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Online Killers: Portraits of Murderers, Cannibals and Sex Predators Who Stalked the Web for Their Victims
THE INTERNET'S DARK SIDE
Take a cyber journey where the flicker of LCD screens illuminates unimaginable evil. It starts as a harmless online-date, but can quickly turn to kidnap, torture and death. More than just tales of sinister criminals, this collection of true horror stores destroys commonly held myths, like "it's safe to meet someone after knowing them online for many months." Predators actually gain additional satisfaction from stalking their victims over long periods of time!
Online Killers chronicles the stories of men, women and children whose internet adventures led them into disastrous circumstances,
•Naïve 15-year-old Christina Long, whose meeting with a much older man from a chat room led to her rape and murder
•Schoolteacher Jane Longhurst, the victim of an obsessive necrophiliac who abused her decomposing body for weeks
•Bernd-Jurgen Brandes, who was not only killed and eaten by a cannibal, but had the whole process immortalized on video
•Young and beautiful Anastasia Solovyonva, the would-be bride who was brutally murdered at the hands of her supposed fiancé
Take a cyber journey where the flicker of LCD screens illuminates unimaginable evil. It starts as a harmless online-date, but can quickly turn to kidnap, torture and death. More than just tales of sinister criminals, this collection of true horror stores destroys commonly held myths, like "it's safe to meet someone after knowing them online for many months." Predators actually gain additional satisfaction from stalking their victims over long periods of time!
Online Killers chronicles the stories of men, women and children whose internet adventures led them into disastrous circumstances,
•Naïve 15-year-old Christina Long, whose meeting with a much older man from a chat room led to her rape and murder
•Schoolteacher Jane Longhurst, the victim of an obsessive necrophiliac who abused her decomposing body for weeks
•Bernd-Jurgen Brandes, who was not only killed and eaten by a cannibal, but had the whole process immortalized on video
•Young and beautiful Anastasia Solovyonva, the would-be bride who was brutally murdered at the hands of her supposed fiancé
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 18, 2010
72 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Berry-Dee
75 books342 followersChris was a former Royal Marine intelligence officer. He is now a criminologist who has interviewed over 30 serial killers.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 7, 2012
I liked this book a lot because it was well written and it was about cases I did not know about. Normally I am not a fan of true crime short stories, cause I prefer to read a whole book, but this time I very much enjoyed reading about crazy people, that used the internet to reach out, to find other crazies, as was the case with one woman who wanted to be raped and murdered.
Some of the stories gave me the feeling I had read about it before. I think this book was translated in Dutch perhaps and I read in a decade ago. Even then I had good taste. ;)
Some of the stories gave me the feeling I had read about it before. I think this book was translated in Dutch perhaps and I read in a decade ago. Even then I had good taste. ;)
July 21, 2012
As I am a huge fan of short stories of true crimes, this was an instant-buy for me. Each chapter revolves around the story of murderers that fall into the category of "online" killers.
What I found the most intriguing was the chapter about Darlie Lynn Routier, a woman who killed her two children and framed an intruder for her crime... just for attention. This particular chapter is one of the more detailed and longer ones.
A definite must-read, particularly for audiences in their late-teens and older, because there is various mature content. Barry-Dee is a wonderful writer and uses careful transitions into each new topic.
What I found the most intriguing was the chapter about Darlie Lynn Routier, a woman who killed her two children and framed an intruder for her crime... just for attention. This particular chapter is one of the more detailed and longer ones.
A definite must-read, particularly for audiences in their late-teens and older, because there is various mature content. Barry-Dee is a wonderful writer and uses careful transitions into each new topic.
April 5, 2014
Very sensational in tone. The authors are clearly amateurs with delusions of grandeur. Mildly interesting, but not worth the effort in the final analysis.
October 20, 2020
Various stories, from all over the World.
As stated, various stories. A good mix, of male and female preditors. At the end, the authors speak of porn, and how it grows on the web.
As stated, various stories. A good mix, of male and female preditors. At the end, the authors speak of porn, and how it grows on the web.
June 7, 2024
The title said “Onljne killer portraits” and that is pretty much what the book is- a painting of offenders briefly depicting the surface and not much else underneath.
It started with a bomb story of Meiwes the cannibal, at which time I was blown away thinking about how much I would rate this a 5. I had the nibbling feeling that it was bait promising the reader similarly mindblowing stories up till the end. And sadly, I was right. Even the Darlie Routier case where the author spent quite a few pages on, was flat to me.
Only the Sharon and Meiwes case studies stood out to me. The nature of these 2 case studies are gruesome and shocking, and offers a distraction to the otherwise shallow analysis of them.
The author could do better including more cases in each of the themes (cannibalism, murders, sex preds), and do an examination and comparison across each theme
It started with a bomb story of Meiwes the cannibal, at which time I was blown away thinking about how much I would rate this a 5. I had the nibbling feeling that it was bait promising the reader similarly mindblowing stories up till the end. And sadly, I was right. Even the Darlie Routier case where the author spent quite a few pages on, was flat to me.
Only the Sharon and Meiwes case studies stood out to me. The nature of these 2 case studies are gruesome and shocking, and offers a distraction to the otherwise shallow analysis of them.
The author could do better including more cases in each of the themes (cannibalism, murders, sex preds), and do an examination and comparison across each theme
January 30, 2025
Disgusting!
This is one tough book to get through and I had to skip paragraphs here and there because of the depraved acts human beings inflict on others. At the same time, I felt the need to be aware in order to protect myself and those I love. I have checked out a couple of dating sites when I was younger -- including a Christian dating site and I realize now how fortunate I am that I managed to avoid the likes of those who are truly evil and depraved.
There are a few spelling mistakes within these pages but they pale in comparison to the stories. I am not familiar with these authors but the book seems to be well researched.
This is one tough book to get through and I had to skip paragraphs here and there because of the depraved acts human beings inflict on others. At the same time, I felt the need to be aware in order to protect myself and those I love. I have checked out a couple of dating sites when I was younger -- including a Christian dating site and I realize now how fortunate I am that I managed to avoid the likes of those who are truly evil and depraved.
There are a few spelling mistakes within these pages but they pale in comparison to the stories. I am not familiar with these authors but the book seems to be well researched.
February 18, 2024
Redelijk droge opsomming van seriemoordenaars en hun daden.
Leest wel vlot, maar geen samenhang. Goede inbetweener.
Leest wel vlot, maar geen samenhang. Goede inbetweener.
February 8, 2025
Interesting cases.
August 6, 2019
Sloppily written.
The authors are clearly aiming their book to say that the Internet has helped create a rise in different crimes. This could indeed be true, or at the very least makes it easier for sexual predators to find their victims. The book then uses what I'll begrudgingly call a few "case studies" to make these points. Women who were lured by predators in chat rooms and so forth. But the brief case studies are often a few paragraphs about the crime and then a lot of conjecture--or in some cases, you're hearing about Crime X and then suddenly the authors throw in "but this isn't the only case where this has happened" and in 4 sentences or less they throw in Crime Y and Crime Z. Just sloppily written.
The book draws too much on what the authors want to convince you rather than laying out cases for you and letting you decide for yourself how you feel about online killers. Overall, it is quick to get through, but lacks any real substance.
The authors are clearly aiming their book to say that the Internet has helped create a rise in different crimes. This could indeed be true, or at the very least makes it easier for sexual predators to find their victims. The book then uses what I'll begrudgingly call a few "case studies" to make these points. Women who were lured by predators in chat rooms and so forth. But the brief case studies are often a few paragraphs about the crime and then a lot of conjecture--or in some cases, you're hearing about Crime X and then suddenly the authors throw in "but this isn't the only case where this has happened" and in 4 sentences or less they throw in Crime Y and Crime Z. Just sloppily written.
The book draws too much on what the authors want to convince you rather than laying out cases for you and letting you decide for yourself how you feel about online killers. Overall, it is quick to get through, but lacks any real substance.
Currently reading
April 15, 2011Just started this and I'm sure it'll be a gem. Already on page 10 we have "Well, how about a cannibal who delights in sharing his victim's cooked flesh with ... his victim. You're about to meet him. Read on!"
It's been a long time since I've had something as bad as Twisted Mind to occupy my mindless reading time and I feel like I'm onto a real winner with this one.
It's been a long time since I've had something as bad as Twisted Mind to occupy my mindless reading time and I feel like I'm onto a real winner with this one.
August 24, 2014
A really fast read. Most chapters were very short, which sent me Googling for more information.
The chapter on Darlie Routier was the best, I thought, and I found interesting reading at: http://darliefacts.com/
The chapter on Darlie Routier was the best, I thought, and I found interesting reading at: http://darliefacts.com/
July 28, 2017
The internet and murderers? This is my kind of true crime book, and probably why I gave this book 4/5. The writing isn't as great as other true crime authors I have come across, and some cases were pretty brief. Still, a decent book to add to your true crime collection.
December 9, 2020
Very enlightening book
I am astonished at the things that I have read about in this book. I knew people could be really sick, but boy, are my eyes open for sure now.
I am astonished at the things that I have read about in this book. I knew people could be really sick, but boy, are my eyes open for sure now.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews