, a work not for the faint of heart. It will be the definitive book for years to come.
March 17, 2018
Gruesome just gruesome
One of the best true crime books I’ve read
One of the best true crime books I’ve read
August 28, 2018
Sexualizes murder victims, including underage girls. Too gross to finish.
October 21, 2014
I read this book due to a strong sense of curiosity. I lived in Glendale at the time of these murders and well remember the fear we all lived under. I was in junior high at the time. As I read, I could picture all the places mentioned. I remember that after we all found out of Buono's guilt, we were especially horrified when we realized that we had used his shop! He did auto upholstery and he had done one of our cars. Then as I read the book, I also discovered that one of the teachers at my school (which was about a mile from Buono's shop) was involved in the case, having literally rescued one of the girls when Buono and Bianchi tried to force her into their car. She certainly never told her students about that! I deeply admire the detectives and others who did not quit on this case, over 5 years, until the monsters were put away for good. Buono has since died, amd Bianchi lives in prison in Washington. It is a very interesting read, but also very graphic both in scenes depicted and in language.
December 5, 2021
This book was published in 1985, and boy does it show. I am honestly bewildered at the high rating for this title. My hackles were raised a bit in the preface, when O'Brien writes about how he got into writing about the Hillside Stranglers and befriending one of the detectives involved. The two bond over how the world has become inured to violence and that O'Brien won the detective over by saying that some true crime books didn't portray the evil involved enough. O'Brien's grandfather was a member of the police in San Francisco, and O'Brien and the detective agree that the grandfather would be horrified by San Francisco of the 1980s.
The first part of the book is mostly fine. O'Brien goes through the murders committed by Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi--in horrifying detail. He alternates between describing the murders and discussing the investigations and Buono's and Bianchi's backgrounds. It's gruesome and terrible, but fairly standard.
It's O'Brien's portrayals of the investigators that I just couldn't handle. One begins an affair (from stress of the investigation). They think sadly about how awful the world is and how most of the public just Don't Understand. They frequently think how horrible this must be for the families of the nice girls from good homes who got murdered, but not much is mentioned of the sex workers and women trafficked by the Stranglers. The detectives are frequently overwhelmed with rage at the idea of the Stranglers being put back on the streets. Bianchi tries for the insanity defense by pretending he has multiple personalities, and the derision for most mental health providers is palpable--as is the disdain for Buono's female defense attorney.
As the book went on, it was more and more about the investigators, despite the story being about the trial at that point. And the book ends with a reflection about justice by the judge who presided over Buono's trial--though the epilogue ends with the book's main character, one of the investigators. "He was almost enjoying life again," O'Brien concludes. Though at times O'Brien pays lip service to the idea of centering the victims, his true interest is clear.
It's a shame; I'd love to see a more modern take on this case, because the trial, particularly seems fascinating. I just grew too angry at O'Brien and his worship of the investigators to be able to appreciate much in this.
The first part of the book is mostly fine. O'Brien goes through the murders committed by Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi--in horrifying detail. He alternates between describing the murders and discussing the investigations and Buono's and Bianchi's backgrounds. It's gruesome and terrible, but fairly standard.
It's O'Brien's portrayals of the investigators that I just couldn't handle. One begins an affair (from stress of the investigation). They think sadly about how awful the world is and how most of the public just Don't Understand. They frequently think how horrible this must be for the families of the nice girls from good homes who got murdered, but not much is mentioned of the sex workers and women trafficked by the Stranglers. The detectives are frequently overwhelmed with rage at the idea of the Stranglers being put back on the streets. Bianchi tries for the insanity defense by pretending he has multiple personalities, and the derision for most mental health providers is palpable--as is the disdain for Buono's female defense attorney.
As the book went on, it was more and more about the investigators, despite the story being about the trial at that point. And the book ends with a reflection about justice by the judge who presided over Buono's trial--though the epilogue ends with the book's main character, one of the investigators. "He was almost enjoying life again," O'Brien concludes. Though at times O'Brien pays lip service to the idea of centering the victims, his true interest is clear.
It's a shame; I'd love to see a more modern take on this case, because the trial, particularly seems fascinating. I just grew too angry at O'Brien and his worship of the investigators to be able to appreciate much in this.
November 17, 2010
Ugh. Grotesque, badly written trash. Not even good by the standards of the '80s True Crime genre, which were low. If you're offended by crap that turns misogynist psychopathology into entertainment, steer clear of this one.
January 23, 2016
Appalling, sickening portrait of two cousins who really should have been drowned at birth. This is one of those rare true-crime stories that reads like great, great fiction. Very hard to put down, if you can stand to read it at all.
June 17, 2012
Very disturbing but a graphic and grotesque wake up call to the kind of evil present in our society.
September 6, 2016
On the whole, I prefer my true crime books to be heavy on facts and light on lurid, pornographic detail.
July 25, 2025
Well researched, but very graphic account. I understand why Darcy O'Brien decided to include such graphic descriptions of the violence perpetrated on the victims, but at times, it came across as creepily voyeuristic instead of just highlighting the brutality. Also, the detectives almost seemed like caricatures.
September 30, 2024
As a little girl in the San Fernando Valley in the late 70s, I remember being quite frightened by the Hillside Strangler. I'm so glad I didn't know then what I know know, I'd have never left my bedroom. Pure evil.
May 9, 2014
Gleeful in its depravity, "The Hillside Stranglers" is targeted for the sort of people who get their jollies googling crime scene photos. Granted, rare is the book about serial killers that ranks very high on the taste-o-meter, but O'Brien aims for the lowest common denominator and barely manages to hit the ground it stands on. When one picks up a book about two cousins who strangle women, the misogyny is a given; you don't need it enthusiastically spelled out at every opportunity. It's just the sort of situation where the author needs to "show, not tell.". Unfortunately, O'Brien tells and tells and tells and tells some more. If you've never pulled the wings off flies, you can safely pass this one by knowing you've missed nothing. If you have, you should spend your time in therapy and not reading this graffiti on the underside of the bottom of the "true crime" barrel.
July 27, 2013
Could not finish this - even though I'm not usually squeamish, this was far too graphic and somehow leering for my tastes.
July 27, 2020
The hillside strangler case. Probably the most well known serial killer duos in true crime. Other then Paul and Karla. Eric and Dylan the Columbine shooters would also be up there in terms of the most well known.
I've had this book in my collection for at least 3 years. I got it as "very good" and for cheap. Turns out the seller lied and sold me a good that wasn't in "very good" condition. It has the worse side title of any of my books. You can barely make out the title of the book.and parts of the book are taped together with see through tape. Very well done. Far better then I could do it, but that isn't "very good." I thought about sending it back and buying a different copy, a superior copy but I didn't.
So I decided to read this long overdue book especially after reading A venom in the blood about another serial killing duo.
I am fascinated by murderous duos. I like them as equally as single person murderers, but the duo adds another layer to the case. It should be no surprise that I am also very fascinated by cults and study cults as well. My favorite cult is The people's temple, the cult leader being Jim Jones.
Duos provide another layer to the case as cults do; group psychology. How each personality plays a role within the case. That is incredibly fascinating. Not just in terms of the criminals, but in the case of law enforcement officials as well. Perfect examples would be the satanic panic/ritual abuse/child day care panic of the 1980s.
Here are my favorite quotes that really put together my fascination.
"Why didn't anyone say 'this is crazy, let's stop.'. Well, you look at those tapes and you'll see why it never stopped, because all they did was reinforce each other for ever violent suggestion and every violent behavior." - About Eric and Dylan the Columbine shooters.
"I don't think that they are sitting around with any diabolical or conspiratorial agenda to go out and falsely accuse Arnold Friedman or railroad Jesse Friedman. But, nobody is critiquing them, no body is telling them that there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Nobody is saying 'we got a problem in this country with hysteria around this issue.' So they are really free to...let their fantasies fly." - About the ritual abuse/satanic panic cases, specifically the Great Neck Arnold/Jesse Friedman case. Referring to the investigators.
"Kenneth Bianchi to a great extent, he was motivated because he was trying to show his older cousin who he revered that 'he was tough' and for Angelo Buono. He enjoyed the fact that he had his younger cousin listening to him and saw him as a mentee and we've seen this time and time again. Pairs of killers, who urge eachother on and together they are extremely vicious and violent." - About the Hillside stranglers.
We can absolutely extend this to internet culture [Incels for example/SJWs/Nazis] where echo chambers are all over the internet. Especially when youtube and other scumbag orgs are censoring content.
The book starts right off with the dumping of the second victim. With an introduction to Angelo Buono and his private life, mainly his character and detailed descriptions of his house we are given a detailed description of how the second vicitm was abducted, strangled to death, and then placed onto someone's flower bed for the neighborhood to find the next morning. As I read it I thought "This is Judy Miller, right?" and of course I was correct. It takes a little bit about the main detective investigating the Judy Miller case. Beloved and renowned homicide detective Frank Salerno
Trivia time. The book mentions that the Hillside strangler case was the longest and most expensive criminal trial in Los Angeles. That would be broken by The night stalker case. Then that case would be broken by the satanic panic/ritual abuse panic case known as The Mcmartin case where 7 daycare workers were falsely accused of "ritual satanic sexual abuse" by children who were implanted with false memories, manipulation, and coercion. By their parents, by incompetent police, and by "therapist" who were not licensed at all to do any form of child therapy of any kind despite their claims of "I'm an expert" Sorry but experts have licenses and their "new tactics" have been exposed as pure pseudo science.
Judy Johnson lit the fire that led to the Mcmartin accusations. She was a paranoid schizophrenic who was sleep deprived due to her dying older son with cancer. She was also an alcoholic with really bad bleeding ulcers. In 1986 she was found dead in her home. She had coughed up blood all over the house; her heavy vodka addiction and her bleeding ulcers. In this part of the case someone decided to actually send a competent unbiased investigator [try and reel back reality] and who else then the best? So they sent Frank Salerno. So he examined Judy's house; the death scene, and attended the autopsy. She had died from an alcohol overdose combined with a severely bleeding ulcer.
Frank Salerno was also the main investigator on the Night stalker case aka Richard Rimarez. When they interrogated Richard Rimarez after he was almost beaten to death by angry citizens of L.A Richard was thrilled to be in the presence of Frank Salerno, the homicide detective that "got the hillside stranglers." Richard was even more thrilled when he found out he was placed in the same cell as Angelo Buono when they had arrested him.
We get a little glimpse into Judy Miller's life. Mainly who she hung out with and her sad family life.
The book then quickly turns to the murder of Lissa Kastin. Which reminded me of A venom in the blood. Lissa Kastin like the one of the two girls abducted by the Gallego's had been a "disappointment." The book does mention a little bit about her life. The fact that she was a performer in an L.A stage show called "The L.A. Knockers." Out of curiousity [like always] I looked up Lissa Kastin and that led me to finding photos of her particpation in L.A Knockers and even a video supposedly showing her performance. Ironically she is dancing to the song "Lil red riding hood" by Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs.
"You sure are looking good
You're everything a big bad wolf could want
Listen to me
Little Red Riding Hood
I don't think little big girls should
Go walking in these spooky old woods alone." Which is also ironic since Angelo and Kenneth didn't want her. She didn't fulfill their preferences. Also ironically she is the wolf in the dance number. She was obviously the best dancer. Her movements are great.
As I've carped over and over again "The victims" *fake exaggerated heart broken sentiment sigh*
"this really should be about the victims" I'll say it and I'll say it again. YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE WHAT WE FIND INTERESTING. WE DO! STOP TRYING TO SOCIAL ENGINEER AND STOP PRETENDING YOU CARE ABOUT SOMEONE WHO DIED 50 OR 80 F*CKING YEARS AGO! Stop f*cking fake virtue signaling. Stop this "the victims. This really should be about the victims." I am so f*cking sick of it! I decided to look up Lissa Kastins. I decided to find more about Claire Wilson and Kathy Whitman. I didn't need your FAKE sympathy and self loathing to go searching. If only I could find a video of Aiko Koo ballet dancing or full news reports by Christine Chubbuck....sigh.
Like a lot of true crime this book isn't linear at all.
Very well written and very "you are there" effect. The best of true crime.
I should mention that while I was constantly watching news about the coronavirus I was also listening to Hot child in the city while reading A venom in the blood and Two of a kind. Thinking/picturing in my mind's eye 1970's California.
After Kimberly Martin I very quickly realized they could of easily and should of easily been caught.
1.Wreckler was the next door neighbor of Bianchi and described him in her diary as a "used car salesman."
2.Martin was abducted in another room of Bianchi's apartment building and they questioned him. He was the only one who said he heard her screaming.
Someone should of picked up on that.
This case is pretty infamous for Bianchi's multiple personality insanity defense and play acting.
Gacy did the same but to a far lesser extent. The fact of the matter is that multiple personality disorder does not exist and has been widely debunked. As one psychiatrist pointed "That has been so debunked it's almost radioactive." The reality is that dissociation is real, but that doesn't mean completely different personalities. I have had many dissociation episodes. Many times I've found my self walking out of a store and then thinking "I am walking to my car in the parking lot, but I barely even realized it until now. I just feel like a robot. What the hell?" I've experienced derealisation as well. Sometimes I'll look at my family members and ask "Are you real?" Sometimes I'll start to feel as though I am in the matrix.
The main investigator [besides Salerno] said the easily duped therapist reminded him of religious nuts or political nuts. One of the main therapists was best friends with Dr.Wilbur who conned the world with Sybil. Sybil is the most famous case of multiple personality. Bianchi watched Sybil while in prison and took many hints from it. Sybil has been exposed as a complete fraud, completely fictional.
1.Dr.Wilbur implanted the false memories of sybil's abuse by her mother and the idea of multiple personality. Literally told her to read books on the subject to play act better.
2.All the "personalities" were originally supposed to be children. Dr.Wilbur told Sybil they would make them teenagers or adults because children would not appeal to readers.
3.One claim was that Sybil would go into stores and break glass objects. A journalist looked into this and found not a shred of evidence for this.
4.All evidence indicates this was a fraud for a book deal. It was then made into a TV movie.
I must also point out that multiple personality was a large part of the satanic panic/child day care panic of the 1980s. Eventually MPD went out of vogue in the 1990s because "therapist" kept getting sued by former patients who realized they were brainwashed. The overwhelming majority believed they were raised in a satanic cult that mass sacrificed babies to satan. Which is exactly what was believed in the witch hunts of Europe. Yet these "therapist" had the audacity to claim that skeptics were "living in the dark ages." The projection was constant. One of them was a friend and colleague of Dr.Wilbur who would drug patients with high levels of drugs and strap them to a bed for days or even weeks until they produced "Alters."
If you want to know more look up the book Sybil exposed and Satan's silence. Look up Sybil:: A Brilliant Hysteric? by Retro Report. Also look up The search for satan by PBS. Search for satan will really disturb and anger you. I should also mention Dr.Elizabeth Loftus who implanted false memories into her students a myriad of times and is the foremost expert on false memories.
I find it ironic that the first prosecutor and the DA at the time didn't want to risk losing the case of Buono so they instead wanted to just free him. The judge said the legal code of the bar was to NOT think of body count and personal investments...then why didn't someone finally say that during the Mcmartin trial? Because that is literally what happened. As one innocent man who was falsely convicted of a satanic panic/day care panic crime said, that he didn't trust police or prosecutors "They are politicians, they don't give a rats ass whether your guilty or innocent." and of course this "win at all cost, no matter what." is rampant in our system and rarely do the lawyers get any punitive responses. In almost every single case of the satanic panic/day care panic, the prosecutors were total scumbags. Gross examples of prosecutorial misconduct. Creating fake evidence, hiding evidence of innocence. In the Mcmartin trial, they hid the fact that Judy Johnson was a paranoid schizophrentic, the defense only found out because one of them has a guilty conscious, looked at the video tapes of the children and admitted the entire prosecution team KNEW it was all bullsh*it but wanted a conviction at all cost anyway. They would admit this later "oh this case was inherited", "The community outrage, all the societal pressure, the parents of the children. We were forced into this suicide mission" The mere fact that they dropped all charges of 5 of the accused is clear evidence. "Evidence is so slim it doesn't go beyond mere accusation" Yet didn't drop the charges against the other 2, with exactly the same evidence he just dismissed. Obvious evidence that he wanted his cake and eat it too. The other 2 innocent were clearly "expendable." As soon as that prosecutor came out with this admission, the main prosecutor sent the defense the Johnson "discovery" document because "she just so happened to find it" What a coincidence. Seems like she was afraid the honest prosecutor would remember. Plus the fraudulent snitch controversy. Had him commit perjury on the witness stand and got him immunity so he couldn't be prosecuted for it and so his lies could be used as "evidence." Only reason the judge didn't declare a mistrial was because of the time and money that had been invested. Lots of scumbag misconduct in that case. In other cases the police would threaten to arrest witnesses.
This is a really good book, but the trial was not that entertaining, at least how it was detailed. Almost a 4/5. I like how at the end the author says he has this response to Bianchi of "he shouldn't have any rights" but then gets confused on how to reconcile that with those that are innocent. YEAH, That's why I don't care too much about "oh this serial killer is eating candy or a cup of ice cream or playing baseball." HE'S IN PRISON!!!! And what about the innocent?!
The book also bemoans this liberalism of rights of criminals, and how It's all the "liberals fault for setting killers free." and liberals thinking everyone is good and pro rehabilitation.
I am a liberal and I think it is wrong for our system to focus more on punitive responses, rather then looking at it rationally and case by case. As a liberal my view is "rehabilitate if you can save them. Lock them up if you can't save them." Serial killers like Bianchi and Buono would fall into the "lock them up because you can't save them". Reminds me of Joe Clark a tough principal who said "There are some people you are not going to save. They are incorrigible."
I also find it incredibly worrying that people [police officers, lawyers of all kind.] obviously do not respect the rights and constitution of America and my response is always "What if they are innocent? What if they are innocent? You sure don't seem to care about innocent people."
I am willing to not care what so ever if Bianchi gets ice cream if an innocent man rotting on death row gets ice cream.
I've had this book in my collection for at least 3 years. I got it as "very good" and for cheap. Turns out the seller lied and sold me a good that wasn't in "very good" condition. It has the worse side title of any of my books. You can barely make out the title of the book.and parts of the book are taped together with see through tape. Very well done. Far better then I could do it, but that isn't "very good." I thought about sending it back and buying a different copy, a superior copy but I didn't.
So I decided to read this long overdue book especially after reading A venom in the blood about another serial killing duo.
I am fascinated by murderous duos. I like them as equally as single person murderers, but the duo adds another layer to the case. It should be no surprise that I am also very fascinated by cults and study cults as well. My favorite cult is The people's temple, the cult leader being Jim Jones.
Duos provide another layer to the case as cults do; group psychology. How each personality plays a role within the case. That is incredibly fascinating. Not just in terms of the criminals, but in the case of law enforcement officials as well. Perfect examples would be the satanic panic/ritual abuse/child day care panic of the 1980s.
Here are my favorite quotes that really put together my fascination.
"Why didn't anyone say 'this is crazy, let's stop.'. Well, you look at those tapes and you'll see why it never stopped, because all they did was reinforce each other for ever violent suggestion and every violent behavior." - About Eric and Dylan the Columbine shooters.
"I don't think that they are sitting around with any diabolical or conspiratorial agenda to go out and falsely accuse Arnold Friedman or railroad Jesse Friedman. But, nobody is critiquing them, no body is telling them that there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Nobody is saying 'we got a problem in this country with hysteria around this issue.' So they are really free to...let their fantasies fly." - About the ritual abuse/satanic panic cases, specifically the Great Neck Arnold/Jesse Friedman case. Referring to the investigators.
"Kenneth Bianchi to a great extent, he was motivated because he was trying to show his older cousin who he revered that 'he was tough' and for Angelo Buono. He enjoyed the fact that he had his younger cousin listening to him and saw him as a mentee and we've seen this time and time again. Pairs of killers, who urge eachother on and together they are extremely vicious and violent." - About the Hillside stranglers.
We can absolutely extend this to internet culture [Incels for example/SJWs/Nazis] where echo chambers are all over the internet. Especially when youtube and other scumbag orgs are censoring content.
The book starts right off with the dumping of the second victim. With an introduction to Angelo Buono and his private life, mainly his character and detailed descriptions of his house we are given a detailed description of how the second vicitm was abducted, strangled to death, and then placed onto someone's flower bed for the neighborhood to find the next morning. As I read it I thought "This is Judy Miller, right?" and of course I was correct. It takes a little bit about the main detective investigating the Judy Miller case. Beloved and renowned homicide detective Frank Salerno
Trivia time. The book mentions that the Hillside strangler case was the longest and most expensive criminal trial in Los Angeles. That would be broken by The night stalker case. Then that case would be broken by the satanic panic/ritual abuse panic case known as The Mcmartin case where 7 daycare workers were falsely accused of "ritual satanic sexual abuse" by children who were implanted with false memories, manipulation, and coercion. By their parents, by incompetent police, and by "therapist" who were not licensed at all to do any form of child therapy of any kind despite their claims of "I'm an expert" Sorry but experts have licenses and their "new tactics" have been exposed as pure pseudo science.
Judy Johnson lit the fire that led to the Mcmartin accusations. She was a paranoid schizophrenic who was sleep deprived due to her dying older son with cancer. She was also an alcoholic with really bad bleeding ulcers. In 1986 she was found dead in her home. She had coughed up blood all over the house; her heavy vodka addiction and her bleeding ulcers. In this part of the case someone decided to actually send a competent unbiased investigator [try and reel back reality] and who else then the best? So they sent Frank Salerno. So he examined Judy's house; the death scene, and attended the autopsy. She had died from an alcohol overdose combined with a severely bleeding ulcer.
Frank Salerno was also the main investigator on the Night stalker case aka Richard Rimarez. When they interrogated Richard Rimarez after he was almost beaten to death by angry citizens of L.A Richard was thrilled to be in the presence of Frank Salerno, the homicide detective that "got the hillside stranglers." Richard was even more thrilled when he found out he was placed in the same cell as Angelo Buono when they had arrested him.
We get a little glimpse into Judy Miller's life. Mainly who she hung out with and her sad family life.
The book then quickly turns to the murder of Lissa Kastin. Which reminded me of A venom in the blood. Lissa Kastin like the one of the two girls abducted by the Gallego's had been a "disappointment." The book does mention a little bit about her life. The fact that she was a performer in an L.A stage show called "The L.A. Knockers." Out of curiousity [like always] I looked up Lissa Kastin and that led me to finding photos of her particpation in L.A Knockers and even a video supposedly showing her performance. Ironically she is dancing to the song "Lil red riding hood" by Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs.
"You sure are looking good
You're everything a big bad wolf could want
Listen to me
Little Red Riding Hood
I don't think little big girls should
Go walking in these spooky old woods alone." Which is also ironic since Angelo and Kenneth didn't want her. She didn't fulfill their preferences. Also ironically she is the wolf in the dance number. She was obviously the best dancer. Her movements are great.
As I've carped over and over again "The victims" *fake exaggerated heart broken sentiment sigh*
"this really should be about the victims" I'll say it and I'll say it again. YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE WHAT WE FIND INTERESTING. WE DO! STOP TRYING TO SOCIAL ENGINEER AND STOP PRETENDING YOU CARE ABOUT SOMEONE WHO DIED 50 OR 80 F*CKING YEARS AGO! Stop f*cking fake virtue signaling. Stop this "the victims. This really should be about the victims." I am so f*cking sick of it! I decided to look up Lissa Kastins. I decided to find more about Claire Wilson and Kathy Whitman. I didn't need your FAKE sympathy and self loathing to go searching. If only I could find a video of Aiko Koo ballet dancing or full news reports by Christine Chubbuck....sigh.
Like a lot of true crime this book isn't linear at all.
Very well written and very "you are there" effect. The best of true crime.
I should mention that while I was constantly watching news about the coronavirus I was also listening to Hot child in the city while reading A venom in the blood and Two of a kind. Thinking/picturing in my mind's eye 1970's California.
After Kimberly Martin I very quickly realized they could of easily and should of easily been caught.
1.Wreckler was the next door neighbor of Bianchi and described him in her diary as a "used car salesman."
2.Martin was abducted in another room of Bianchi's apartment building and they questioned him. He was the only one who said he heard her screaming.
Someone should of picked up on that.
This case is pretty infamous for Bianchi's multiple personality insanity defense and play acting.
Gacy did the same but to a far lesser extent. The fact of the matter is that multiple personality disorder does not exist and has been widely debunked. As one psychiatrist pointed "That has been so debunked it's almost radioactive." The reality is that dissociation is real, but that doesn't mean completely different personalities. I have had many dissociation episodes. Many times I've found my self walking out of a store and then thinking "I am walking to my car in the parking lot, but I barely even realized it until now. I just feel like a robot. What the hell?" I've experienced derealisation as well. Sometimes I'll look at my family members and ask "Are you real?" Sometimes I'll start to feel as though I am in the matrix.
The main investigator [besides Salerno] said the easily duped therapist reminded him of religious nuts or political nuts. One of the main therapists was best friends with Dr.Wilbur who conned the world with Sybil. Sybil is the most famous case of multiple personality. Bianchi watched Sybil while in prison and took many hints from it. Sybil has been exposed as a complete fraud, completely fictional.
1.Dr.Wilbur implanted the false memories of sybil's abuse by her mother and the idea of multiple personality. Literally told her to read books on the subject to play act better.
2.All the "personalities" were originally supposed to be children. Dr.Wilbur told Sybil they would make them teenagers or adults because children would not appeal to readers.
3.One claim was that Sybil would go into stores and break glass objects. A journalist looked into this and found not a shred of evidence for this.
4.All evidence indicates this was a fraud for a book deal. It was then made into a TV movie.
I must also point out that multiple personality was a large part of the satanic panic/child day care panic of the 1980s. Eventually MPD went out of vogue in the 1990s because "therapist" kept getting sued by former patients who realized they were brainwashed. The overwhelming majority believed they were raised in a satanic cult that mass sacrificed babies to satan. Which is exactly what was believed in the witch hunts of Europe. Yet these "therapist" had the audacity to claim that skeptics were "living in the dark ages." The projection was constant. One of them was a friend and colleague of Dr.Wilbur who would drug patients with high levels of drugs and strap them to a bed for days or even weeks until they produced "Alters."
If you want to know more look up the book Sybil exposed and Satan's silence. Look up Sybil:: A Brilliant Hysteric? by Retro Report. Also look up The search for satan by PBS. Search for satan will really disturb and anger you. I should also mention Dr.Elizabeth Loftus who implanted false memories into her students a myriad of times and is the foremost expert on false memories.
I find it ironic that the first prosecutor and the DA at the time didn't want to risk losing the case of Buono so they instead wanted to just free him. The judge said the legal code of the bar was to NOT think of body count and personal investments...then why didn't someone finally say that during the Mcmartin trial? Because that is literally what happened. As one innocent man who was falsely convicted of a satanic panic/day care panic crime said, that he didn't trust police or prosecutors "They are politicians, they don't give a rats ass whether your guilty or innocent." and of course this "win at all cost, no matter what." is rampant in our system and rarely do the lawyers get any punitive responses. In almost every single case of the satanic panic/day care panic, the prosecutors were total scumbags. Gross examples of prosecutorial misconduct. Creating fake evidence, hiding evidence of innocence. In the Mcmartin trial, they hid the fact that Judy Johnson was a paranoid schizophrentic, the defense only found out because one of them has a guilty conscious, looked at the video tapes of the children and admitted the entire prosecution team KNEW it was all bullsh*it but wanted a conviction at all cost anyway. They would admit this later "oh this case was inherited", "The community outrage, all the societal pressure, the parents of the children. We were forced into this suicide mission" The mere fact that they dropped all charges of 5 of the accused is clear evidence. "Evidence is so slim it doesn't go beyond mere accusation" Yet didn't drop the charges against the other 2, with exactly the same evidence he just dismissed. Obvious evidence that he wanted his cake and eat it too. The other 2 innocent were clearly "expendable." As soon as that prosecutor came out with this admission, the main prosecutor sent the defense the Johnson "discovery" document because "she just so happened to find it" What a coincidence. Seems like she was afraid the honest prosecutor would remember. Plus the fraudulent snitch controversy. Had him commit perjury on the witness stand and got him immunity so he couldn't be prosecuted for it and so his lies could be used as "evidence." Only reason the judge didn't declare a mistrial was because of the time and money that had been invested. Lots of scumbag misconduct in that case. In other cases the police would threaten to arrest witnesses.
This is a really good book, but the trial was not that entertaining, at least how it was detailed. Almost a 4/5. I like how at the end the author says he has this response to Bianchi of "he shouldn't have any rights" but then gets confused on how to reconcile that with those that are innocent. YEAH, That's why I don't care too much about "oh this serial killer is eating candy or a cup of ice cream or playing baseball." HE'S IN PRISON!!!! And what about the innocent?!
The book also bemoans this liberalism of rights of criminals, and how It's all the "liberals fault for setting killers free." and liberals thinking everyone is good and pro rehabilitation.
I am a liberal and I think it is wrong for our system to focus more on punitive responses, rather then looking at it rationally and case by case. As a liberal my view is "rehabilitate if you can save them. Lock them up if you can't save them." Serial killers like Bianchi and Buono would fall into the "lock them up because you can't save them". Reminds me of Joe Clark a tough principal who said "There are some people you are not going to save. They are incorrigible."
I also find it incredibly worrying that people [police officers, lawyers of all kind.] obviously do not respect the rights and constitution of America and my response is always "What if they are innocent? What if they are innocent? You sure don't seem to care about innocent people."
I am willing to not care what so ever if Bianchi gets ice cream if an innocent man rotting on death row gets ice cream.
Read
June 10, 2022"The Hillside Strangler" stands out to me because it is one instance of true-crime which could almost be fiction. It probably has to do with the way O'Brien chose to write it, but the sheer hatred towards women of the men who are the subjects of the book jolted me at several points in the book. The book covers a lot of the criminals' backgrounds and it also describes (often in excruciating, grotesque details) the crimes against women that they carried out. It dwells on the victims, their families, the detectives involved and later on the legal teams. It is a very comprehensive account of the entire case for anyone who wants to read it.
A note I must add (not meaning to sound sexist in anyway), the contents of the book make it painfully clear that the author is a man. As such, the book is more jarring than delicate. One could argue that the purpose of a true-crime book is to reveal the disgusting nature of crimes and if you're one of them, the book shouldn't upset you. For other readers, though, this is a note of caution before you pick up the book.
A note I must add (not meaning to sound sexist in anyway), the contents of the book make it painfully clear that the author is a man. As such, the book is more jarring than delicate. One could argue that the purpose of a true-crime book is to reveal the disgusting nature of crimes and if you're one of them, the book shouldn't upset you. For other readers, though, this is a note of caution before you pick up the book.
January 16, 2021
This is a well written and in-depth retelling of the Hillside Stranglers case. O'Brien does an excellent job of providing the facts and history of the murders, and the murders themselves. He does not gloss over any of the facts or details, but in fact covers them in great detail.
Unfortunately there is clear bias toward painting one of the officers in a more positive light, which O'Brien himself admits to in the epilogue. The book would have been compelling without this biased agenda included into it. I found this to be annoying, and the entire scene in the elevator to be unneccessary.
I give it 3.5 stars.
Unfortunately there is clear bias toward painting one of the officers in a more positive light, which O'Brien himself admits to in the epilogue. The book would have been compelling without this biased agenda included into it. I found this to be annoying, and the entire scene in the elevator to be unneccessary.
I give it 3.5 stars.
July 9, 2025
The hillside stranglers. From what I’ve read before what I gathered was they were an alpha/beta pair who just hunted the women of Los Angeles one night. However this book goes into full detail their elicit and illegal actions before the murders as well as the long and extended trial(longest still in California history)
Of course it’s a must have for true crime readers
Of course it’s a must have for true crime readers
June 6, 2021
Rounded to 3.5. Accounting of Buono’s and Bianchi’s murderous rampage in the 70s was intriguing and disgusting. But, at times, the tone was dry and somewhat tedious. Trigger warnings for rape, forcible sodomy, torture, and murder
June 21, 2024
Thou shall not read books on serial killers written by privileged heterosexual white men
i-get-the-picture
September 3, 2025Read half. It is well done. But not worth reading any more of it.
May 3, 2025
By the late 1970s, America was in the grip of a new source of anxiety. Along with the cult scare of the time there was also a serial killer scare. Lone wolf killers who mostly preyed on vulnerable women were showing up more and more in the news. The media, always hungry for stories that shock and disturb people for the sake of attention grabbing, latched on to this trend, bringing it further into the public eye and possibly influencing an unprecedented number of copycat homicides. One of the early fascinations for serial killers was for the Hillside Strangler, then written in the singular because no one knew the killings were done by a pair of men. Darcy O’Brien’s Two Of a Kind: The Hillside Stranglers is the definitive account of this pair that came into prominence as the serial killer scare of the time began taking off.
The first thing to note about this true crime book is its lucidity, it polished prose, and its clear writing style. The author was obviously aiming to write another novelization of murder the way Truman Capote did with In Cold Blood. This book includes everything you would find in a formulaic, mainstream novel including character development, a plot arc, subplots, a conflict resolution as a climax, and moral commentary. This is all good for the sake of readability, but in a detrimental sense, reality is messy and fitting it into the template of a novel makes this book a little too slick. There are times when you might doubt the reliability of the narration just because the pieces of the puzzle’s plot fit together a little too securely to be believable.
Then something else strikes a sour note at the beginning. O’Brien apologizes to the readers for his graphic descriptions of the Hillside Strangler’s crimes. This might be a small point of contention, but seriously, are you kidding me? Apologizing? Call me naive if you want, but I’d assume that anyone who picks up this book does so because they want all the gory details. Why else would anybody want to read this? Well, I can think of one or two other reasons having to do with the legal system and the trial, but we’ll return to that later.
The Hillside Stranglers were two cousins from my hometown of Rochester, New York. (I actually attended the same grammar school as them, although they were there a good ten years before I was) Actually, they weren’t cousins by blood since the younger of the two was adopted. Angelo Buono left the great city of Rottenchester for the greener pastures of Hollywood. Never mind that Hollywood is in a desert. You know what I mean. Buono bought a house and opened a car upholstery shop back when they had things like that. His younger cousin Ken Bianchi followed him out there and moved in while trying to get his feet on the ground. Bianchi tried to make money by opening a fake psychotherapy clinic, offering counseling services at discount prices even though he never graduated from college.
Angelo Buono had a rough childhood. Violent from the start, he had a long criminal record and spent most of his youth in trouble with the law and other kids his age. When married he molested his step-daughter and step-son. Ken Bianchi, on the other hand, was less prone to violence, but he had been a compulsive lair from the time he could speak. He was impressed by the older Buono’s ability to pick up women for casual sex, effortlessly and with ease. Bianchi looked up to Buono and thought of him as a mentor. The bad childhood doesn’t serve as a sufficient explanation for what went wrong. Lots of people have bad upbringings and most of them don’t become mass murderers. The author never grapples with why the Hillside Stranglers diverged from the rest of us.
Since Bianchi was failing to make a sufficient income, mostly due to his unwillingness to engage in any real work, the two psychos decided to enter the profession of pimping. They kidnapped two fourteen year old girls from Denver and forced them to work as prostitutes. But as the gangsta rapper MJG says, “pimpin’ ain’t easy.” The two girls escaped and the sad sadists, Buono and Bianchi, were so emotionally distraught that they decided to vent their frustrations by posing as cops, abducting a girl, raping her, torturing her, and then strangling her. They dumped her body in a public place with the intention of it being seen. Serial killing became a hobby for the two and they used a similar routine every time. They began referring to their nights out on the town as “The Scam”. They went about their work as casually as two guys shopping for sports equipment at the mall. Or at least that’s how the author makes it look.
As you might imagine, leaving corpses around the Hollywood hills captured the attention of the police. LAPD detective Bob Grogan sits at the center of the story since he was the only one who agreed to collaborate on this book. Other than being a detective on the case, Bob Grogan is not an especially interesting person. He hangs out in bars, he cheats on his wife, he has a boat, and plays cheesy music on the electric Hammond organ he has at home. He’s also a jerk who thinks he’s superior to everybody else. He spouts off a lot of shallow right wing ideas and laments the fact that the American criminal justice system was simpler 100 years ago without realizing that America probably wasn’t any safer then than it is now. It just seems that way to him because he doesn’t know that forensic science at that time was rudimentary, meaning a lot more crimes went unsolved or undetected and a lot more criminals got away with murder. And that also means that a lot more innocent people were imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. Back in those days, a knife wound in the hand could be just as deadly as a bullet in the brain because they had no penicillin to stop deadly infections. Blood feuds were common in rural areas. Lynch mobs were certainly never convicted for murder either. So 100 years ago, everything was better? Don’t be so naive, Bob Grogan. If you think life was simpler in the 1880s, you’re just displaying your own ignorance of history and the simplicity if your own mind. The author Darcy O”Brien could have spared us the details of this cop’s private life and thoughts. Grogan deserves any credit he gets for catching the killers, but other than that he’s neither here nor there.
Despite some small annoyances on the author’s part, the first third of this book is good and definitely the best section of it all. Abd, yes, the murders as they are described are nothing short of disgusting.
Ken Bianchi decides Hollywood is heating up too much for him so he runs off to a hick town in Oregon where he gets arrested after strangling two college students. The LAPD sees a connection to the case of the Hillside Stranglers and it doesn’t take long to get a confession out of Bianchi. Being the sociopath he is, Bianchi is a pathological liar. Under hypnosis, he confesses to his crimes, but convinces a team of psychiatrists he has multiple personality disorder. Of course, hypnosis is considered by some to be a pseudo-science and the existence of multiple personality disorder is also in dispute. Deeper scientific inquiries prove that Bianchi is faking and this is a big relief to the detectives of LAPD since a plea of insanity could have kept him out of prison. Bianchi realizes his only way out would be a plea bargain, sparing him the death penalty in exchange for testifying against Angelo Buono. While not as gripping as the accounts of the murders and the police investigations, this second section of the book is still interesting since it gives some insight into the mind of Ken Bianchi, or at least what little is actually in the empty space between his ears. He is a man of superficial charm, but entirely lacking in substance, a textbook case of psychopathy.
In the final stretch, the two year long trial is examined in detail. While the trial itself is interesting, O’Brien’s account of it is marred by his constant quips about how terrible America has become because of Liberal politicians. His portrayal of the team defending the Hillside Stranglers is so negative that it’s hard to take seriously. Predictably, Bob Grogan whines about due process of law and believes the killers should be executed without a trial. Forget about the Constitution. It’s funny how a cop can claim to be upholding the law while expressing disgust over the legality of due process, something which exists for a definite purpose. Without due process, courts would be nothing more than kangaroo courts and arenas for scapegoating. As wrong and faulty as due process sometimes is, it acts as a guardrail against innocent people being thrown in jail or executed. It doesn’t always work, but it is the best we have as of now. Bob Grogan wants to condemn a criminal for murdering a woman, but if the same woman were sent to the electric chair in error because there was no due process, he would be celebrating because someone was found guilty. That is sick minded hypocrisy on a grand scale.
The author’s portrayal of the criminal defense team doesn’t stand up well to scrutiny either. Hating criminal defense lawyers because they represent criminals is a cheap shot and betrays a poor understanding of due process. The point of criminal defense is to point out all the weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. The jury therefore has to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence provided to evaluate whether the criminal charges are justifiable or not. Without defense attorneys, the prosecutors would have a free ride to convict anybody brought to trial whether there was a justifiable cause for conviction or not. As stated before, the criminal defenders act as a guardrail against innocent people getting convicted. Just because it doesn’t work 100 percent of the time doesn’t mean it isn’t legitimate. If people in law enforcement truly respect the law, then they should respect the fact that everybody who gets brought to trial, no matter how egregious the charges may be, deserves a fair trial. By not respecting that right, law enforcement loses its moral high ground and sinks to the level of the criminals they prosecute.
O’Brien portrays the defense team as conniving, lying, cheating, conspiratorial, and evil with personalities to match all their negative character traits. He makes them resemble characters in a bad TV series that didn’t survive past its first season. This is done on purpose to manipulate the reader’s emotions, making you hate them. He wants the reptilian part of your brain to override your rational faculties as if it isn’t enough that we hate the killers already. But it’s such a transparent literary technique, straight out of the most shallow genre fiction, that it makes the whole portrayal look fake. It’s possible that it might be an accurate portrayal; I don’t know because I wasn’t there. But with all the cheap shots O’Brien and the windbag Bob Grogan take at Liberals throughout the story, it casts doubt over O’Brien’s credibility.
The crux of the matter is that this book is supposed to be about the Hillside Stranglers. No matter how smooth and lucid the writing is, using it as a platform for pushing right wing politics down our throats nearly ruins it. Even worse, O’Brien dishes out insults to Liberals without ever building a systematic argument in favor of his conservative beliefs. He offers nothing more than petty put downs. It’s like being kicked in the shin by a dwarf who then brags about beating you up. He underestimates the intelligence of his audience which is insulting to say the least. I gather Darcy O’Brien thinks Liberal politicians have turned America into a crime ridden hellhole because their compassion has led the country astray and yet he also wants us to believe that Liberals believe in due process because they are vicious, sadistic, criminal sympathizers who want to destroy the world. Compassionate and cruel? You can’t have it both ways, Mr. O’Brien. There is a time and a place for political discourse and I’d say a biography of serial killers is not the right one. If the author wanted to push his politics on people, he should have written a scholarly work on conservative interpretations of legal theory instead.
Two Of a Kind is not as good of a book as it should have been. Darcy O’Brien is obviously skilled at his craft, but he doesn’t know when to keep his opinions to himself. Thankfully, the Hillside Stranglers went to prison for life and Angelo Buono is now dead. Thankfully also, the number of serial killers in America peaked in the 1990s. According to the FBI, there are currently only about 20-30 known serial killers at loose in America. On a much darker note, America also has far more serial killers per capita than any other country on Earth. Most likely, there is something about American culture that is causing this to happen. Liberal politics are an unlikely cause. The majority of serial killers are white heterosexual males, middle class, between the ages of 25-40, and holding conservative political and religious beliefs. You might want to look beyond the weakness of Liberals for causes. It’s more likely a problem with the character and toxic cultural climate of the American people. We are a nation that breeds assholes like no other. And if you ever meet Bob Grogan in real life, shake his hand for catching the Hillside Stranglers, but walk away as soon as he starts to speak.
The first thing to note about this true crime book is its lucidity, it polished prose, and its clear writing style. The author was obviously aiming to write another novelization of murder the way Truman Capote did with In Cold Blood. This book includes everything you would find in a formulaic, mainstream novel including character development, a plot arc, subplots, a conflict resolution as a climax, and moral commentary. This is all good for the sake of readability, but in a detrimental sense, reality is messy and fitting it into the template of a novel makes this book a little too slick. There are times when you might doubt the reliability of the narration just because the pieces of the puzzle’s plot fit together a little too securely to be believable.
Then something else strikes a sour note at the beginning. O’Brien apologizes to the readers for his graphic descriptions of the Hillside Strangler’s crimes. This might be a small point of contention, but seriously, are you kidding me? Apologizing? Call me naive if you want, but I’d assume that anyone who picks up this book does so because they want all the gory details. Why else would anybody want to read this? Well, I can think of one or two other reasons having to do with the legal system and the trial, but we’ll return to that later.
The Hillside Stranglers were two cousins from my hometown of Rochester, New York. (I actually attended the same grammar school as them, although they were there a good ten years before I was) Actually, they weren’t cousins by blood since the younger of the two was adopted. Angelo Buono left the great city of Rottenchester for the greener pastures of Hollywood. Never mind that Hollywood is in a desert. You know what I mean. Buono bought a house and opened a car upholstery shop back when they had things like that. His younger cousin Ken Bianchi followed him out there and moved in while trying to get his feet on the ground. Bianchi tried to make money by opening a fake psychotherapy clinic, offering counseling services at discount prices even though he never graduated from college.
Angelo Buono had a rough childhood. Violent from the start, he had a long criminal record and spent most of his youth in trouble with the law and other kids his age. When married he molested his step-daughter and step-son. Ken Bianchi, on the other hand, was less prone to violence, but he had been a compulsive lair from the time he could speak. He was impressed by the older Buono’s ability to pick up women for casual sex, effortlessly and with ease. Bianchi looked up to Buono and thought of him as a mentor. The bad childhood doesn’t serve as a sufficient explanation for what went wrong. Lots of people have bad upbringings and most of them don’t become mass murderers. The author never grapples with why the Hillside Stranglers diverged from the rest of us.
Since Bianchi was failing to make a sufficient income, mostly due to his unwillingness to engage in any real work, the two psychos decided to enter the profession of pimping. They kidnapped two fourteen year old girls from Denver and forced them to work as prostitutes. But as the gangsta rapper MJG says, “pimpin’ ain’t easy.” The two girls escaped and the sad sadists, Buono and Bianchi, were so emotionally distraught that they decided to vent their frustrations by posing as cops, abducting a girl, raping her, torturing her, and then strangling her. They dumped her body in a public place with the intention of it being seen. Serial killing became a hobby for the two and they used a similar routine every time. They began referring to their nights out on the town as “The Scam”. They went about their work as casually as two guys shopping for sports equipment at the mall. Or at least that’s how the author makes it look.
As you might imagine, leaving corpses around the Hollywood hills captured the attention of the police. LAPD detective Bob Grogan sits at the center of the story since he was the only one who agreed to collaborate on this book. Other than being a detective on the case, Bob Grogan is not an especially interesting person. He hangs out in bars, he cheats on his wife, he has a boat, and plays cheesy music on the electric Hammond organ he has at home. He’s also a jerk who thinks he’s superior to everybody else. He spouts off a lot of shallow right wing ideas and laments the fact that the American criminal justice system was simpler 100 years ago without realizing that America probably wasn’t any safer then than it is now. It just seems that way to him because he doesn’t know that forensic science at that time was rudimentary, meaning a lot more crimes went unsolved or undetected and a lot more criminals got away with murder. And that also means that a lot more innocent people were imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. Back in those days, a knife wound in the hand could be just as deadly as a bullet in the brain because they had no penicillin to stop deadly infections. Blood feuds were common in rural areas. Lynch mobs were certainly never convicted for murder either. So 100 years ago, everything was better? Don’t be so naive, Bob Grogan. If you think life was simpler in the 1880s, you’re just displaying your own ignorance of history and the simplicity if your own mind. The author Darcy O”Brien could have spared us the details of this cop’s private life and thoughts. Grogan deserves any credit he gets for catching the killers, but other than that he’s neither here nor there.
Despite some small annoyances on the author’s part, the first third of this book is good and definitely the best section of it all. Abd, yes, the murders as they are described are nothing short of disgusting.
Ken Bianchi decides Hollywood is heating up too much for him so he runs off to a hick town in Oregon where he gets arrested after strangling two college students. The LAPD sees a connection to the case of the Hillside Stranglers and it doesn’t take long to get a confession out of Bianchi. Being the sociopath he is, Bianchi is a pathological liar. Under hypnosis, he confesses to his crimes, but convinces a team of psychiatrists he has multiple personality disorder. Of course, hypnosis is considered by some to be a pseudo-science and the existence of multiple personality disorder is also in dispute. Deeper scientific inquiries prove that Bianchi is faking and this is a big relief to the detectives of LAPD since a plea of insanity could have kept him out of prison. Bianchi realizes his only way out would be a plea bargain, sparing him the death penalty in exchange for testifying against Angelo Buono. While not as gripping as the accounts of the murders and the police investigations, this second section of the book is still interesting since it gives some insight into the mind of Ken Bianchi, or at least what little is actually in the empty space between his ears. He is a man of superficial charm, but entirely lacking in substance, a textbook case of psychopathy.
In the final stretch, the two year long trial is examined in detail. While the trial itself is interesting, O’Brien’s account of it is marred by his constant quips about how terrible America has become because of Liberal politicians. His portrayal of the team defending the Hillside Stranglers is so negative that it’s hard to take seriously. Predictably, Bob Grogan whines about due process of law and believes the killers should be executed without a trial. Forget about the Constitution. It’s funny how a cop can claim to be upholding the law while expressing disgust over the legality of due process, something which exists for a definite purpose. Without due process, courts would be nothing more than kangaroo courts and arenas for scapegoating. As wrong and faulty as due process sometimes is, it acts as a guardrail against innocent people being thrown in jail or executed. It doesn’t always work, but it is the best we have as of now. Bob Grogan wants to condemn a criminal for murdering a woman, but if the same woman were sent to the electric chair in error because there was no due process, he would be celebrating because someone was found guilty. That is sick minded hypocrisy on a grand scale.
The author’s portrayal of the criminal defense team doesn’t stand up well to scrutiny either. Hating criminal defense lawyers because they represent criminals is a cheap shot and betrays a poor understanding of due process. The point of criminal defense is to point out all the weaknesses in the prosecution’s case. The jury therefore has to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence provided to evaluate whether the criminal charges are justifiable or not. Without defense attorneys, the prosecutors would have a free ride to convict anybody brought to trial whether there was a justifiable cause for conviction or not. As stated before, the criminal defenders act as a guardrail against innocent people getting convicted. Just because it doesn’t work 100 percent of the time doesn’t mean it isn’t legitimate. If people in law enforcement truly respect the law, then they should respect the fact that everybody who gets brought to trial, no matter how egregious the charges may be, deserves a fair trial. By not respecting that right, law enforcement loses its moral high ground and sinks to the level of the criminals they prosecute.
O’Brien portrays the defense team as conniving, lying, cheating, conspiratorial, and evil with personalities to match all their negative character traits. He makes them resemble characters in a bad TV series that didn’t survive past its first season. This is done on purpose to manipulate the reader’s emotions, making you hate them. He wants the reptilian part of your brain to override your rational faculties as if it isn’t enough that we hate the killers already. But it’s such a transparent literary technique, straight out of the most shallow genre fiction, that it makes the whole portrayal look fake. It’s possible that it might be an accurate portrayal; I don’t know because I wasn’t there. But with all the cheap shots O’Brien and the windbag Bob Grogan take at Liberals throughout the story, it casts doubt over O’Brien’s credibility.
The crux of the matter is that this book is supposed to be about the Hillside Stranglers. No matter how smooth and lucid the writing is, using it as a platform for pushing right wing politics down our throats nearly ruins it. Even worse, O’Brien dishes out insults to Liberals without ever building a systematic argument in favor of his conservative beliefs. He offers nothing more than petty put downs. It’s like being kicked in the shin by a dwarf who then brags about beating you up. He underestimates the intelligence of his audience which is insulting to say the least. I gather Darcy O’Brien thinks Liberal politicians have turned America into a crime ridden hellhole because their compassion has led the country astray and yet he also wants us to believe that Liberals believe in due process because they are vicious, sadistic, criminal sympathizers who want to destroy the world. Compassionate and cruel? You can’t have it both ways, Mr. O’Brien. There is a time and a place for political discourse and I’d say a biography of serial killers is not the right one. If the author wanted to push his politics on people, he should have written a scholarly work on conservative interpretations of legal theory instead.
Two Of a Kind is not as good of a book as it should have been. Darcy O’Brien is obviously skilled at his craft, but he doesn’t know when to keep his opinions to himself. Thankfully, the Hillside Stranglers went to prison for life and Angelo Buono is now dead. Thankfully also, the number of serial killers in America peaked in the 1990s. According to the FBI, there are currently only about 20-30 known serial killers at loose in America. On a much darker note, America also has far more serial killers per capita than any other country on Earth. Most likely, there is something about American culture that is causing this to happen. Liberal politics are an unlikely cause. The majority of serial killers are white heterosexual males, middle class, between the ages of 25-40, and holding conservative political and religious beliefs. You might want to look beyond the weakness of Liberals for causes. It’s more likely a problem with the character and toxic cultural climate of the American people. We are a nation that breeds assholes like no other. And if you ever meet Bob Grogan in real life, shake his hand for catching the Hillside Stranglers, but walk away as soon as he starts to speak.
December 21, 2023
Darcy O'Brien's "The Hillside Stranglers" is a masterfully crafted exploration of one of the most chilling crime sprees in American history. This true crime paperback earns a solid four out of five stars for its meticulous research, engaging narrative, and the author's ability to humanize the dark and disturbing events that unfolded in Los Angeles in the late 1970s.
O'Brien's writing is both captivating and empathetic, drawing readers into the harrowing details of the Hillside Stranglers case without sensationalism. The author skillfully balances the recounting of the crimes with an in-depth examination of the socio-economic and cultural context of the time, providing a comprehensive understanding of the factors that contributed to the series of heinous acts.
The character development in "The Hillside Stranglers" is a standout feature. O'Brien delves into the backgrounds of the victims, the perpetrators, and the law enforcement officials involved, creating a nuanced and multifaceted portrayal of the individuals caught up in this dark chapter of Los Angeles history. This approach adds depth to the narrative, making it more than just a true crime story but a reflective exploration of human nature and society.
The pacing of the book is well-managed, keeping readers engaged from start to finish. O'Brien maintains a careful balance between the procedural aspects of the investigation and the human drama, preventing the narrative from becoming bogged down by excessive detail while still providing a thorough account of the case.
While the subject matter is undeniably disturbing, O'Brien handles it with sensitivity and respect for the victims. The book does not shy away from the horror of the crimes, but it avoids gratuitous sensationalism, allowing readers to confront the darkness while also reflecting on the resilience of the human spirit in the face of tragedy.
In conclusion, "The Hillside Stranglers" is a commendable addition to the true crime genre. Darcy O'Brien's thoughtful approach, combined with his storytelling prowess and attention to detail, elevates this book beyond a mere recounting of events. For those fascinated by true crime narratives that offer both depth and context, this paperback is a compelling and informative read, deserving of a solid four-star rating.
O'Brien's writing is both captivating and empathetic, drawing readers into the harrowing details of the Hillside Stranglers case without sensationalism. The author skillfully balances the recounting of the crimes with an in-depth examination of the socio-economic and cultural context of the time, providing a comprehensive understanding of the factors that contributed to the series of heinous acts.
The character development in "The Hillside Stranglers" is a standout feature. O'Brien delves into the backgrounds of the victims, the perpetrators, and the law enforcement officials involved, creating a nuanced and multifaceted portrayal of the individuals caught up in this dark chapter of Los Angeles history. This approach adds depth to the narrative, making it more than just a true crime story but a reflective exploration of human nature and society.
The pacing of the book is well-managed, keeping readers engaged from start to finish. O'Brien maintains a careful balance between the procedural aspects of the investigation and the human drama, preventing the narrative from becoming bogged down by excessive detail while still providing a thorough account of the case.
While the subject matter is undeniably disturbing, O'Brien handles it with sensitivity and respect for the victims. The book does not shy away from the horror of the crimes, but it avoids gratuitous sensationalism, allowing readers to confront the darkness while also reflecting on the resilience of the human spirit in the face of tragedy.
In conclusion, "The Hillside Stranglers" is a commendable addition to the true crime genre. Darcy O'Brien's thoughtful approach, combined with his storytelling prowess and attention to detail, elevates this book beyond a mere recounting of events. For those fascinated by true crime narratives that offer both depth and context, this paperback is a compelling and informative read, deserving of a solid four-star rating.
October 2, 2025
Overall: 4 stars. A gruesome, but compelling story of the Hillside Stranglers that’s a little weak on the trial coverage.
I keep getting lucky with finding great true crime reads lately. The first 75% of this book was gripping: truly gruesome not just because of the murders themselves but in the callous, cruel attitudes of the killers. The serial killing duo is definitely unusual, so I appreciate that the book took the time to dive into Bianchi and Buono’s relationship and establish their personalities and how they played off each other.
I think the only true weakness of this book was that the trial portion (the last 25% of the book) was wrapped up rather quickly (though that might be a plus for some readers, depending on your tolerance for legal procedure). I like all the nitty gritty details of high-profile criminal trials like this, so I would have preferred a little more in-depth coverage there. I think it would also have been nice to see an updated epilogue for this ebook edition of the book, which was originally published in print in the 80s, to cover what happened to the Stranglers/victims’ families/police/lawyers in the 30+ years since the case.
CW: besides the obvious subject matter, the language when quoted from Binachi or especially Buono is extremely, extreeeeemely misogynistic, and the book does not shy away from showing them in an honest, unflattering light. It comes with the territory, but these two really hated women so watch out there.
Note for the audiobook: I listened to the audiobook version of this in October 2025, and I have to highly recommend it if you’re a nonfiction audiobook listener. The narrator seems a bit boring at first, but he’s absolutely fantastic at portraying different voices, and there’s a lot, a lot, of dialogue in this book. I didn’t realize it when reading the ebook, but there’s a lot of talking, and some chapters almost came off like an audio play.
I keep getting lucky with finding great true crime reads lately. The first 75% of this book was gripping: truly gruesome not just because of the murders themselves but in the callous, cruel attitudes of the killers. The serial killing duo is definitely unusual, so I appreciate that the book took the time to dive into Bianchi and Buono’s relationship and establish their personalities and how they played off each other.
I think the only true weakness of this book was that the trial portion (the last 25% of the book) was wrapped up rather quickly (though that might be a plus for some readers, depending on your tolerance for legal procedure). I like all the nitty gritty details of high-profile criminal trials like this, so I would have preferred a little more in-depth coverage there. I think it would also have been nice to see an updated epilogue for this ebook edition of the book, which was originally published in print in the 80s, to cover what happened to the Stranglers/victims’ families/police/lawyers in the 30+ years since the case.
CW: besides the obvious subject matter, the language when quoted from Binachi or especially Buono is extremely, extreeeeemely misogynistic, and the book does not shy away from showing them in an honest, unflattering light. It comes with the territory, but these two really hated women so watch out there.
Note for the audiobook: I listened to the audiobook version of this in October 2025, and I have to highly recommend it if you’re a nonfiction audiobook listener. The narrator seems a bit boring at first, but he’s absolutely fantastic at portraying different voices, and there’s a lot, a lot, of dialogue in this book. I didn’t realize it when reading the ebook, but there’s a lot of talking, and some chapters almost came off like an audio play.
April 21, 2022
This book is on The Last Podcast On The Left reading list, so I had to get it. I usually really like the books that are suggested on various episodes, and I trust Marcus Parks to not suggest anything boring. Plus, I like true crime books.
This book is about Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, two cousins who were known as The Hillside Stranglers. The name was given to them, because the bodies were found in the hills surrounding Los Angeles. The descriptions of the rape, torture, and murders of the ten women in this book were appalling. These two men were seriously disturbed. They wound up convincing some girls to engage in prostitution for them when they were short of money. They posed as police officers to lure girls into their car. They even tried to snatch the daughter of famous actor Peter Lorre. It always amazes me how trusting people were, especially when they whipped out their fake police badges. The 1970s were a time of a lot of serial killings, and I always find myself making shocked expressions when I read about people hopping in cars and hitch hiking around. Overall, this book was very informative about the activities of these two weirdos and the subsequent trial. I learned a lot about the case from the book, and it is worth picking up if you are interested in serial killers or this particular case.
This book is about Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi, two cousins who were known as The Hillside Stranglers. The name was given to them, because the bodies were found in the hills surrounding Los Angeles. The descriptions of the rape, torture, and murders of the ten women in this book were appalling. These two men were seriously disturbed. They wound up convincing some girls to engage in prostitution for them when they were short of money. They posed as police officers to lure girls into their car. They even tried to snatch the daughter of famous actor Peter Lorre. It always amazes me how trusting people were, especially when they whipped out their fake police badges. The 1970s were a time of a lot of serial killings, and I always find myself making shocked expressions when I read about people hopping in cars and hitch hiking around. Overall, this book was very informative about the activities of these two weirdos and the subsequent trial. I learned a lot about the case from the book, and it is worth picking up if you are interested in serial killers or this particular case.
August 30, 2015
Comprehensive and thorough investigation into the crimes and trials of the Hillside Stranglers
Mr. O'Brien has written the quintessential account of the murder spree perpetrated by Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi and done so in a manner that reads like a novel. The nearly 450 pages are filled with facts that are so bizarre the story probably wouldn't have been accepted it offered in the form of a novel. While these murders occurred nearly forty years ago, the crimes were so horrendous and the two cousins who committed them so lacking in any sense of compassion or remorse, they are still unfathomable to most people today. Those who try to understand the motives and thought processes of these two men will find the journey fascinating. Many people will be prone to dismiss the killers' actions as the work of lunatics. I believe to do this would allow these men to escape responsibility for their actions. Rather than insane, they are purely and simply evil and this book makes the facts supporting my belief very clear.
Mr. O'Brien has written the quintessential account of the murder spree perpetrated by Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi and done so in a manner that reads like a novel. The nearly 450 pages are filled with facts that are so bizarre the story probably wouldn't have been accepted it offered in the form of a novel. While these murders occurred nearly forty years ago, the crimes were so horrendous and the two cousins who committed them so lacking in any sense of compassion or remorse, they are still unfathomable to most people today. Those who try to understand the motives and thought processes of these two men will find the journey fascinating. Many people will be prone to dismiss the killers' actions as the work of lunatics. I believe to do this would allow these men to escape responsibility for their actions. Rather than insane, they are purely and simply evil and this book makes the facts supporting my belief very clear.
June 14, 2016
This book took me awhile but not because it wasn't good. It was amazing and incredibly disturbing. This is the first true crime I have read in awhile and the author was great at starting by getting into the minds of the killers, and that is what was creepy and disturbing. Excellent writing!
The last part about the trial and all the players therein was also amazing. I would highly recommend this one. I learned a lot that I did not know. I was a child when this was going on and I do remember it making national news.
The last part about the trial and all the players therein was also amazing. I would highly recommend this one. I learned a lot that I did not know. I was a child when this was going on and I do remember it making national news.
September 17, 2013
I really appreciate Darcy O'Brien's approach to true crime. This book is pretty hard to take though. I had no idea of the details of these crimes, though I remember the period when they were occurring. I still like O'Brien's Murder in Little Egypt (5 stars) for its meticulous picture of a relatively isolated part of the country and a way of life. In contrast, The Hillside Stranglers is only enlightening about the murders themselves and the relationship between the criminals.
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