The Color of Night: A Young Mother, a Missing Child, and a Cold-Blooded Killer

by John H. Timmerman, L.C. Timmerman

The Color of Night is a skillfully woven true crime account of a horrendous crime, a family's quest for answers, and the landmark case that tested the Federal Death Penalty Act. Nineteen-year-old Rachel Timmerman, who was about to testify against the man who had raped her, disappeared with her toddler daughter, Shannon. A month later, Rachel’s body was discovered in a lake chained to cinde blocks and with her eyes and mouth covered in duct tape. Soon a trail of bodies begins to emerge. Is a serial killer at large? Written by Rachel's father and uncle, The Color of Night is a shocking story of violence, murder, and the search for justice.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Armand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I devoured this book in one sitting. It is a compelling book, riveting, actually. The tragic story of Rachel Timmerman and her baby daughter Shannon. At first, I was put off by the grammatical, editing and formatting errors that were very confusing and contributed to a strange narrative and a sequence that doesn't really make too much sense. ("Would of" appears several times instead of "would have" and names got fucked up in a couple places), but when I realized that one of the authors is Rachel's father, I was amazed by the courage and strength it must have taken to relate the horrifying story. This is truly a great book and you won't be able to put it down.

[Sallie Des Biens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another sad story of a dysfunctional home life, teen pregnancy and the misguided magical thinking that god will fix everything.

[Molly Horan · Rating 5 out of 5]

True crime has always intrigued me, especially when it hits close to home. I was married to the nephew of Wayne Davis and tried to follow the story years ago when my then-mother in law told me about the murder. At that time Wayne was still missing. I feel for him...his family was/is so messed up I don't think any of them were even looking for his body. I'm glad he had Rachel in his life for a friend because she seemed sweeter than anyone I'd met in his family. I saw the story come up on Discovery ID and was shocked Wayne's body had been found. I asked my ex about it because I thought a found missing uncle might be big news... and he says, oh yeah, they found him. No big deal. No wonder Marvin murdered the poor man... would anyone care???

[Shana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such an incredibly sad case for so many reasons and I put off reading this book for a long time because of it. I liked some parts of this book that recounted what happened in the case but others were very slow, especially the full recounting of the trial. I was left with some unanswered questions, like who was Ian Decker? Maybe no one knows but the trial part of the book talked about a picture of him being in the courtroom. This is more a memoir of the family's experience and less an investigation of what happened in the case, so it's good to be aware of that when you read it.

[Gayle Vegter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Skimmed some parts that were kind of irrelevant to the story. You can tell it was co-written by a creative writer!
I checked to see whether the murderer in this true story was actually put to death in the 20+ years since he was sentenced. I was sad to find that he had recently had his death sentence commuted by former President Biden.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sloppy, a bit sexist, thrown together. And I actually did not realize until reading the reviews it was written by the father and uncle - which is strange that I did not! But adds another star for guts.

[Sandy Goguen-Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I'm a true crime reader yet, it is the category for the month bookclub I'm in. Such a sad and horrific story, especially for family members that still have questions. A very quick read, written by the dad so some complaints that it wasn't get writing. Just unimaginable.

[Tabb Boonstra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is hard to read. This hits home as I was close to this family growing up. There were numerous things that were inaccurate about the family, but it is bias as her mother was not part of the writing. Gabrion is an evil man, and deserves all the hell he gets.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rachel Timmerman was 19 years old and two days before she was to testify in court against her attacker she went out on a dinner date with a man who picked her up. A month latter her body was found in Oxford Lake and her baby Daughter Shannon was never found. This book is written by her Father LC. Timmerman and her Uncle John H. Timmerman.
Not a easy read due to subject. Kinda jumps around a little bit so does not have a good flow so you can follow what happen with ease. Good depth on how tragic and heartbreaking this whole scene was and how everyone was effected. Horrific story but a good book to read if you are into true crime.

[Hunter Clouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Timmerman is my aunt, and this subject is still sore for my family. I am the son of Sara White(Timmerman). For years I was perplexed about why someone would murder my aunt? Why would someone take away a life that is so young, so full of purpose? Not just because Tim is my grandfather, I rate this book a four out of five, because even though I am a part of the family, I still didn't know the whole story, and after reading The Color Of Night: A Young Mother, a Missing Child, and a Cold-Blooded Killer, I now know the full story.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

While certainly a tragic story about a monstrous killer, this book is poorly written. It begins well, but later ends up fragmented . Facts are introduced haphazardly. Some things are referred to in the attorney's summations that were not mentioned before and should have been. The writing style was extremely distracting. I was looking forward to reading this because it was written by family members of the victims, but their editor did this book a great disservice.

[Pat Lampe · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sad story about a young girl and her baby who meet with tragedy. Written by the father and uncle of the girl. The writing was repetitive and tiring after a while and I did not finish. Still, the frustration that the family endured was touching and the fact that no one knows what happened to the baby haunts me. Just a sad story.

[Aubrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy Cow! True Crime is not for everyone. I for one love true crime books. What makes this one especially intriguing is its in our backyard. This takes place in Newaygo County, where I work and live. Its always fun when reading a book to know the surroundings its talking about and to recognize certain landmarks.

[Susan De · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth the time. I finished it because it was easy and I was sick with the flu. If you want to read a really well written crime "novel" I would suggest In Cold Blood. Capote and Lee were MUCH better writers.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

heartbreaking, a parents worst nightmare told by the father

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

HB -- based on real events.

[Juleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book hits close to home,knew one of the victims personally. very sad when a family can't have closure

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sad. True.

[Melise · Rating 3 out of 5]

2/15/14