An Invisible Man: The Hunt for a Serial Killer Who Got Away With a Decade of Murder

by Stephanie A. Stanley

In the summer of 2002, a serial killer prowled the streets of Baton Rouge, preying on the city's best and brightest women. The authorities had a profile of their suspect. They were wrong. This is the shocking true story of the investigation that went awry--and the good old-fashioned police work that solved the case.

Genres: True Crime

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 6, 2006

Reviews

[Fishface · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a very interesting story and a good read. Very hard to put down. The author gives equal time to the lives of the victims, the bungling of the police and the behavior of the killer, sometimes very pointedly, but without "soapboxing." I do have to take issue with some of the writing. The final product looks as if it were rushed to press in the middle of a massive rewrite -- there are so many malapropisms and mangled metaphors in here, like "Rose grabbed at the gun, wrecking her car into a utility pole in the process."

[Kaitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone interested in true crime will have a hard time putting this book down. This will be especially true for anyone from the Baton Rouge area.

I had to walk away a few times because of sheer frustration and anger. There were SO MANY opportunities to catch Derrick Todd Lee and put him in prison that were simply ignored or dismissed by several different law enforcement organizations. Lives could have been saved had they not been so negligent.

I was in the 8th grade at Northwestern Middle in Zachary in 2002. I vividly remember watching the press conferences and news reports about the Baton Rouge serial killer. I learned about the Oak Shadows murders and the cemetery attack soon after moving to Zachary in the 4th grade. Growing up with these stories made this book all the more fascinating and terrible for me to read.

The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is because I felt like the writing and organization could have been better. I think the picture section could also have been better.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a college student at LSU during the time of the serial killer. I had met three of the victims, though I knew none of them well. This is honestly a hard read but very informative on what was going on during the investigation.

[Linh · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the books I got from the thrift store. Just frustrated at how much sooner they could've caught him and stopped the killing. Didn't expect it to be a true crime story

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well written, very informative book; I couldn't put it down.............but the really sad thing is that if law enforcement had really done their job, originally, these lives would have been saved................this man was in and out of the justice system NUMEROUS times (even threatening his mother), before the first murder................the authorities kept releasing him for other crimes, most important............voyeurism................looking in women's windows? Threatening one's own mother? Are those not warning signs? Yet, the justice system kept releasing him time after time; they helped the man to come to the realization that he wouldn't receive punishment for his crimes, so he accelerated it. Sad, sad, sad. The authorities are partly to blame for the blood shed by these victims.

[♥ Marlene♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

on Sunday, April 22, 2007 I wrote:


This was such a good book. Very well written. A scary book.
After reading this you are scared to open your door.

Stephanie Stanley gives you more info on the victims there family and the serial killer and his family.
It is sad though that the police made so many errors which would give him the chance to murder more fantastic women.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sitting on the edge of my seat, gripping the cover, not wanting to turn out the lights good!!!

[G Ream · Rating 4 out of 5]

very gut-wrenching tale of murder