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My Son, The Killer: The Untold Story of Luka Magnotta and "1 Lunatic 1 Ice Pick"
In 2012, the Canadian Press ignited a firestorm of criticism by naming killer Luka Magnotta as its “Newsmaker Of The Year.” But while the recognition was questionable for its sensitivity, there’s no doubt that few people had captured the public’s attention like the young murderer and internet sensation.
A male escort and sometimes model, Magnotta had earned his notoriety by videotaping himself stabbing Chinese student Lin Jun to death with an ice pick and dismembering the body, before posting the video online. After mailing Jun’s hands and feet to elementary schools, he then led Interpol on a manhunt that ended when he was arrested at an Internet café in Berlin where he was reading news stories about himself.
An international celebrity in a macabre sort of way, with a legion of fans, Magnotta was brought back to Canada, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to prison. During this time, Anna Yourkin, his estranged mother, troubled by Magnotta’s abused childhood and her role in that, reconnected with her killer son.
Despite his internet fame, Magnotta never agreed to any in-depth interviews. Now Magnotta has given award-winning journalist and author, Brian Whitney (RAW DEAL, THE SHAWCROSS LETTERS) an exclusive look inside the mind of this “social media” killer. Joining Whitney to tell this unique true crime story is Anna Yourkin. The book also contains exclusive photos provided by Yourkin.
A male escort and sometimes model, Magnotta had earned his notoriety by videotaping himself stabbing Chinese student Lin Jun to death with an ice pick and dismembering the body, before posting the video online. After mailing Jun’s hands and feet to elementary schools, he then led Interpol on a manhunt that ended when he was arrested at an Internet café in Berlin where he was reading news stories about himself.
An international celebrity in a macabre sort of way, with a legion of fans, Magnotta was brought back to Canada, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to prison. During this time, Anna Yourkin, his estranged mother, troubled by Magnotta’s abused childhood and her role in that, reconnected with her killer son.
Despite his internet fame, Magnotta never agreed to any in-depth interviews. Now Magnotta has given award-winning journalist and author, Brian Whitney (RAW DEAL, THE SHAWCROSS LETTERS) an exclusive look inside the mind of this “social media” killer. Joining Whitney to tell this unique true crime story is Anna Yourkin. The book also contains exclusive photos provided by Yourkin.
219 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 2, 2017
229 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Brian Whitney
30 books42 followersI am the author or co-author of numerous books, three of which have been optioned for film. I ghostwrite for Kevin Anderson and Associates.
I live on the coast of Maine.
I live on the coast of Maine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
February 18, 2019
Mother is just as delusional as Son
*WARNING SPOILERS* I wish this book was written by the author only, with the facts and the motives of the crimes. The mother's insight in my opinion only makes the story worse. She is just as, if not more, delusional than her son. She spends the book attempting to paint him as this wonderful person who made a small mistake. He killed, dismembered, committed necrophilia, and cannibalized a person while filming it, then posting it on the Internet for all to see! He did not make a small mistake! She was mad at the end of trial because she thought he should have been not guilty because he was criminally insane. But at the end of the book she says that he has no mental illness and has been medication free for two years . Such a contradiction. Poor Lin Jun's parents, I wouldn't have the words for my anger if these atrocities were committed on my son, and I read a book with someone trying to paint his murderer in such a rosy light. Just wrong on so many levels...
*WARNING SPOILERS* I wish this book was written by the author only, with the facts and the motives of the crimes. The mother's insight in my opinion only makes the story worse. She is just as, if not more, delusional than her son. She spends the book attempting to paint him as this wonderful person who made a small mistake. He killed, dismembered, committed necrophilia, and cannibalized a person while filming it, then posting it on the Internet for all to see! He did not make a small mistake! She was mad at the end of trial because she thought he should have been not guilty because he was criminally insane. But at the end of the book she says that he has no mental illness and has been medication free for two years . Such a contradiction. Poor Lin Jun's parents, I wouldn't have the words for my anger if these atrocities were committed on my son, and I read a book with someone trying to paint his murderer in such a rosy light. Just wrong on so many levels...
November 5, 2018
My Son, the Killer: The Untold Story of Luka Magnotta and “1 Lunatic 1 Ice Pick”
A true crime book about Luka Magnotta, the Canadian killer that was all over the news after the murder video of him killing Jun Lin was posted to a website. Following that, dismembered body parts were sent through the mail to several government=locations around Canada, which many may remember on the news a few years back. It is co-written by Magnotta’s mother, Anna Yourkin, who writes her separate chapters, and there are also quotes written by Luka himself in italics. It covers the story of his life before and after the murder. It’s a very informative book from the family’s perspective and gives Luka’s side of things to an extent. I found it rather interesting and I think most true crime readers would also as he’s kept quiet since the incident and not given interviews. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by NetGalley, authors Brian Whitney & Anna Yourkin, and the publisher for my fair review.
WildBlue Press 179 pages
Pub: Nov 6th, 2018
RATED: 3.5/5 Stars
The Author-- Brian Whitney has been a prisoner advocate, a landscaper, and a homeless outreach worker. His interests include ruminating and perseverating. He has written or coauthored numerous books, and has been featured or appeared on Inside Edition, Fox News, People.com, Cracked.com, True Murder, and True Crime Garage. He has written for Alternet, Pacific Standard Magazine, Paste Magazine, and many other places. He is appearing at CrimeCon in 2019.
My BookZone blog:
https://wordpress.com/post/bookblog20...
A true crime book about Luka Magnotta, the Canadian killer that was all over the news after the murder video of him killing Jun Lin was posted to a website. Following that, dismembered body parts were sent through the mail to several government=locations around Canada, which many may remember on the news a few years back. It is co-written by Magnotta’s mother, Anna Yourkin, who writes her separate chapters, and there are also quotes written by Luka himself in italics. It covers the story of his life before and after the murder. It’s a very informative book from the family’s perspective and gives Luka’s side of things to an extent. I found it rather interesting and I think most true crime readers would also as he’s kept quiet since the incident and not given interviews. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by NetGalley, authors Brian Whitney & Anna Yourkin, and the publisher for my fair review.
WildBlue Press 179 pages
Pub: Nov 6th, 2018
RATED: 3.5/5 Stars
The Author-- Brian Whitney has been a prisoner advocate, a landscaper, and a homeless outreach worker. His interests include ruminating and perseverating. He has written or coauthored numerous books, and has been featured or appeared on Inside Edition, Fox News, People.com, Cracked.com, True Murder, and True Crime Garage. He has written for Alternet, Pacific Standard Magazine, Paste Magazine, and many other places. He is appearing at CrimeCon in 2019.
My BookZone blog:
https://wordpress.com/post/bookblog20...
April 5, 2019
My Son, The Killer is a bit of a mess as it only asks more questions than what it answers and makes the case of Magnotta more sensationalised as if it needed any more. There are parts of the book that deal with the crime and a mother’s justification of herself as she deals with her son’s life choices.
On one hand, we have a book, assumingly written by Brian Whitney who tries to shed a light with a subject matter whose stories are not consistent. We also have the victim Jun Lin who is but a footnote in the book. This seems quite ridiculous and considering Brian Whitney is a crime writer, you think he would have done a little bit of research beyond the typical media fact sheet on Lin. A couple of paragraphs about a person who was murdered seems a bit lazy.
Looking through his back catalogue, he seems to enjoy sensationalising his subject matter without delving too deep. His past output was letters from Arthur Shawcross. I grew up with Arthur Shawcross and know his family as I am from the same small town and although I haven’t read the book, saying that you are going to look into the mind of someone who thinks they are deep but are shallow and lacks a lot of intelligence, shows you were this book, in particular, is probably going.
My Son, The Killer, Whitney says that he has access to Magnotta and then we get the same sound bites that have been radiating out of this case since it exploded on the public due to a slow news day. Magnotta although trying to sound deep and meaningful, really doesn’t come out with anything beyond the normal conspiracy theories and not wanting to discuss the case at all. We are left with nothing really further which considering the author claims to have personal contact with his subject, we are left with pretty much nothing beyond the normal website or news that has already been reported.
Most of the book is taken up by the mother, Anna Yourkin about her son Luka. We have the classic story of a woman in an abusive relationship with her husband. It does seem odd that we have an abusive father who physically and mentally abuses his wife and children and they feel that home schooling is the best way forward when raising your children. For whatever the reasons, we are left with a flimsy reasoning behind this and justification that the other children are well balanced. When the mother leaves the husband, we have well balanced children entering society except for Luka who was apparently bullied and only got on with children who had physical or mental handicaps. I am not sure what is trying to be betrayed here and it is an odd justification to be thrown in the mix.
The mother than states that she finds herself in another abusive relationship to herself and her children and she chooses the man over her son. Again, I am not quite sure if this is to justify why Luka would become the person he became or to shed some sympathy onto Luka as a boy. The story then shifts from Luka becoming an apparent model, pornography, rent boy, etc and the mother seems to approve of these life choices due to gifts and holidays Luka is able to dispense among the family. The couple of times that Luka does get in trouble with the law it is always someone elses fault and Luka is the innocent party.
Once Luka murders Jun Lin, we now have an apparent close knit family who turn their back on Luka because it is too much for them to handle. They do not want the press or media involved in their lives and show no support for their son who becomes a murderer and uses the internet to publicise his crimes. This is a total contradiction to what is written about how close and supportive they are with each other.
The cloud settles and now we have a mother who wants to get back in touch with her boy. This time she seems to have a supportive boyfriend in tow though his name is not mentioned and starts building a relationship with her now famous son. Through the various chapters, we have a mother who seems to be quite self-involved and it was extremely difficult to have empathy for her.
The reasoning for writing a book does not really shed any light on the crime that Luka Magnotta neither committed nor shed light on the family structure. Everything has been heavily documented and publicised before. This in fact seems to be one of those crime books that is released to capitalise on making money. I read the book and was compelled to read to the end though my eyes rolled at quite a few passages. The editor should be sued because the facts playing against each other, dates and years are jumble and there are so many contradictions within the pages it is hard to figure out what the main purpose of this was. The passage where she tells her son that she has written a book is a rather odd one because apparently she had already written it and it is going to the publisher but we have a chapter where she is telling her son about it.
Overall, the book is an over sensationalised inconsistent crime that seems to settle between fiction and non fiction. Luka Magnotta comes across as a hard killer and facts don’t really line up. If this was to shed a light on who Luka is, it doesn’t really do this. I found him to be sad, pathetic and terribly lonely figure who had mental issues due to family who left him out to dry. If he maybe had the support and love that a person should have had, maybe things would not have lead up to what they became. His mother is looking for pity and justification due to her bad life choices and this book is about her coming across as a victim although it portrays her as a conspirator to what her son had become. The book comes across as non apologetic and feels like a get rich scheme.
Maybe one day, Luka Magnotta will open up and let the world see the real person but you are not going to find this person within these pages. You have an apparent crime writer who doesn’t do any research beyond Wikipedia and a mother who makes everything about her. She exploited her son for financial means when he was a pornography actor and rent boy and she continues to exploit him now that he has become a famous killer. There is a probably a decent book to be had with the right editor and the right people involved but this is not that book. As for Luka Magnotta, a man of great promise when born came out a by product of bad parenting and someone forced to live in society’s underbelly.
On one hand, we have a book, assumingly written by Brian Whitney who tries to shed a light with a subject matter whose stories are not consistent. We also have the victim Jun Lin who is but a footnote in the book. This seems quite ridiculous and considering Brian Whitney is a crime writer, you think he would have done a little bit of research beyond the typical media fact sheet on Lin. A couple of paragraphs about a person who was murdered seems a bit lazy.
Looking through his back catalogue, he seems to enjoy sensationalising his subject matter without delving too deep. His past output was letters from Arthur Shawcross. I grew up with Arthur Shawcross and know his family as I am from the same small town and although I haven’t read the book, saying that you are going to look into the mind of someone who thinks they are deep but are shallow and lacks a lot of intelligence, shows you were this book, in particular, is probably going.
My Son, The Killer, Whitney says that he has access to Magnotta and then we get the same sound bites that have been radiating out of this case since it exploded on the public due to a slow news day. Magnotta although trying to sound deep and meaningful, really doesn’t come out with anything beyond the normal conspiracy theories and not wanting to discuss the case at all. We are left with nothing really further which considering the author claims to have personal contact with his subject, we are left with pretty much nothing beyond the normal website or news that has already been reported.
Most of the book is taken up by the mother, Anna Yourkin about her son Luka. We have the classic story of a woman in an abusive relationship with her husband. It does seem odd that we have an abusive father who physically and mentally abuses his wife and children and they feel that home schooling is the best way forward when raising your children. For whatever the reasons, we are left with a flimsy reasoning behind this and justification that the other children are well balanced. When the mother leaves the husband, we have well balanced children entering society except for Luka who was apparently bullied and only got on with children who had physical or mental handicaps. I am not sure what is trying to be betrayed here and it is an odd justification to be thrown in the mix.
The mother than states that she finds herself in another abusive relationship to herself and her children and she chooses the man over her son. Again, I am not quite sure if this is to justify why Luka would become the person he became or to shed some sympathy onto Luka as a boy. The story then shifts from Luka becoming an apparent model, pornography, rent boy, etc and the mother seems to approve of these life choices due to gifts and holidays Luka is able to dispense among the family. The couple of times that Luka does get in trouble with the law it is always someone elses fault and Luka is the innocent party.
Once Luka murders Jun Lin, we now have an apparent close knit family who turn their back on Luka because it is too much for them to handle. They do not want the press or media involved in their lives and show no support for their son who becomes a murderer and uses the internet to publicise his crimes. This is a total contradiction to what is written about how close and supportive they are with each other.
The cloud settles and now we have a mother who wants to get back in touch with her boy. This time she seems to have a supportive boyfriend in tow though his name is not mentioned and starts building a relationship with her now famous son. Through the various chapters, we have a mother who seems to be quite self-involved and it was extremely difficult to have empathy for her.
The reasoning for writing a book does not really shed any light on the crime that Luka Magnotta neither committed nor shed light on the family structure. Everything has been heavily documented and publicised before. This in fact seems to be one of those crime books that is released to capitalise on making money. I read the book and was compelled to read to the end though my eyes rolled at quite a few passages. The editor should be sued because the facts playing against each other, dates and years are jumble and there are so many contradictions within the pages it is hard to figure out what the main purpose of this was. The passage where she tells her son that she has written a book is a rather odd one because apparently she had already written it and it is going to the publisher but we have a chapter where she is telling her son about it.
Overall, the book is an over sensationalised inconsistent crime that seems to settle between fiction and non fiction. Luka Magnotta comes across as a hard killer and facts don’t really line up. If this was to shed a light on who Luka is, it doesn’t really do this. I found him to be sad, pathetic and terribly lonely figure who had mental issues due to family who left him out to dry. If he maybe had the support and love that a person should have had, maybe things would not have lead up to what they became. His mother is looking for pity and justification due to her bad life choices and this book is about her coming across as a victim although it portrays her as a conspirator to what her son had become. The book comes across as non apologetic and feels like a get rich scheme.
Maybe one day, Luka Magnotta will open up and let the world see the real person but you are not going to find this person within these pages. You have an apparent crime writer who doesn’t do any research beyond Wikipedia and a mother who makes everything about her. She exploited her son for financial means when he was a pornography actor and rent boy and she continues to exploit him now that he has become a famous killer. There is a probably a decent book to be had with the right editor and the right people involved but this is not that book. As for Luka Magnotta, a man of great promise when born came out a by product of bad parenting and someone forced to live in society’s underbelly.
December 24, 2019
There is tons of fake accounts giving this book 5 stars from the author himself! Very obvious the author is trying to make up for the real ratings for this horrendous book. Can’t handle a bit of criticism so he goes our of his way to make accounts to give his books high ratings. What tipped me off was the five star reviews all sounded the same so I clicked on them and low and behold the only books they rated were his books and they had a very generic name. Very fake. So weird to see an author giving his books fake ratings! This book is awful, poorly written and glorifies a really horrible crime. Maybe skip it.
December 17, 2018
Written from an interesting perspective, that of the killers family. One star given because however well written and researched the book is, it becomes a gushing tribute to Luka Magnotta in which his victim Jun Lin barely features.
December 24, 2019
What garbage. Horrible edited and written.
I noticed there is a bunch of fake profiles giving this book 5 stars, all the reviews sound the same using “interesting” and “bizarre”. Guess its the author making up for the real reviews of how awful this book is
I noticed there is a bunch of fake profiles giving this book 5 stars, all the reviews sound the same using “interesting” and “bizarre”. Guess its the author making up for the real reviews of how awful this book is
May 9, 2021
Mr. Whitney should not have accepted this project on behalf of a serial killer's obviously dysfunctional, abnormal, narcissistic mother and family who want to make a quick buck on the shoulders of their progeny. This is not the first or the last time that a serial / killer or his family will make money off his crime, but my hope is that 'journalists' be clear about not romanticizing the depraved individual, giving a platform to his arrogant and self-centered family to declare their lack of remorse and cluelessness as to the extent to which their son / brother is evil - especially when none of them even had the courtesy to 'publicly apologize' to the victim's family. It's all Me, Me, Me with the entire family. And the lack of shame and remorse or any kind of self-evaluation any ordinary normal person would feel. Whoever sent this family a gift basket needs to have their head examined - along with the entire Yourkin household.
My humble opinion is that instead of going hysterical over the police raid over alleged 'cat videos' (when they were actually looking for the son over a human being's murder), Yourkins should have concentrated on the fact that doing anything abnormal to anything (e.g. animals such as cats) on videos is NOT okay (or the sex work, or the fraud conviction or anything else before the killer hit 'big time') and there is something seriously wrong with Yourkin household (mother Yourkin, sister Melissa, brother Conrad etc.) for them to think nothing of it. I don't want to give anymore space to the actual murderer than has been given by the author. This book justifies whatever he did, whenever he did it. And there is zero journalistic / forensic concentration on each time period and corresponding action (for e.g. the entire sex work tenure, bondage videos, and his cosmetic surgeries). The book reads like a breezy bio data / CV as if everyone is discussing how to make crème brûlée!
Another problem with the book is that the voice of the author is diluted with that of the killer and his mother etc. - It would have been better if his own thought process and the manner in which for e.g. Mother Yourkin describes things was in a separate linguistic style. It all sounds the same.
Part of the problem is the apparent lack of curiosity on the author's part to ask questions, and inform himself as to the background of the parents, their choices and 'handling' of matters, and all who surrounded the kids and the choices of the adult-child-murderer. That kind of work would have involved getting up from his own house to that of Mother Yourkin's - you know, actual investigative stuff (for the life of me, I cannot imagine a mother being happy about any kid's troubles, foray into prostitution or bankruptcy - but that's just another incomprehensible breeze in an ill-thought book written entirely to befuddle the commonsensical you.) I don't think this family knows the meaning of the word 'unhealthy.'
It's also not mentioned whether the killer was medicated / under prescription drugs at the time of the interview calls and written answers.
The author obviously wanted to satiate the public's appetite for murderers (especially Canadian murderers), but make no mistake, he and the Yourkin crowd is exploiting the public, not the other way around. "Just as in all stories about _____, he is always the star, and he will be in this story as well," writes the author.
This book is a catch only if you want to know how NOT to write a book on a killer (serial or otherwise) and his family, let alone, a serial killer's book for him.
My humble opinion is that instead of going hysterical over the police raid over alleged 'cat videos' (when they were actually looking for the son over a human being's murder), Yourkins should have concentrated on the fact that doing anything abnormal to anything (e.g. animals such as cats) on videos is NOT okay (or the sex work, or the fraud conviction or anything else before the killer hit 'big time') and there is something seriously wrong with Yourkin household (mother Yourkin, sister Melissa, brother Conrad etc.) for them to think nothing of it. I don't want to give anymore space to the actual murderer than has been given by the author. This book justifies whatever he did, whenever he did it. And there is zero journalistic / forensic concentration on each time period and corresponding action (for e.g. the entire sex work tenure, bondage videos, and his cosmetic surgeries). The book reads like a breezy bio data / CV as if everyone is discussing how to make crème brûlée!
Another problem with the book is that the voice of the author is diluted with that of the killer and his mother etc. - It would have been better if his own thought process and the manner in which for e.g. Mother Yourkin describes things was in a separate linguistic style. It all sounds the same.
Part of the problem is the apparent lack of curiosity on the author's part to ask questions, and inform himself as to the background of the parents, their choices and 'handling' of matters, and all who surrounded the kids and the choices of the adult-child-murderer. That kind of work would have involved getting up from his own house to that of Mother Yourkin's - you know, actual investigative stuff (for the life of me, I cannot imagine a mother being happy about any kid's troubles, foray into prostitution or bankruptcy - but that's just another incomprehensible breeze in an ill-thought book written entirely to befuddle the commonsensical you.) I don't think this family knows the meaning of the word 'unhealthy.'
It's also not mentioned whether the killer was medicated / under prescription drugs at the time of the interview calls and written answers.
The author obviously wanted to satiate the public's appetite for murderers (especially Canadian murderers), but make no mistake, he and the Yourkin crowd is exploiting the public, not the other way around. "Just as in all stories about _____, he is always the star, and he will be in this story as well," writes the author.
This book is a catch only if you want to know how NOT to write a book on a killer (serial or otherwise) and his family, let alone, a serial killer's book for him.
July 2, 2019
I'm really not sure how I feel about this book. On the one hand it is an interesting, albeit extremely disturbing, story. On the other hand though, I feel that having Luka's mother be a part of the book just makes this book seem like it's trying to justify Luka's actions, which in my opinion (and I think most people's opinions) are not justifiable. I was hoping for more investigating on the part of the author and less sensationalism. I was also upset that the victim isn't really mentioned in this much, I feel like he's an after-thought, which I found really disrespectful.
November 9, 2018
I enjoyed reading a true crime book from the perspective of the perpetrators family. This is an angle not often explored or talked about in the true crime genre. I did not like the back and forth between the mothers point of view and some writer it made the book feel choppy and was confusing at times. Also I feel there was not enough focus on how terrible the crime was and too much about poor Luka it wasn’t his fault etc etc when he brutally killed someone on video. Overall a quick and decent read with a unique perspective!
March 7, 2022
I hate to say this about anyone, but Anna must be crazy. Also, the writing in this book is terrible and does not seem to have been edited at all. You can skip every other paragraph and you won’t miss a thing.
May 2, 2024
His mother is just as delusional as him! She doesn't hold him accountable for anything - not only the murder, but prior crimes before. She makes excuses and blames other people (one who is obviously non existent, and nothing but a fictionalised scapegoat for Luka) for her sons (very clearly premeditated) crimes.
The writing from both the mother and the author is poor.
The victim is glossed over, and nothing but a footnote. Any sympathy towards him or his family is incredibly vague, and very much avoided.
1/5 stars, awful.
The writing from both the mother and the author is poor.
The victim is glossed over, and nothing but a footnote. Any sympathy towards him or his family is incredibly vague, and very much avoided.
1/5 stars, awful.
Read
December 28, 2018DNF
This book, I really have no words. It wasn’t written very well and bored the hell out of me. I honestly couldn’t read it. I got to 23% and couldn’t carry on.
I’m a big lover of true crime stories and have read hundreds, but this was so bad, I’m sorry to say.
This book, I really have no words. It wasn’t written very well and bored the hell out of me. I honestly couldn’t read it. I got to 23% and couldn’t carry on.
I’m a big lover of true crime stories and have read hundreds, but this was so bad, I’m sorry to say.
February 22, 2020
Dit boek lees je natuurlijk niet voor de literaire inhoud maar om eens het verhaal vanuit een ander perspectief te horen. De correspondentie tussen Luka en de auteur. De achtergrond van Luka. De gevoelens en gedachten van de moeder en wat er na het verdict zich nog afgespeeld heeft. Wat me wel opviel is dat er toch een laag sensatie op de documentaire en de gebeurtenissen zijn gesmeerd wat natuurlijk niets goedpraat. Feiten zijn feiten. Al vraag ik me nog steeds af of Luka of schizofreen is of hij buitengewoon intelligent is. We zullen het nooit weten. Interessante case alvast.
April 15, 2020
If you're looking for justification of a heinous crime vs facts, this book is for you!
I would never have read this book if it @£1@~~had not been part of kindle unlimited; I don't condone criminals (or their families) making money off their crimes. It is clear from the very first pages of this book that it is incredibly biased. Anna Yourkin is desperate to justify and excuse her son's atrocities. As a mother myself, I understand the desire to have people view your child in the best possible light. However, the constant contradictions by Yourkin (often within the same paragraph), the focus on herself (her selfishness borders on the narcissistic), her ability to view this situation through rose-colored glasses (borders on the delusional) does absolutely nothing to get the reader to empathize with her son. Reading her story explains the reasons for her son's crimes better than anything else. He was raised by a selfish woman, who repeatedly chose men over her children. Anna Yourkin accepts no responsibility for her son, and blames everyone else for his atrocities. Again, as a mother I can accept that. What cannot be excused is the author's willingness to allow this book to be managed by Luka and his mother. It is very clear the author made every attempt to make this book "acceptable" to Luka and his mother. The author made very little effort to report facts. The facts are indisputable : Jun Lin was brutally murdered, on video, by Luka Magnotta. Magnotta was seen in CCTV disposing of evidence, mailing body parts, and fleeing the country. Why try to excuse these facts? Simply because, to do so allows Yourkin Magnotta to control the narrative. The reader gets the sense that the author was willing to tell whatever story Magnotta Yourkin wanted just to have their name on a book. If you want facts, look somewhere else.
I would never have read this book if it @£1@~~had not been part of kindle unlimited; I don't condone criminals (or their families) making money off their crimes. It is clear from the very first pages of this book that it is incredibly biased. Anna Yourkin is desperate to justify and excuse her son's atrocities. As a mother myself, I understand the desire to have people view your child in the best possible light. However, the constant contradictions by Yourkin (often within the same paragraph), the focus on herself (her selfishness borders on the narcissistic), her ability to view this situation through rose-colored glasses (borders on the delusional) does absolutely nothing to get the reader to empathize with her son. Reading her story explains the reasons for her son's crimes better than anything else. He was raised by a selfish woman, who repeatedly chose men over her children. Anna Yourkin accepts no responsibility for her son, and blames everyone else for his atrocities. Again, as a mother I can accept that. What cannot be excused is the author's willingness to allow this book to be managed by Luka and his mother. It is very clear the author made every attempt to make this book "acceptable" to Luka and his mother. The author made very little effort to report facts. The facts are indisputable : Jun Lin was brutally murdered, on video, by Luka Magnotta. Magnotta was seen in CCTV disposing of evidence, mailing body parts, and fleeing the country. Why try to excuse these facts? Simply because, to do so allows Yourkin Magnotta to control the narrative. The reader gets the sense that the author was willing to tell whatever story Magnotta Yourkin wanted just to have their name on a book. If you want facts, look somewhere else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2019
Luka Magnotta committed one of the most heinous murders in history, filmed it, and posted it online. I remember hearing about this now infamous crime a couple of years ago and being completely disturbed. When I saw that his mother had written a book, I was incredibly intrigued. I'm a true crime buff, and we RARELY hear from a criminal's family member. I thought it would offer a unique perspective, and I excitedly dove in.
I will start by saying that I do recommend this book for true crime readers and that it was very fascinating. However, there were some definite downfalls. Anna, Luka's mother, is very clearly not a professional writer. I found her words to be riddled with both grammatical and stylistic errors. Also, as his mother, she is of course quite bias and sees him as less guilty than he is. That said, the book was not as revealing as I had hoped. I finished it STILL not understanding why he did what he did. Perhaps he doesn't even know himself, though. Both Anna and Luka claim he does not have any mental health disorders... but then she complains that no one helped him when he was seeking help for his mental health. That was a bit contradictory. Also, if he isn't mentally ill, what's the explanation for why he did what he did? Definitely a bit unclear at times.
While this book was not the best written, I still flew through it rapidly. I found it fascinating to get an inside look at this killer's life both before and after his atrocious crime. I wish there had been more answers, but I still enjoyed the insight that it did offer. I really thought it was cool to get the perspective from his mother and I couldn't put it down, to be honest.
Ultimately, I'd say overlook the errors and read this if you're a fellow true crime fan... it's super interesting.
I will start by saying that I do recommend this book for true crime readers and that it was very fascinating. However, there were some definite downfalls. Anna, Luka's mother, is very clearly not a professional writer. I found her words to be riddled with both grammatical and stylistic errors. Also, as his mother, she is of course quite bias and sees him as less guilty than he is. That said, the book was not as revealing as I had hoped. I finished it STILL not understanding why he did what he did. Perhaps he doesn't even know himself, though. Both Anna and Luka claim he does not have any mental health disorders... but then she complains that no one helped him when he was seeking help for his mental health. That was a bit contradictory. Also, if he isn't mentally ill, what's the explanation for why he did what he did? Definitely a bit unclear at times.
While this book was not the best written, I still flew through it rapidly. I found it fascinating to get an inside look at this killer's life both before and after his atrocious crime. I wish there had been more answers, but I still enjoyed the insight that it did offer. I really thought it was cool to get the perspective from his mother and I couldn't put it down, to be honest.
Ultimately, I'd say overlook the errors and read this if you're a fellow true crime fan... it's super interesting.
May 10, 2019
While I don't think Luka is innocent I do think his mother, Canada's mental health system, the nascent cult of internet false celebrity in the early 00s, photoshop, reality tv, and early youtube are all partially to blame for the tragedy that unfolded with this narcissistic szchophrenic who stopped taking his meds and tried to make himself into a famous serial killer.
One has to wonder chicken egg style if monsters are born or if they're made by awful parents in unfortunate circumstances. I'm so sorry for the victim and his family. There was basically no mention of them in this myopic pity party poor excuse for a "book".
Aside from the glaring editorial errors in this book, I quickly developed an apathetic attitude about Luka's mother. As a child of a single mother, and a survivor of domestic violence, I really really wanted to like, respect, and possibly sympathize with her. However, chapter after chapter I was just more angry with her.
Lukas mother consistently dated violent men and allowed her children to be abused along with her. And YES she allowed that however reluctantly. I understand that it is difficult to leave the abuse but it's still a choice. Lukas mom chose an abusive man over her children. Eventually she left him, but then she found another abuser, left that guy, etc - rinse repeat cycle of abuse and child neglect. I can't imagine what that does to a young impressionable mind - maybe create a psychotic thrill killer who makes murder snuff videos to 80s pop music a la Patrick Bateman style?
Two stars for this entertaining train wreck. There's definitely a very Gerry Springerish schaudenfreude that I'm shamefully feeling at the end now. I need to go hug my mom.
May 8, 2021
I don’t think Luka is the only schizophrenic in this story. Her mother is worse than her. How come one tries to justify their “psychotic” killer son when they know not only he committed crime but also video recorded it. I guess Anna is an attention seeker just like his son. I’m finishing my writing by reminding the beautiful soul: JUN LIN.
January 13, 2021
Wooooooooow. How this was published I will never know. This woman is not stable
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September 12, 2021Titulo: My Son, The Killer: The Untold Story of Luka Magnotta and "1 Lunatic 1 Ice Pick"
Autor: Brian Whitney & Anna Yourkin
Año publicado: 2018
Motivo de lectura: Maraton en la cripta
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Fisico / Electronico: Electronico
Mi edicion: -
Puntuacion: No puedo calificar este libro por la tematica sensible que aborda, sobre todo por respeto a la familia Jun Lin.
Que dificil intentar reseñar esta clase de libros..
Luka Magnotta negando sistematicamente sus actos, continuamente diciendo que todo es mentira y Brian Whitney llamando a Luka "una victima", Luka no es victima, Luka es victimario, es importante no olvidar eso durante la lectura de este libro.
El contenido es una continua contradiccion entre madre e hijo, claramente ambos padecen enfermedades mentales que sin tratamiento tuvo ese desenlace terrible..
Siento mucha incomodidad leer como Anna minimiza los actos de Luka, incluso hasta justificarlo diciendo que el fue obligado por otra persona a cometer esos actos espantosos, y hasta llegar a decir que a su hijo se le metio el diablo en el cuerpo. Puedo entender que para Anna como madre sea dificil aceptar los hechos, despues de todo estamos hablando de una mujer que lo gesto, que sostuvo ese bebe en brazos, y estoy segura que ninguna madre imagina que su bebe sera un asesino en el futuro, pero el hecho de que ella sienta que todos los actos de Luka no son culpa de el, eso ya es demasiado.
Aca dejo un pequeño extracto como ejemplo:
"En mi mente no se hizo justicia en este caso. Como ciudadana canadiense, estoy horrorizada y avergonzada de mi pais, y como madre de un hombre condenado injustamente, estoy indignada".
- Anna Yourkin (sobre la condena de su hijo Luka Magnotta)
Durante todo el libro, Anna insiste sobre la "empatia de Luka", insiste tanto que el unico resultado que consigue es que cualquier persona se de cuenta lo forzado de su intento, esta claro que Luka tiene cero empatia.
Obviamente el maldito Manny Lopez no existe, todos los actos que se enumeran en el libro fueron hechos por el propio Luka, el simplemente intenta cubrirse jugando la carta de victima, de que el fue forzado, no le creo nada, lo unico en lo que creo cuando se habla de Luka es que es un psicopata asesino.
La Unidad PFV es una especie de departamento donde Luka puede pasar tiempo con su madre (o con cualquier familiar). Jun Lin no tiene ese posibilidad.
Luka teniendo su boda y Ann continuamente comentando lo feliz que estaba de asistir a la boda de su hijo. Jun Lin no tiene esa posibilidad.
El esfuerzo titanico de Anna para que quede claro que su hijo esta bien: ya no esta bajo medicacion, se caso, ayuda a otros presos, es el encargado de alimentar los animales de la prision, y un sin fin de tareas mas, ojala Anna entienda que todo eso (si es que es cierto) no anula el dolor que Luka causo.
Y el final del libro con las palabras de Anna sobre la libertad, pobre la familia de Lin.
Basicamente me pase todo el libro asi:
Autor: Brian Whitney & Anna Yourkin
Año publicado: 2018
Motivo de lectura: Maraton en la cripta
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Fisico / Electronico: Electronico
Mi edicion: -
Puntuacion: No puedo calificar este libro por la tematica sensible que aborda, sobre todo por respeto a la familia Jun Lin.
Que dificil intentar reseñar esta clase de libros..
Luka Magnotta negando sistematicamente sus actos, continuamente diciendo que todo es mentira y Brian Whitney llamando a Luka "una victima", Luka no es victima, Luka es victimario, es importante no olvidar eso durante la lectura de este libro.
El contenido es una continua contradiccion entre madre e hijo, claramente ambos padecen enfermedades mentales que sin tratamiento tuvo ese desenlace terrible..
Siento mucha incomodidad leer como Anna minimiza los actos de Luka, incluso hasta justificarlo diciendo que el fue obligado por otra persona a cometer esos actos espantosos, y hasta llegar a decir que a su hijo se le metio el diablo en el cuerpo. Puedo entender que para Anna como madre sea dificil aceptar los hechos, despues de todo estamos hablando de una mujer que lo gesto, que sostuvo ese bebe en brazos, y estoy segura que ninguna madre imagina que su bebe sera un asesino en el futuro, pero el hecho de que ella sienta que todos los actos de Luka no son culpa de el, eso ya es demasiado.
Aca dejo un pequeño extracto como ejemplo:
"En mi mente no se hizo justicia en este caso. Como ciudadana canadiense, estoy horrorizada y avergonzada de mi pais, y como madre de un hombre condenado injustamente, estoy indignada".
- Anna Yourkin (sobre la condena de su hijo Luka Magnotta)
Durante todo el libro, Anna insiste sobre la "empatia de Luka", insiste tanto que el unico resultado que consigue es que cualquier persona se de cuenta lo forzado de su intento, esta claro que Luka tiene cero empatia.
Obviamente el maldito Manny Lopez no existe, todos los actos que se enumeran en el libro fueron hechos por el propio Luka, el simplemente intenta cubrirse jugando la carta de victima, de que el fue forzado, no le creo nada, lo unico en lo que creo cuando se habla de Luka es que es un psicopata asesino.
La Unidad PFV es una especie de departamento donde Luka puede pasar tiempo con su madre (o con cualquier familiar). Jun Lin no tiene ese posibilidad.
Luka teniendo su boda y Ann continuamente comentando lo feliz que estaba de asistir a la boda de su hijo. Jun Lin no tiene esa posibilidad.
El esfuerzo titanico de Anna para que quede claro que su hijo esta bien: ya no esta bajo medicacion, se caso, ayuda a otros presos, es el encargado de alimentar los animales de la prision, y un sin fin de tareas mas, ojala Anna entienda que todo eso (si es que es cierto) no anula el dolor que Luka causo.
Y el final del libro con las palabras de Anna sobre la libertad, pobre la familia de Lin.
Basicamente me pase todo el libro asi:
January 2, 2019
What better way to start the year than one of my favorite genres? True crime. Not a terrible read. Impressed with the team of Whitney and Anna Yourkin, the killer's own mother. 1 Lunatic, 1 Icepick, anyone? I didn't expect to feel as much sympathy for her as I did, since I usually reserve the majority of my sympathy for the victim and their family, and I still do here, but she is somewhat of a sympathetic figure. This isn't too detailed of a read, it doesn't delve head first into the nitty gritty of the crime, this is more of a background tale than anything else. It's obvious that this poor (can I say that?), woman is still in deep denial about her son. She uses the word allegedly multiple times, first says that he should have gotten the obvious mental help he needed and should have been arrested for the kitten video, and then at the end of the book says he was completely misdiagnosed and doesn't need any of the medications they improperly had him on for years. Lord help the world if that monster (yes, you may not find it to be true mother of said, but the rest of the world recognizes him for what he is) gets back out, needed medication, and isn't on it. The only thing I know for a fact walking away from this book with is that the lies upon lies upon lies that are layered through his entire life make it impossible to know whether he's truly sick and in need of some kind of mental health help, or whether he's just a master manipulator and was acting out some bizarre script as Whitney points out in the book. Thankfully, from what I understand of the Canadian justice system, a life sentence is just that, even with parole availability. The vicious violence and disregard for human life showed to his victim means when he comes before a board (do they call them that there?) is just a formality and he'll never see free light again.
May 1, 2019
I love true crime. I really do. But this didn't top my list of favourites.
I was familiar with Luka Magnotta's horrific crime and story before but I had still hoped to find some new information here and there just wasn't anything of note. I did learn about Luka's mother Anna's life as it was primarily written in her voice.
While I certainly sympathize with many experiences she endured throughout her life, I feel like the entire tone of her narrative is minimizing the terrible things that her son did. She was making a lot of excuses for actions that are in no way, shape or form worthy of any excuse at all. It's a slap in the face to victim Lin Jun and his family who have already suffered so much.
I know she loves her son. I have 2 sons myself and I cannot imagine having to navigate the things she has had to deal with on account of Luka. My heart breaks for her as a fellow mother but it was very hard for me to rationalize things the way she does. I imagine it's her mind's way of protecting itself and I can understand that, in a way. I applaud her efforts to take care of her own mental health in the ways she speaks about. It's not an easy process.
It is abundantly clear that Luka is mentally ill. Couple that with incredible narcissism and it makes for a really awful combination. His level of self-absorption was infuriating and left me with very little sympathy for him. At the same time, I understand that he needs help and a lot of it. His mother sees his redeeming qualities but they are lost on me.
Back to the book itself, there were many grammatical errors and awkward writing so the reading experience suffered because of it. The chapters were arranged strangely in parts which just felt weird. I'll be honest, a lot of things felt weird. Like how Luka calls his mother, "Sweetie". That almost made me barf. As did many things in this book.
I was familiar with Luka Magnotta's horrific crime and story before but I had still hoped to find some new information here and there just wasn't anything of note. I did learn about Luka's mother Anna's life as it was primarily written in her voice.
While I certainly sympathize with many experiences she endured throughout her life, I feel like the entire tone of her narrative is minimizing the terrible things that her son did. She was making a lot of excuses for actions that are in no way, shape or form worthy of any excuse at all. It's a slap in the face to victim Lin Jun and his family who have already suffered so much.
I know she loves her son. I have 2 sons myself and I cannot imagine having to navigate the things she has had to deal with on account of Luka. My heart breaks for her as a fellow mother but it was very hard for me to rationalize things the way she does. I imagine it's her mind's way of protecting itself and I can understand that, in a way. I applaud her efforts to take care of her own mental health in the ways she speaks about. It's not an easy process.
It is abundantly clear that Luka is mentally ill. Couple that with incredible narcissism and it makes for a really awful combination. His level of self-absorption was infuriating and left me with very little sympathy for him. At the same time, I understand that he needs help and a lot of it. His mother sees his redeeming qualities but they are lost on me.
Back to the book itself, there were many grammatical errors and awkward writing so the reading experience suffered because of it. The chapters were arranged strangely in parts which just felt weird. I'll be honest, a lot of things felt weird. Like how Luka calls his mother, "Sweetie". That almost made me barf. As did many things in this book.
December 27, 2018
Luka Magnotta placed an ad on Craigslist looking for a hookup with a random, anonymous man. Unfortunately for college student Lin Jun, he responded to the ad, meeting Magnotta and going back to his apartment to smoke weed and engage in intercourse. Lin never made it out of Magnotta's apartment alive. After killing and dismembering Lin's body, Magnotta put the video of the whole attack online and titled the video '1 Lunatic 1 Icepick'. Magnotta mailed parts of Lin's body around Canada then flew to Paris, leading Interpol on a manhunt that finally ended in a cyber cafe in Berlin.
This book is extensively researched by author Brian Whitney and has added chapters written by Luka Magnotta's mother Anna Yourkin. While it was fascinating to read about this case from the point-of-view of Anna's, I felt like she has not fully come to terms with the horrible tragedy that her son committed. (To be fair, I have no idea how I would act if I were in her shoes.) There was quite a bit about Magnotta and his life, what he did, and his life incarcerated, but very little about the victim. Granted that this is a story about Luka that was primarily written by his mother, I would have liked to see more about Lin Jun. After reading this, I am not sure if Magnotta is mentally ill or just a horrible person and I doubt any of us will ever know what was going on in his mind when he committed this horrible act. I feel terrible for Anna and her family but I mostly feel terrible for Lin Jun's family. While Anna is able to visit her son in prison, call him on the phone, and write him letters (and even be present for his wedding), Lin Jun's family lost their child in the worst way possible.
Thanks to NetGalley and WildBlue Press for the ARC.
This book is extensively researched by author Brian Whitney and has added chapters written by Luka Magnotta's mother Anna Yourkin. While it was fascinating to read about this case from the point-of-view of Anna's, I felt like she has not fully come to terms with the horrible tragedy that her son committed. (To be fair, I have no idea how I would act if I were in her shoes.) There was quite a bit about Magnotta and his life, what he did, and his life incarcerated, but very little about the victim. Granted that this is a story about Luka that was primarily written by his mother, I would have liked to see more about Lin Jun. After reading this, I am not sure if Magnotta is mentally ill or just a horrible person and I doubt any of us will ever know what was going on in his mind when he committed this horrible act. I feel terrible for Anna and her family but I mostly feel terrible for Lin Jun's family. While Anna is able to visit her son in prison, call him on the phone, and write him letters (and even be present for his wedding), Lin Jun's family lost their child in the worst way possible.
Thanks to NetGalley and WildBlue Press for the ARC.
October 8, 2019
I’ve been quite fascinated by books about serial killers around the world. I’ve read a lot from Ted Bundy, Jeff Dahmer, Couple Killers; Paul and Karla, Ian and Myra, Gerald and Sharlene, Fred and Rosemary. But I’ve avoided this one on Luka Magnotta. For the reason that I accidentally saw his infamous videos. I’ve seen lots of gore and violent movies or snippets of real life crazy inclinations, but this one is just beyond psychotic. He ate parts of him for crying out loud! and these are things, that you cannot un-see.
But my good friend sent this eBook to me while on a very bad slump, so here goes.
My issue with this book is the back and forth narration from Anna and some quoted accounts from Luka himself. It’s quite confusing and messy.
It’s not a terrible read altogether but I was hoping the writer will give us insights about what happened and in some way “why” it happened, since he got the opportunity to talk to Luca himself.
While I sympathize with Anna, she somehow minimized the awful things her son did, which I tried to understand. I am very close to my mom and I cannot imagine her on this position. There’s a lot of unsolved issues from the mother’s life carried through his son’s life and somehow, they made these childhood sufferings as an excuse to what he did. But anyway, of course she’ll be biased, it’s her son. But I really thought it was cool to get the perspective from a murderer’s mother and I couldn't put it down, to be honest. All in all, it was an interesting read, for us true-crime fans.
But my good friend sent this eBook to me while on a very bad slump, so here goes.
My issue with this book is the back and forth narration from Anna and some quoted accounts from Luka himself. It’s quite confusing and messy.
It’s not a terrible read altogether but I was hoping the writer will give us insights about what happened and in some way “why” it happened, since he got the opportunity to talk to Luca himself.
While I sympathize with Anna, she somehow minimized the awful things her son did, which I tried to understand. I am very close to my mom and I cannot imagine her on this position. There’s a lot of unsolved issues from the mother’s life carried through his son’s life and somehow, they made these childhood sufferings as an excuse to what he did. But anyway, of course she’ll be biased, it’s her son. But I really thought it was cool to get the perspective from a murderer’s mother and I couldn't put it down, to be honest. All in all, it was an interesting read, for us true-crime fans.
May 1, 2020
I am struggling to give this book three stars. It is interesting but the level of denial that this mother lives in is...startling?? It makes me uncomfortable for sure. So much delusion.
First of all, he calls his mother “sweetie” and I think it’s a term that he uses for everyone and that right there makes you an insane person.
The family is given a 4 day stay at the prison as sort of conjugal visit but it’s his mom and her boyfriend and Luka. So no sex happened, I’m assuming. And the mom cuts it short. She says it wasn’t a health place for her to be mentally but rly she just wanted to smoke a cigarette and Canada wouldn’t let her do that on the grounds. So she peaced out to her only son after two days so she could smoke. I mean, come on.
There is so much wrong with her thinking. Like she wasn’t at the trail but she read all the live tweeting from reporters and she deliberated by herself along with the jury and she found him not guilty. And she was shocked, SHOCKED, that the jury found him guilty of first degree murder. Uhhhh, he’s on video, lady! I just...what??
I understand you not wanting to accept that your son is a monster (which he is, Anna, he is) but shit. Keep it to yourself. Why write the book? She changed no one opinion, I will guarantee you that. She said she had to write the book for therapeutic reasons, which I get but why publish it? For attention. And cigarettes
First of all, he calls his mother “sweetie” and I think it’s a term that he uses for everyone and that right there makes you an insane person.
The family is given a 4 day stay at the prison as sort of conjugal visit but it’s his mom and her boyfriend and Luka. So no sex happened, I’m assuming. And the mom cuts it short. She says it wasn’t a health place for her to be mentally but rly she just wanted to smoke a cigarette and Canada wouldn’t let her do that on the grounds. So she peaced out to her only son after two days so she could smoke. I mean, come on.
There is so much wrong with her thinking. Like she wasn’t at the trail but she read all the live tweeting from reporters and she deliberated by herself along with the jury and she found him not guilty. And she was shocked, SHOCKED, that the jury found him guilty of first degree murder. Uhhhh, he’s on video, lady! I just...what??
I understand you not wanting to accept that your son is a monster (which he is, Anna, he is) but shit. Keep it to yourself. Why write the book? She changed no one opinion, I will guarantee you that. She said she had to write the book for therapeutic reasons, which I get but why publish it? For attention. And cigarettes
January 20, 2019
Luka Magnotta's story was a big deal. I remember how shocking it was when his story was in the headlines. In this book his mother and author Brian Whitney who interviewed Luka go back and forth telling the story. His mother being able to tell her side of the story is interesting and she does a good job explaining how it felt to have your son be caught up in such craziness.
Where the problem lies for this is a book is that sometimes it just doesn't add up. His mother will say he'd lie to her about things such as being in Russia and would deny it when she confronted him. However, when Luka denies certain aspect of his crimes she trusts him fully. You'll find lots of things like this where as a reader you're expecting some fact checking, but won't get it. Everyone gets caught in the crosshairs from the media to the cops to the prison guards.
Obviously his mother having to deal with her son becoming a headlining grabbing killer was difficult. If you read this as her story and can overlook the faults, you will enjoy it. If you're looking for the truth on Luka you won't find it her, there is just too much bias.
Where the problem lies for this is a book is that sometimes it just doesn't add up. His mother will say he'd lie to her about things such as being in Russia and would deny it when she confronted him. However, when Luka denies certain aspect of his crimes she trusts him fully. You'll find lots of things like this where as a reader you're expecting some fact checking, but won't get it. Everyone gets caught in the crosshairs from the media to the cops to the prison guards.
Obviously his mother having to deal with her son becoming a headlining grabbing killer was difficult. If you read this as her story and can overlook the faults, you will enjoy it. If you're looking for the truth on Luka you won't find it her, there is just too much bias.
December 4, 2018
In 2012, Luka Magnotta killed a man he'd picked up through Craigslist and made a video of it called '1 Lunatic, 1 Icepick' and put it on the internet for everyone to see.
This account is mostly by his mother, who makes a case for insanity on his behalf, claiming he never got the help he needed and therefore was not deserving of the Guilty verdict he received.
There is also commentary by journalist Brian Whitney with quotes from Magnotta himself.
Anna is clearly on the defensive, painting a very human face on someone who is obviously both a sociopath and a psychopath. This book is a glimpse into the life of Luka before he became a murderer and the repercussions his family suffered in the aftermath.
The book is very disturbing and I while I could empathize with Anna, I could only think of the poor animals and the victim that Luka had hurt.
This account is mostly by his mother, who makes a case for insanity on his behalf, claiming he never got the help he needed and therefore was not deserving of the Guilty verdict he received.
There is also commentary by journalist Brian Whitney with quotes from Magnotta himself.
Anna is clearly on the defensive, painting a very human face on someone who is obviously both a sociopath and a psychopath. This book is a glimpse into the life of Luka before he became a murderer and the repercussions his family suffered in the aftermath.
The book is very disturbing and I while I could empathize with Anna, I could only think of the poor animals and the victim that Luka had hurt.
January 29, 2019
The publicity for this book states that it's "an exclusive look inside the mind of this 'social media' killer, but it's really not. Instead, it's a look inside the mind of his mother. Some of it is vaguely interesting, but a lot of it just a blow-by-blow of every detail of the days she visits him in prison (from what the doors looked like to what the guards said to her on the way in)— except for what she and her son actually talked about.
Alternate chapters are written by Brian Whitney, and they never really scratch the surface. We're missing any true research as well as any kind of organization or perspective. A more experienced writer could perhaps have integrated Anna's memories into something more compelling.
Alternate chapters are written by Brian Whitney, and they never really scratch the surface. We're missing any true research as well as any kind of organization or perspective. A more experienced writer could perhaps have integrated Anna's memories into something more compelling.
March 2, 2019
This is the story of Luka (Eric) Magnotta, who was known as the 1 Lunatic 1 Icepick killer. Written by Brian Whitney and Luka's mother, Anna Yourkin. Luka killed Jun Lin, A Chinese computer student that he met on Craig's List. A video, really a "snuff" film was made by Luka and distributed on some Dark net sites. The description of the video will make the strongest stomach turn. Much of this book are quotes from Luka who is in prison. It was an interesting book but I felt his mother made excuses for the things he did. There is an imaginary ? man named Manny that is supposedly the person who made him do the bad things he did, including the kitten torture films. This book is not for the squeamish. I received this book from Net Galley and Wild Blue Press for a honest review.
January 3, 2019
I just learned about Luka Magnotta’s story a few years ago and it’s fascinated me. So when I saw this book, I immediately requested it on NetGalley. After they gave me a copy, I began reading and I was definitely into the book. However, it almost came off as making excuses for Luka’s behavior and I feel as if his mom, while saying she was going to be objective, could never actually be objective as a juror.
There are a ton of grammatical errors as well so I’m hoping an editor looks it through and fixes some quotations and commas.
There are a ton of grammatical errors as well so I’m hoping an editor looks it through and fixes some quotations and commas.
January 1, 2020
So this case has always intrigued me as I live pretty close to Toronto and have been to Montreal a few times. First I watched Don’t F**k With Cats on Netflix then found and watched the actual video he made One Lunatic One Icepick decided to pick this one out of my TBR pile. It was interested seeing both sides. I feel that he obviously suffers from some forms of mental illness and I believe his mother is in complete denial and is living with blinders on. It was an interesting read but it was definitely a one sided perspective.
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