Trust Me: The True Story of Confession Killer Henry Lee Lucas

by Ryan Green

On June 5, 1983, Henry Lee Lucas was arrested for the unauthorised possession of a handgun. The police believed that he was linked to the disappearance of two females, so they used the opportunity to apply pressure and encourage a confession. After four days in custody, Lucas confessed to killing the two women. What transpired in the following months was both peculiar and fascinating. Lucas confessed to murdering, raping and mutilating hundreds more women with his friend and lover, Ottis Toole, whilst under the influence of a satanic cult. But there were hidden depths to the revelations. Upon further inspection, investigators found that Lucas confessed to crimes that directly contradicted others, casting doubt over what was fact and fiction. Lucas had the answers. Could they uncover the truth? Trust Me is a dramatic and gripping account of one of the most bizarre and gruesome true crime stories in American history. Ryan Green’s riveting narrative draws the reader into the real-live horror experienced by the victims and has all the elements of a classic This book contains descriptive accounts of abuse and violence. If you are especially sensitive to this material, it might be advisable not to read any further

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Crime, Biography

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 26, 2019

About the author

Ryan Green is a true crime author in his late thirties. He lives in Herefordshire, England with his wife, three children, and two dogs. Outside of writing and spending time with his family, Ryan enjoys walking, reading and windsurfing.

Ryan is fascinated with History, Psychology and True Crime. In 2015, he finally started researching and writing his own work and at the end of the year, he released his first book on Britain's most notorious serial killer, Harold Shipman.

He has since written several books on lesser-known subjects, and taken the unique approach of writing from the killer's perspective. He narrates some of the most chilling scenes you'll encounter in the True Crime genre.

"Ryan Green is an incredible storyteller...he doesn’t just tell the story, he allows you to be part of it." ~Blackbird

Reviews

[Lyn❤Loves❤Listening to Real Voices Only!!!!❤️🎧📚 Addict ON HIATUS]

Audio 5 Stars

Story...I can't rate it because it was one of the most twisted I've listened to. I know there are depraved people out there, and it really sucks that some of these monsters were created because they were born to people who should never have been parents.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lover and murderous partner of Ottis Toole.
Killed hitchhikers
Wanted to blame his actions on satanism but he was full of shit

[Laura Peden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this 😬 it’s totally sick & twisted

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

If nothing else, Trust Me is aptly titled. Here's a book that presents the case of Henry Lee Lucas as if his countless confessions to murder were rooted in reality. Lucas has a confirmed victim count of 3, but why let facts get in the way of a good (or at least lurid) story? The book is consistent with Ryan Green's modus operandi of prioritising the dubious perspective of his killer subjects, which works well enough in the less complicated world of Torture Mom: A Chilling True Story of Confinement, Mutilation and Murder but comes off as unscrupulous and lazy when dealing with men as unreliable as Lucas and his lover Ottis Toole. Anyone who's watched Netflix's "The Confession Killer" will surely feel insulted by this book.

[MadameD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story 4.5/5
Narration 5/5

[danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unlike many other true crime books, this one is written from the point of view of the killer(s). I like that different take on the genre. I says killer plural since 2 killers are discussed, Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole. This is a maybe true, maybe fictionalized account of their lives, crimes & confessions. It covers the span from their early childhood abuses to the wicked web they weaved once they joined forces. This point of view helped get inside the killer's mind, which is why I read true crime in the first place.

I would recommend this one. I also like the narrator for these. Helps bring the story to life.

[Kayla Krantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ryan Green has done it again.

In this true crime audiobook, we learn about the bloodthirsty friendship of Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole. At first, I felt sorry for them hearing the childhoods that they lived through, but as adults, that quickly wore off when I learned of everything they had done. I have heard a little about the Adam Walsh abduction, but hearing more in-depth information about the murderer behind it made the case all the more horrifying. These were ruthless men incapable of love, of sympathy. They took what they wanted, destroyed what they wanted, and felt no remorse for it.

They were real monsters.

Narration was well done as always.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

[Charley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as I was interested in the process in which Henry was convicted of hundreds of murders that he couldn’t possibly have committed.

However I wasn’t expecting to go through his gory and grotesque life story. Learning about the horrific abuses he suffered at the hand of his mother. Like who hits their son in the head and leaves him unconscious in the corner for three days?!

Anyways, I followed his life of robbing, raping and killing. I would be lying if I said it didn’t make me uncomfortable at times.

Overall the writer wrote this very well making it a gripping and easy read.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense. Twisted. Riveting. Emotional. Suspenseful. Addictive. Dark. Complex. Jaw-dropping! This book brings it ALL! Truly a MUST for your TBR list!

[Julie Young Buckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story. Or not? Well, my head is spinning at the madness of the stories I just finished reading about. Worlds collide in this book. Gruesome is a good word to describe the characters. Prepare for a really crazy tale. A lot of tales actually, about people with no souls. Frightening. Unbelievable.

Seems this book has left an impression. Quite thought provoking.

[Zelda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.
This book grabbed my attention right from the start. Written in turn from the characters' point of view and from a subjective point of view, this book became more and more compelling, the further that I read. I really appreciated the interesting detail with which this book was written.

The author provides a keen insight into what makes a killer. Both Henry and Ottis have each had abusive and troubled childhoods. But when they meet up and connect, a strong bond is forged, which cannot be broken. It is this bond which leads to their killing sprees. The descriptions of the rapes, bashings, and murders that these two men commit together and apart, are quite graphic, horrifying yet realistic.

Yet Henry and Ottis prove to be all too human.

Once they are caught and jailed, the tale does not end there. I suggest you read on to find out more.

I thoroughly recommend this book for all lovers of true crime. Lovers of crime fiction will also find this book thrilling.

[Emilija · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

I think this is possibly one of the best of Ryan Green’s true crime books. I struggle to get into Green’s writing style of writing from the perspective of the killers, because it feels more like a story than true crime, but I did really get into this one, and I found it quite engaging. Green doesn’t go into a terrific amount of detail, but it does make you want to learn more. I did have to Wikipedia this case after I’d finished reading so that I could know more.

The narrator was brilliant, and I really appreciated his narration style.

[Suzanne Lopes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave the book 1 ⭐️ Honestly, the book described 2 of the most despicable human beings that ever lived. The were 2 things I learned by reading this book, is Otis Toole murdered Adam Walsh. I had heard about it but I didn’t know he confesses to it on his death bed. Also, I had heard that the only death that Henry Lucas regretted was killing Becky (Otis Toole’s Niece) she was very very young. But she thought she was in love with Henry which ultimately led to her death by strangulation. Nonetheless, the book was not well written, at least in my opinion. I probably will not read this book again.

[Judith Sentyz · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT READ

Very well written and researched. However I could not read this at one sitting. I had to stop a couple times. I felt, and still feel, very sorry for these two young boys. The things that they went through by the very people that are supposed to protect them was horrendous. Having said that, what they did as adults was monstrous. But how can we as a society expect anything different from these two men. You did a great job, Ryan, bringing all our emotions out. I am looking forward to your next book.

[Charlie Bray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after watching the Confession Killer netflix show about Henry Lee Lucas and his claim to thousands of murders, even the ones which are a few hours but many US states apart but that didnt stop the Texas Rangers from closing cases! The book gives lots of details and covers more of his relationships, especially with his family and O'Toole than the show did. A horrific childhood seems to be the blueprint for many a serial killer and Henry was no exception. Short enough for a quick read, long enough to be interesting and enjoyable for "true" crime fans.

[Bettye McKee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wolf in sheep's clothing

Henry Lee Lucas 's story of his childhood is traumatizing to read but altogether believable. He got a brain injury somehow, and his story is similar to that of other multiple murderers.

It is nothing short of amazing that he remained free to continue killing when he was in the hands of law enforcement so many times. After he joined with Ottis Toole, they worked in tandem with each other's full cooperation.

I had to laugh out loud when Lucas was confessing. He confessed to some three thousand murders, many in places he could not possibly have been. If you like true crime, you won't want to miss this one.

15

[odedo1 Audio book worm. · Rating 4 out of 5]

After listening to quite a few of Ryan Green audiobooks this is the one that terrified me the most.
How many are out there that we have no idea about? Can it be your next door neighbor?
The research that Green does before each of his books is amazing, but what’s more amazing is how he fills in the missing gaps and his best talent is the way he packages it all, put it on a paper with words that everyone can easily understand, that is a truly amazing.
One last thing, after listening to others of Green audiobooks I was always wondering if the killer was born to a loving family would it have changed anything?
This question doubled itself in this audiobook.

I fully recommend this audiobook without reservations because I believe that people should understand their environment and the things that lurking in this vicious world.


In exchange for an honest review I’ve received this audiobook.

[Beverly Laude · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a truly bizarre look into the life and crimes of a pair of serial killers. Ottis Toole was finally identified as the killer of young Adam Walsh. But, I never realized that he and Henry Lee Lucas were working their way across the country, killing along the way.

When Lucas was finally caught, he became the darling of the Texas Rangers as they listened to him spin tales of murder and mayhem while being treated to special privileges. But, ti turns out that a lot of his confessions were fabricated lies! It's hard to believe that this elite team of law enforcement was fooled for so long!

The author is one of my favorites in the true crime genre. He has a unique way of getting inside the killer's head and telling the story from their point of view. In this case, Henry had a horrific upbringing and I found myself almost in tears at some of the atrocities that the young boy was subjected to. However, Mr. Green does not use this early abuse to justify in any way the crimes that Henry actually committed.

The book reads like a novel, which is unique in this genre. Instead of just stating the facts and getting bogged down in the minute details of the case, Mr. Green makes you feel like you are seeing the events happen in real time.

The narrator does a great job and his performance brings the book to life.

[Daniel Kupres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ryan brings us the "confessions" of Henry and Ottis. They are or can be the most prolific mass murderers in the history of the US if not the world. These two traveled the country separately and collectively killing as they pleased for their own pleasure or possibly for demonic purposes, so Ottis claimed.

Of course, murder is not to be taken lightly, but the how that Henry and Ottis came to be, is very difficult to get through when reading at the start. I am not going to say that the tale that Ryan brings us gets easier to take in, but I think it is especially difficult to learn how some people treated their own children to shape such horrific future for them and the world at large.

While it is easy to skower the internet for information about these two and their crimes, Ryan does a great job of bringing us not only their confessions, but insight as to how they came to be. Essentially these two men should be the antagonists, they become both, the protagonist as children or interactions with family and the antagonist to the rest of the world.
While I have come across Henry and Ottis, I did forget that Ottis was the man who took short the life of America's Most Wanted host, John Walsh's son, Adam.
​

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very hard to read and very sad. The background story with some serial killers is not as ghastly as the crimes they commit later in life and sometimes you struggle to get the reasoning behind the actions. If even half of what unfolds in this book is true, it appears that nurture much more than nature is the majority of the cause. Both Ottis Toole and Henry Lee Lucas had unimaginable suffering in their childhoods and they grew to be truly horrific killers. I honestly can't tell you which part is harder to get through, the childhood terrors or the monstrous deeds they did as adults. Given that both killers were notorious liars, there is some doubt regarding the finer details, but they committed terrible crimes before and during their time together. This was a tough read because of the details. These were some sick individuals.

This story was given to me for free at my request for my voluntary and unbiased review.

[Christine Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trust Me, I think, was one of Ryan Green's best true crime books yet, although he has a LOT of close runner-ups! But in trust me, one almost feels a part of the action. Ryan has a unique way of making the reader a fly on the wall except being able to also read everyone's mind too... you the reader are right there in on the action in a way that few other true crime authors can. Trust Me also has one other special part that makes it unique to those of us that grew up in the 80's, we finally find out what happened to Adam. That alone made this book one of my favorites! Ryan has promised me himself that he plans on doing more American true crime so hold onto your seatbelts guys because I guarantee it is going to be a wild ride!

[Jodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this free review copy audio book by the author at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This one started off a little weirder than the other books I have read of Ryan Green’s – but I quickly understood where he was going. I don’t remember ever hearing about Henry Lee Lucas or Ottis Toole before. They both seemed to have had horrific childhoods, so I am sure that really had a lot to do with the repulsive human beings they grew up to be. A couple of best buddies and liars. They killed for sport and had no regrets. I read these true crime books because I am trying to understand why these killers do what they do. The author does a great job providing insight into the minds of these serial killers.

[Jeff D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second book by this author I have read and most likely the last. Not a fan of his style ( doesn't make it not good just not for me) and having read several books about Henry Lee Lucas previously this felt more like a pitch for a screenplay than a true crime novel. No footnotes, no references to historical proof just the authors take on Lucas' life. It feels more like a "based on a true story" than a "the true story of.." ( even though some of what is in the book is true ). Its as if the author read a few wiki pages, watched a few documentaries and winged the rest. I may have enjoyed it more without the previous knowledge I had about the topic so perhaps I'm biased but I prefer my true crime books not filled with supposition to make a plotline type book.

[Ruth Harwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting! Well, the murder and all the abuse was more disturbing than interesting, but the development of the story is very fascinating, and well worth reading! Definitely a good writer and worth reading for his story-teller power: it's the way the story is designed to show the impact on young people of their parents' decisions - perhaps if we stopped and thought about it, we'd be kinder and more considerate, as every time we abuse or hurt someone, anyone, we could be contributing to the creation of a monster. Every time.
Sobering thought?
Read about the abuse in this author's books, a few I've read recently, and you'll understand the things we do to trigger or simply contribute to a person's behaviour toward not only ourselves, but others as well xx

[Kathleen Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bizarre And Gruesome True Crime
Henry and Otis were both deranged serial killers. Once again Ryan Green does an excellent job of getting into the history of Henry Lucas and his short-time cohort Otis Toole. The account given of each man's crimes is perfectly detailed and examined. Both these criminals had truly horrific childhoods and I wondered did they kill because of the abuse at the hands of their parents or were they predisposition to kill
Trust Me is a dramatic and gripping account of one of the most bizarre and gruesome true crime stories I have ever read. The book is short but will keep you gripped from beginning to end.
I am part of the ARC group for Ryan Green, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Patricia Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

everyone favorite serial killer henry and his buddy ottis otoole they fabricated more murders as the police gave henry information he was glad to be a celebrity when the time lines never matched and he wasnt even near where the murder took place than he would say it must have been ottis than henry and ottis had rough up bringing but henrys mom was the worst dogs were treated better than him but he became famous as he confessed to murder after murder when they feel they were responsible for maybe 4o of them it was proven years later that it was ottis who kidnapped adam walsh and killed him ottis was in love with henry his whole life and would do anything for him in the end many people died because of these two guys

[Ashley Hedden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trust Me: The True Story of Confession Killer Henry Lee Lucas (True Crime) was a good read by Ryan Green. Henry Lee Lucas was arrested on June 5, 1983 for unauthorized possession of a hand gun. The police applied pressure to him because they believed that he was linked to the disappearance of two girls. He was in their custody for four days and wound up confessing to the killings. In the next few months, he confessed to hundreds of more murders. This was a good read into a bizarre and gruesome true crime story. I really enjoy listening to Ryan Green's true crime audio books and can't wait to read more by the author.

[Courtney Odor · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can never go wrong with Serial Killers
Overall 5 out of 5 stars Performance 5 out of 5 stars Story 5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed: 05-21-19

First, I have to start off by stating that I got this book free of charge in exchange for a review, but as I always state, this does not in any way impact my review. My reviews are always honest and my own.

"Trust Me" is the very disturbing true story of Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole, two men raised in dysfunctional families. Meeting as adults, they formed a partnership that began the trail to many horrific crimes. This book will leave you pondering the question of "nature vs nurture". A must-read for true crime followers.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all: "This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

I've read a lot of true crime, but nothing by this author before. I found his storytelling style to be very interesting and engaging. The cases discussed were very interesting, and the way they were presented heightened the drama and made it better. And while the author doesn't go into every detail, I think the length is a great way to introduce the cases and criminals without exhausting or overdoing it.

The narration of this audiobook was terrific. The narrator did a great job of accentuating the story.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 3 out of 5]

True crime author Ryan Green steps up with a better narrator Steve White. Also, he ventures from Australian murderers to tackle Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole. This can't be done appropriately without considering how the frequent baseless confessions from either criminal casts doubts on who their victims were and how many there were. This is clearly stated at the end, but the dialogue-driven intro and putting the reader into the car with victim Adam Walsh in a way that is more detailed than can be documented puts much of this into the realm of historical fiction.