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The Picture Predator: The True Story of One Mans Brutal Campaign of Terror
Rodney Alcala was a man who hid his brutal secret behind a camera lens. A secret that terrorized many parts of America during the 60s and 70s. Stalking young women and girls Alcala used his persuasive charm, striking good looks, and ability to convince his victims that his work as a photographer would launch their careers as models. Alcala also had an amazing ability to evade the law for many years, despite his arrests and convictions he still managed to carry out his sinister killing spree undetected and beyond suspicion. Something that would lead him to confidently conducting more and more shocking crimes. Rodney Alcala would also find time during his murder spree to apply for and successfully compete in a television dating program which fed perfectly into his narcissistic personality and his sense of notoriety. Nobody truly knows the extent of his murderous and lustful campaign. There are many deaths that could still be attributed to Rodney Alcala which will possibly always remain unsolved. “The Picture Predator” is a must for all true crime fans. A riveting account that tries to lift the lid on what makes such evil exist and how he stalked and ultimately preyed upon his victims. This is his spine-chilling story. The material in this publication has a strong adult theme and is intended for an adult audience. Reader discretion is advised.
230 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 18, 2020
155 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Robert Brown
14 books5 followersRobert Brown is an author and former freelance journalist in is mid-forties from California. Having been born and raised in the UK he moved to the US as a teenager with his family where he now lives with his wife and two children.
Robert has always been intrigued by true crime which led in part to his previous career of a freelance journalist writing for local publications primarily about unsolved murders. It was obvious to Robert that his passion for this genre would lead to him writing his first book "Deadly Illusions" in 2017.
Apart from writing Robert loves to spend time with his family and to indulge his other passion of the great outdoors. Having been raised in the UK it's no surprise that Robert is also a keen anglophile which is also reflected in his writing.
Robert has a unique writing style that uses both his UK and US backgrounds that creates stories that can be enjoyed by readers on both sides of the pond. Keep an eye out for further publications from Robert soon.
Robert has always been intrigued by true crime which led in part to his previous career of a freelance journalist writing for local publications primarily about unsolved murders. It was obvious to Robert that his passion for this genre would lead to him writing his first book "Deadly Illusions" in 2017.
Apart from writing Robert loves to spend time with his family and to indulge his other passion of the great outdoors. Having been raised in the UK it's no surprise that Robert is also a keen anglophile which is also reflected in his writing.
Robert has a unique writing style that uses both his UK and US backgrounds that creates stories that can be enjoyed by readers on both sides of the pond. Keep an eye out for further publications from Robert soon.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 27, 2020
Wow! I was just blown away by this book and the writing style of author, Robert Brown! This was a new author to me and I have never read anything by him before, so I was captured by how easily the storyline moved along!
A little backstory for you readers:
This sexual predator, Rodney Alcala, started beating and raping victims in the 60's, but he escalated into a killing spree in the 70's. To lure his victims he would pose as a photographer and would tell his victims that he was a professional photographer for fashion magazines. He literally stalked his victims and it didn't matter how old his victims were either as he also went after young girls too. He was also known as the Dating Game Killer as he had appeared on the dating game in the 70's, but no one knew of him at that time until by a twist of fate he was discovered by law enforcement and they started to finally connect the dots so to speak as some things came to light with the crimes he had committed.
Thoughts:
This true crime book was one of the best I have read in awhile as the author does an excellent job of going to great lengths with describing the details of the crimes!
The interesting thing with this story is that Rodney Alcala was running free for so long as there were other serial killer crimes going on at the same time as his crimes so he fell through the cracks of the system. He had been in and out of jail but no one ever made all the connections to the crimes that he had committed, until years later.
Highly recommend to anyone that loves true crime stories. Five stars for this one!
A little backstory for you readers:
This sexual predator, Rodney Alcala, started beating and raping victims in the 60's, but he escalated into a killing spree in the 70's. To lure his victims he would pose as a photographer and would tell his victims that he was a professional photographer for fashion magazines. He literally stalked his victims and it didn't matter how old his victims were either as he also went after young girls too. He was also known as the Dating Game Killer as he had appeared on the dating game in the 70's, but no one knew of him at that time until by a twist of fate he was discovered by law enforcement and they started to finally connect the dots so to speak as some things came to light with the crimes he had committed.
Thoughts:
This true crime book was one of the best I have read in awhile as the author does an excellent job of going to great lengths with describing the details of the crimes!
The interesting thing with this story is that Rodney Alcala was running free for so long as there were other serial killer crimes going on at the same time as his crimes so he fell through the cracks of the system. He had been in and out of jail but no one ever made all the connections to the crimes that he had committed, until years later.
Highly recommend to anyone that loves true crime stories. Five stars for this one!
August 21, 2020
The Dating Game Killer
Rodney Alcala killed his first victim in New York during the late 70's. He was using an alias: Ron Berger. With his looks and supposed charm, Alcala manipulates victims into false security. He was able to convince his prey with a promise of photographs and a possible modeling career. Once his victims were in his presence, there was little hope of escape. He then brutally attacked and raped, choking the girls unconscious. He would then place the bodies in sexually explicit poses and take photographs. Like most serial killers, Rodney kept souvenirs from the crime scene. Pictures speak a thousand words. The gruesome photos and victim trinkets would become a key piece of evidence linking Rodney Alcala to unspeakable acts. However, it would take authorities more than thirty years to connect the dots. Sadly, DNA wasn't available when the photograph predator was stalking young girls clad in bikinis. Although Alcala was imprisoned multiple times for kidnapping and rape, he was able to manipulate the justice system to his advantage. Ironically, the Hillside Strangler was using the cover of darkness to commit the same sort of heinous crimes. Alcala hoped his murders would be linked to the Hillside Strangler. And, it worked. That is, until police caught up with the Hillside Strangler duo. The investigation stalls and police remain baffled. Eventually, the most cunning and prolific killer makes a mistake. 12-year-old Robin Christine Samsoe will be the beginning of the end for Rodney Alcala. It would take more than thirty years and three trials to convict the Dating Game Killer of seven brutal murders. DNA techniques finally catch up and the results are indisputable – one in a trillion odds match Alcala to one victim. The rest of the DNA results are revealing, proof that Alcala is a disturbing serial killer.
Robert Brown covers the haunting years of Alcala's depravity. Brown adds fictional conversation to give the reader a better understanding of events, but make no mistake, he records every bloody detail. The book begins with a young Chicano, Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor, and ends with the infamous serial killer, Rodney Alcala, sentenced to death row. His first known crime was that of eight-year-old Tali Shapiro, who was found clinging to life, raped and severely beaten with a steel bar in Alcala's Hollywood apartment. Evading an arrest warrant, Rodney flees to New York using the alias John Berger. Here he becomes a councillor at a New Hampshire children's camp. In June of 1971, the serial killer rapes and strangles 23-year-old flight attendant Cornelia Crilley. Alcala's modus operandi is set. Rodney Alcala becomes a member of the FBI's ten most wanted. He alludes authorities for awhile and kills again and again. He brazenly participates on the popular Chuck Barris Dating Game, where he actually '"wins the show but loses the prize". The female contestant who selects Bachelor Number One is immediately put off by Alcala's 'creepiness' and forfeits the date. Lucky! It is unknown precisely how many victims are linked to Alcala, but with the 1979 discovery of a massive collection of lewd photographs, it's safe to assume there are many more victims. Robert Brown gives readers the facts and delivers a compelling story of a serial killer with little regard for human life. Alcala's rein of terror is over, but the fate of unknown victims is forever caught through the lens of a camera. If pictures could speak...
Rodney Alcala killed his first victim in New York during the late 70's. He was using an alias: Ron Berger. With his looks and supposed charm, Alcala manipulates victims into false security. He was able to convince his prey with a promise of photographs and a possible modeling career. Once his victims were in his presence, there was little hope of escape. He then brutally attacked and raped, choking the girls unconscious. He would then place the bodies in sexually explicit poses and take photographs. Like most serial killers, Rodney kept souvenirs from the crime scene. Pictures speak a thousand words. The gruesome photos and victim trinkets would become a key piece of evidence linking Rodney Alcala to unspeakable acts. However, it would take authorities more than thirty years to connect the dots. Sadly, DNA wasn't available when the photograph predator was stalking young girls clad in bikinis. Although Alcala was imprisoned multiple times for kidnapping and rape, he was able to manipulate the justice system to his advantage. Ironically, the Hillside Strangler was using the cover of darkness to commit the same sort of heinous crimes. Alcala hoped his murders would be linked to the Hillside Strangler. And, it worked. That is, until police caught up with the Hillside Strangler duo. The investigation stalls and police remain baffled. Eventually, the most cunning and prolific killer makes a mistake. 12-year-old Robin Christine Samsoe will be the beginning of the end for Rodney Alcala. It would take more than thirty years and three trials to convict the Dating Game Killer of seven brutal murders. DNA techniques finally catch up and the results are indisputable – one in a trillion odds match Alcala to one victim. The rest of the DNA results are revealing, proof that Alcala is a disturbing serial killer.
Robert Brown covers the haunting years of Alcala's depravity. Brown adds fictional conversation to give the reader a better understanding of events, but make no mistake, he records every bloody detail. The book begins with a young Chicano, Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor, and ends with the infamous serial killer, Rodney Alcala, sentenced to death row. His first known crime was that of eight-year-old Tali Shapiro, who was found clinging to life, raped and severely beaten with a steel bar in Alcala's Hollywood apartment. Evading an arrest warrant, Rodney flees to New York using the alias John Berger. Here he becomes a councillor at a New Hampshire children's camp. In June of 1971, the serial killer rapes and strangles 23-year-old flight attendant Cornelia Crilley. Alcala's modus operandi is set. Rodney Alcala becomes a member of the FBI's ten most wanted. He alludes authorities for awhile and kills again and again. He brazenly participates on the popular Chuck Barris Dating Game, where he actually '"wins the show but loses the prize". The female contestant who selects Bachelor Number One is immediately put off by Alcala's 'creepiness' and forfeits the date. Lucky! It is unknown precisely how many victims are linked to Alcala, but with the 1979 discovery of a massive collection of lewd photographs, it's safe to assume there are many more victims. Robert Brown gives readers the facts and delivers a compelling story of a serial killer with little regard for human life. Alcala's rein of terror is over, but the fate of unknown victims is forever caught through the lens of a camera. If pictures could speak...
November 30, 2022
The perfect evil in a perfect time in America.
3.75 stars
The story of Rodney Alcala, who I never heard about until I read this book.
Cunning, handsome and using a camera to mask his intentions, Acala, aka John Bergar, brutally raped and murdered eight woman and young girls during the free-spirited late 60's and throughout the 70's. Posing as an photographer of models in their bikinis, he managed to lure these young women into posing for him before raping them and viciously and unremorelessly slaughtering them to satisfy his own sadistic urges.
In a time of counterculture and before the usage of DNA, Alcala freely carried out his deadly fantasies all across America. Despite several times being apprehended by the police, lack of evidence always procured his release from custody, allowing him to continue his heinous crimes.
But with the passage of time and advances in criminal investigative techniques, Alcala was eventually brought to justice on all of his crimes, although this process took nearly 40 years to achieve. His victims in New York being the final nail in his evil coffin.
Told through court testimony, eyewitness accounts and police records, the author gives an good accounting of Alcala's life from childhood through his 70's, with a majority of that time spent in prison. The vicious murder of a young 13 year old girl in California was the beginning of his downfall, with two witnesses placing him at the crime scene and the development of DNA technology.
Written with a carefully paced plot, Mr. Brown skillfully umasks Alcala's intelligent disguise, revealing the evil hidden underneath. Factual and equally frightening, this biography takes readers into the changes in one man's search for validation among the FBI's ten most wanted list, in addition to satisfying his depraved physical and emotional urges from women who rejected him. With each rejection his level of brutality and punishment upon his victims increased.
While this book does contain scenes of Alcala's horrificly brutal killings, particularly of the 13 year old child, it is necessary to delve into these crimes in detail, if only to examine to lengths this predator carried out his crimes. The descriptive accounts of his crimes are a definite trigger for some readers.
While not needlessly bloody and overwhelmingly descriptive, the author does present the acts as they occurred. Reiterating the previous trigger warning, this book is NOT for all readers. It is not fictional. But is succeeds in exploring the making of a truly intelligent and twisted serial killer in the perfect time of flower-power, antiwar sentiment and teenage angst.
The lower rating is due mainly to editing errors. Are there no competent editors these days? It seems to have become an ability gone by the way of 8 tracks and hoola hoops! Pity.
3.75 stars
The story of Rodney Alcala, who I never heard about until I read this book.
Cunning, handsome and using a camera to mask his intentions, Acala, aka John Bergar, brutally raped and murdered eight woman and young girls during the free-spirited late 60's and throughout the 70's. Posing as an photographer of models in their bikinis, he managed to lure these young women into posing for him before raping them and viciously and unremorelessly slaughtering them to satisfy his own sadistic urges.
In a time of counterculture and before the usage of DNA, Alcala freely carried out his deadly fantasies all across America. Despite several times being apprehended by the police, lack of evidence always procured his release from custody, allowing him to continue his heinous crimes.
But with the passage of time and advances in criminal investigative techniques, Alcala was eventually brought to justice on all of his crimes, although this process took nearly 40 years to achieve. His victims in New York being the final nail in his evil coffin.
Told through court testimony, eyewitness accounts and police records, the author gives an good accounting of Alcala's life from childhood through his 70's, with a majority of that time spent in prison. The vicious murder of a young 13 year old girl in California was the beginning of his downfall, with two witnesses placing him at the crime scene and the development of DNA technology.
Written with a carefully paced plot, Mr. Brown skillfully umasks Alcala's intelligent disguise, revealing the evil hidden underneath. Factual and equally frightening, this biography takes readers into the changes in one man's search for validation among the FBI's ten most wanted list, in addition to satisfying his depraved physical and emotional urges from women who rejected him. With each rejection his level of brutality and punishment upon his victims increased.
While this book does contain scenes of Alcala's horrificly brutal killings, particularly of the 13 year old child, it is necessary to delve into these crimes in detail, if only to examine to lengths this predator carried out his crimes. The descriptive accounts of his crimes are a definite trigger for some readers.
While not needlessly bloody and overwhelmingly descriptive, the author does present the acts as they occurred. Reiterating the previous trigger warning, this book is NOT for all readers. It is not fictional. But is succeeds in exploring the making of a truly intelligent and twisted serial killer in the perfect time of flower-power, antiwar sentiment and teenage angst.
The lower rating is due mainly to editing errors. Are there no competent editors these days? It seems to have become an ability gone by the way of 8 tracks and hoola hoops! Pity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2020
This is not one of my normal reading genres but I decided to give it a try. I don’t know if I can truly say I'm glad I read it but it is an interesting story and the author did a great job capturing the evil of Rodney Alcala. This is my first book by Robert Brown and I was a bit surprised that this true crime genre held my attention from beginning to end. I felt for the families of this evil man and I was relieved to read that he was caught in the end.
September 22, 2021
Boring read
This book could have been a good read but it had numerous spelling errors and the writing, in my opinion, was written on a grade school level and I had to put it down several times. I did find it informative, but the author could take some pointers from the writings of Ann Rule.
This book could have been a good read but it had numerous spelling errors and the writing, in my opinion, was written on a grade school level and I had to put it down several times. I did find it informative, but the author could take some pointers from the writings of Ann Rule.
Read
September 3, 2020Robert Brown does an excellent job on true crime
Ugh the guy in this book is a real sicko , I don't want to give details out because you should read this one for yourself . Robert Brown writes in great detail and facts , I love everything true crime he writes.
Ugh the guy in this book is a real sicko , I don't want to give details out because you should read this one for yourself . Robert Brown writes in great detail and facts , I love everything true crime he writes.
September 26, 2020
Terror
This was a very interesting book about an evil man. It was a look into how he became the killer he grew up to be and how he was caught. If you like true crime books you will like this book.
This was a very interesting book about an evil man. It was a look into how he became the killer he grew up to be and how he was caught. If you like true crime books you will like this book.
September 9, 2021
This is a highly fictionalized version of the serial killer Rodney Alcala. It contains some of the known facts, which are few, and embellishes to fill out the rest. Check out The Dating Game Killer or More Than A Pretty Face instead.
August 5, 2020
This is a good story. Vivid scenes and characters.
September 2, 2020
Man! This guy had ISSUES. I really liked this book. It was interesting.
November 13, 2025
it's kinda procedural but it's an interesting story. Audiobook.
April 6, 2024
Amateur writing. The embellishment is over the top and not factual.
August 8, 2020
Great true crime thriller. Never have read anything by Robert Brown, I'm looking forward to reading more by him.
August 16, 2020
History written in a fiction style
I don't usually read non-fiction, but was compelled by the story. Rodrigo Alcala is a monster that has gotten away with his crimes for too long. It is heart breaking for the families of his victims. Thank God for DNA!
I don't usually read non-fiction, but was compelled by the story. Rodrigo Alcala is a monster that has gotten away with his crimes for too long. It is heart breaking for the families of his victims. Thank God for DNA!
October 18, 2021
A horrifying true story of a predator who didn't get caught for way too long!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews