Nightmare in Wichita: The Hunt For The BTK Strangler

by Robert Beattie

Presents the story of the five-year murder spree by the BTK strangler in Wichita, Kansas, the thirty-year investigation, and the final breakthrough in 2005 which led to the arrest of a suspect.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

333 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Robert Beattie, a Wichita lawyer, is the author of the nonfiction book Nightmare in Wichita. It is about BTK, a serial killer in Wichita, Kansas who created the name BTK after his modus operandi, "Bind Them, Torture Them, Kill Them". Dennis Rader started sending out letters to media again after hearing about the book. Right before he was going to publish it, Dennis Rader was arrested then convicted as the BTK Killer, a.k.a. the BTK Strangler, and Beattie quickly wrote an epilogue. Rader murdered 10 people in the Wichita area between 1974 and 1991 but evaded law enforcement until 2005. Beattie is also known for interviewing serial killer Charles Manson for a class project as a professor at Friends University in Wichita, which stirred up a lot of controversy and brought international media attention to him. Beattie ran unsuccessfully for the office of Kansas Attorney General in 2006.

Reviews

[Layla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beattie is clearly not a writer. The book is written in a very clear-cut, analytical style, with none of the flare or suspense of, say, Vincent Bugliosi or David Cullen. Moreover, there was a good deal of repetition, of victim cases and suspect bios, as though Beattie didn't trust his reader to pay attention and remember. He also went to great lengths to showcase how his interest in writing this book led to the re-emergence of BTK and his eventual capture. I don't dispute the link or likelihood that this was the case, but he hammered his point home a bit too hard, in my opinion.

The ending was also a bit anti-climactic. It was basically, "The police started tracking a new suspect. Police arrested him. It was BTK. The end." There was no delving into the man's background to try and understand how or why he ended up doing what he did. There was very little said about the man at all. That might be because the book was written so soon after the events in question, so there was no opportunity to discover these things. But it was a bit disappointing all the same.

That being said, it is a genuinely interesting case, that of the BTK Strangler, who terrorized Wichita, Kansas intermittently from the mid-to-late 70's up to 2004. What's so interesting about this case is that there didn't seem to be any of the police blunders that kept other serial killers like the Green River Killer, Manson, and Bundy from being caught or staying caught. By all accounts the police did their job well and with minimal mistakes, and yet the killer remained on the loose, taunting police for thirty years.

[Kaz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book started so strong, it was a great breakdown of the BTK murders and how fear and panic gripped the city of Wichita. But then once the author decided he would just talk about how smart and influential in the case he was, it went downhill fast. He spent the entire last third of the book smelling his own sh*t rather than explaining the chase and capture of BTK. It was super disappointing and this author is a dork. Read the first half and then stop before the time jump to the 2000’s.

[Alisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

As others said, it’s hard to read past the authors ego. It’s torture. If you can get past that, the book is just okay.

[Danielle Routh · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me, it was fairly obvious that Beattie's focus was on the victims and not BTK. Sure, that's less lurid and perhaps less satisfying, but keep in mind--while criminals like BTK are still alive, that's exactly what they want, to be mythologized and discussed. While I think part of the choice was simply when Beattie finished the book, I admire and respect his dedication to remembering the victims as the focal point.

As far as true crime goes, this is a pretty good entry. Beattie is a lawyer and not writer, but that ends up being a strength much of the time as he doesn't get lost in the weeds and minutiae as other true crime writers are wont to do. I do question some of the organizational choices--information is repeated verbatim at times.

My main problem is Beattie's self-aggrandizing behavior. Yes, it's likely true that his book in progress lured BTK out of hiding and resulted in his arrest. No, Beattie does not have to remind us of that constantly in the third act while pretending humility. Just tell the story.

If you want a lot of info about BTK, this isn't the book to read. But if you want a sympathetic exploration of his victims, full steam ahead.

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not just a book about Dennis Rader, the BTK killer...the fact that this author was writing this book actually perturbed Dennis Rader enough that he resumed communicating with the police after decades of silence! And it was this spate of new communications that ultimately led to his arrest. Beattie has not just written a thorough and illuminating recap of a haunting search for a serial killer...he unintentionally participated in solving the mystery. A fascinating read, although it may be more detailed than many readers will have patience for.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only gave it one star because I couldnt figure out how to give no stars. I guess he gets one star for writing the first book about BTK, but its a pity star. Learn to write & cool it w/the ego. Seriously.

[Leila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful depiction of the hard work and struggles of the investigators and the victims family's and friends. this is not the story of Dennis Rader, it's the story of Wichita and how it handled one of the biggest terrors it was ever faced with.

[space · Rating 1 out of 5]

BTK? WTF?

Wichita *IS* a nightmare. I've been there. I know.

I'd rather fucking live in TULSA.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find this stuff morbidly fascinating! Lots of gory detail.

[Sharon Boyer]

I haven't read any of these books, because I was one of Dennis Rader surviving rape victims. A woman by the name of Mary Willis survived an attack, but was not believed because of her background and motive to make money. In 2005 after the arrest of Rader, The Wichita Police had a hotline to call, so I called to report I was raped by Dennis Rader in the apartments South Wichita. The police told me he would not go into apartments, so I let it go. My story is about how brave I was. I negotiated with raider to put down his knife that he hid in his left arm sleeve. I may have been his second surviving victim, I had a police report that doesn't have enough evidence for the police to probably keep. But I had a witness that went to the police department with me. The author, would say, after Mary's report, he got a lot of phone calls from other women that were stalked by Rader, but nothing about surviving rape. My question to the Arthur is when Mary said that Dennis took her to an apartment, what apartments did he take her to? It would help my 1981 cold case if I knew.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough. This book is heavy on the details of the Wichita Police Department's efforts and the author's own investigation into BTK in the early 2000s. Information about BTK himself is scant, which the author is adamant about telling.

My two biggest complaints are the editing and the author himself. There were two passage in the book (each a couple of paragraphs long) that appeared twice in the book verbatim. I thought I was crazy at first, but no--- they both appeared twice. Other than that, I enjoyed the book's construction. I also feel like the author got carried away at the halfway point talking about himself and his accomplishments at the time. There was a 50-page section just about all the interviews he did and his contribution to the case, which felt odd.

This book was published so early on, I would advise someone wanting to know more about BTK to read a more recent book. However, it gives some nice insight into what the city of Wichita was going through. (Side note: There was a lot of bragging about how safe Wichita was.... but it did not sound so safe based on other crimes being committed at the same time....)I

2.5 stars

[Robynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fundraiser book. Not my typical go-to read, but I lived in Kansas throughout the majority of these events, I lived in Wichita for a time, and I had only the vaguest notion any of this had happened. It was odd to recognize places and people in connection with these crimes. I even attended Friends University during the time of the author's Charlie Manson mock trial. The best part of the book is the example of what impartial journalism looks like. Give the facts; allow the audience to draw conclusions. Wish that were still a thing in the world. A simple, straightforward account of terrible things and the real people who gave their time and energy to stop the perpetrator, told by someone who cared about them.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book heavily focused on the stories of the victims and investigation to catch the BTK killer. Not a lot was written about BTK and the author clearly states this in the book when he’s asked by others if he’d write BTK’s story if he wanted him too. I do have a good amount of respect for that, I just also wanted to hear about how he eluded police for so long.
It was pretty chilling to learn about all the victims and have them be focused on them because you relate to them and see yourself reflected.

[Morghan Chambers · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book ...ok. Beattie is a lawyer, so his writing style if anything is clinical.... lawerly. But, living in WIchita, and living through this nightmare, I want to clarify something that several have commented on. To be clear, what prompted BTK to re-surface after so many years was a large piece written in the local paper about the anniversary of the crimes. His ego was stroked to the point he couldn't resist writing in... Here am I... your local serial killer... that was what made him come back.

[Todd Honig · Rating 2 out of 5]

An extremely repetitive book written by a lawyer who has a very generic style of writing that he probably learned in law school. I would not re commend this book. You would be better off just watching some videos online about BTK than reading this 333 page book that could have been cut down to about 100 pages.

[Brenda Hrencher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story about a killer's life

Although I did not live in Wichita or Park City, I had family who did. Lots of the locations listed in t h e book were familiar to me. Glad this man was finally caught, but sad so many lost their lives.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to read this, but itnturned out not to be what I thought. There were tangents that I felt were not necessary to the book. What was there about the actual case was fascinating, it just wasn't enough of the book.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was hard to read and I felt the frustration of law enforcement and the community in their efforts to catch the killer. But I most appreciated that the focus was on the victims. Who they were and their stories, more than glorifying a serial killer.

[Jamie Lindemulder · Rating 5 out of 5]

First half of book was really good. Second half kind of dragged out. Overall it's a good book.

[Rebecca Ferguson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this telling of this story rambling, veering off in different useless details. What should have been a fascinating story was a struggle to read.

[Jessica Mendoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wished there was more story from after btk was arrested. The book has unrelated crimes and skips around.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes you on the long trail and hard work of find BTK . There is much most never see when finding killers. Thank goodness for those that stick to justice and finding truth.

[melissa l. doffing · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just isn't a writer. Repetitive and bragging.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

why do people like true crime?

[Mike]

Sept 2005

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

fear mongering gets publicity. exploiting other people's pain bring money.

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a book that I would have chosen myself. It was a gift from my mom, who seems intent on making me as paranoid as she is. Still, it was interesting reading about the serial killer who plagued my home town for 30 years.

What I loved...
* Descriptions of the victims' lives. I don't need to know a victim's whole life story, but I do want to know a few small details to help personalize them for me. Robert Beattie gave just enough info to make them real but (in general) not so much to bog down the narrative.

* Details about what made the case baffling. They hunted BTK for 30 years. It's nice to know what was causing investigators problems.


What I didn't love...
* The murders themselves obviously. BTK's boldness scares the pee out of me. I don't know what I'll do if I ever walk into my bedroom and a strange man walks out of my closet.

* The editing. Beattie thanks three or four editors at the end of the book, and all I could think is, "How could a book this sloppy make it to print with that many editors on it?" Not only were there many spelling and grammar errors, but some parts of the book were just plain difficult to read. For example, in the chapter "The Task Force", Beattie skips from thought to thought like a butterfly in a field of wildflowers. It felt incoherent, kind of like my college papers, which were always hurriedly written minutes before they were due.

* The minutiae. Beattie is a lawyer who says in the introduction that he wrote the book because when he wanted to teach about the BTK murders in one of his classes, he could find no good source on the topic. He wrote the book like a lawyer, and at times the book reads like a textbook. In some cases he gives so much detail (like the list of what each victim was wearing at time of death) that it's hard to parse out which points are relevant. To be fair, at the time of writing most of the book, the killer had not been caught, so Beattie might not have known himself what was relevant.
Also, I'm pretty sure Beattie listed each and every one of his television appearances after BTK initiated new contact in 2004. I get that he's trying to explain just how much attention the case was suddenly getting, but, needless to say, I did a lot of skimming.

* The incompleteness. Beattie wrote most of the book before Dennis Rader had been arrested, and he apparently just tacked on the Epilogue at the end without much further revision. For example, at one point he tells of a man arrested in the Wichita Public Library for molesting a girl. The man matched the description given of the BTK murderer, so Beattie wonders if this man was the BTK killer and just managed to evade detection as so many other serial killers have done. Beattie says that he won't release the name of the man arrested, presumably because he didn't want to smear an innocent man's name since at the time of writing Beattie didn't know if the man was BTK. So was it the same guy? Beattie never went back to say. I also wonder if Rader's name came up during the investigation. Was he a student at WSU that took Prof. Wyatt's folklore class? Additionally, how close did the profilers' analysis of BTK come to the truth?
And I really wanted to know more about Bill Wegerle, the poor man who not only had to live with the trauma of finding his wife murdered but then had to live the next 20+ years knowing that he was the prime suspect for the murder. I can only guess that he was too bitter to talk to Beattie about the events following his wife's death.

Because of the incompleteness, I would not recommend this book. Hopefully there will be an update or a second book that has more comprehensive coverage.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have had this book for years and only picked it out when I needed something specific for a challenge. Strangely enough, I also picked Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars for the challenge; the last story is based on the BTK strangler. I knew I had to read this book next.

I usually quite enjoy true crime. This was a little rougher because Beattie is very obviously not used to writing any kind of narrative. Sometimes it got bogged down in mundane details. Other times it skipped over pieces that could have been more interesting. In many ways, it felt more like the story of "how I, Robert Beattie, with my decision to write this book, caused the BTK strangler to finally be caught". And sure, maybe he played a role, but wow, he sure liked to remind you how important he was to the process...

Anyway. I learned a lot about the BTK strangler, which was particularly interesting given that I had just read A Good Marriage. I don't see myself ever picking this up again. It's a decent reference, but needs some work as a story.

[Book you own but haven't read: Popsugar Book Challenge][Book with a city, state, or country in the title: Semi-Charmed Book Challenge]

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was very slow paced and boring.
The only reason this book is 333 pages long is because Mr. Beattie
wrote about EVERYTHING. He even listed the exact addresses of the victims.
Here is an example of his rambling ... Page 40.
"The young man had been apprehended attempting to have sex with a duck while in a car. The duck protested loudly and the noise caught the attention of patrolling police."
I felt like the author used anything to fill up the page.
I did find one intresting little tidbit on page 113.
..."Boy's Town, a school for troubled young males that once housed
Charles Manson."
I had never before heard that Manson was in Boy's Town, it made me think that Father Edward Flanagan's motto "There are no bad boys. There is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking.", should be twitched around a little to read: Bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking makes bad boys.

[Amy Schoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up and went to college near BTK's killing grounds. As a newspaper reporter, I even covered the city council meetings for the city that employed him as a dogcatcher. So it was fascinating to read the gritty details from the perspective of a local attorney. I hope he's a better lawyer than he is a writer. It was pretty sloppy, in need of a good editor, and it was obvious towards the end that it was being rushed to publication while the story was still hot. The book was near release when BTK was actually captured, so all of a sudden, the ending changed dramatically. I feel for Beattie's predicament, but the whole thing wasn't wrapped up very well. Poor execution, pardon the pun...