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Into the Water
To authorities she spilled the shocking details of a night of horror. It was the lead they'd been desperate for in a multi-state manhunt for an elusive serial killer. Where the witness took them was to the last man anyone would have suspected.
Richard Marc Evonitz was beloved by friends and family. He was handsome, intelligent, and compassionate. Serving a spotless eight years in the U.S. Navy, he was a town hero who lived in harmony in an exclusive South Carolina neighborhood. The only ones who saw Evonitz's dark side were his victims. They were helpless teenage girls who, one by one, were subjected to his twisted sexual fantasies of kidnap, rape, and murder—until his double life came undone by the brave cunning of his last young victim. But as authorities and the media descended upon him, Evonitz had one more shocking surprise in store for everyone—a stunning final act of violence and reckoning that would turn a bright sunlit morning blood red.
Richard Marc Evonitz was beloved by friends and family. He was handsome, intelligent, and compassionate. Serving a spotless eight years in the U.S. Navy, he was a town hero who lived in harmony in an exclusive South Carolina neighborhood. The only ones who saw Evonitz's dark side were his victims. They were helpless teenage girls who, one by one, were subjected to his twisted sexual fantasies of kidnap, rape, and murder—until his double life came undone by the brave cunning of his last young victim. But as authorities and the media descended upon him, Evonitz had one more shocking surprise in store for everyone—a stunning final act of violence and reckoning that would turn a bright sunlit morning blood red.
244 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 14, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 9, 2014
On Sunday, November 13, 2005 I wrote:
7 out of 10
Diane mailed this book to me and signed it.
From the Back Cover
She Was Young, Terrified, And Still Bound In Handcuffs When She Was Found On The Street Screaming For Help...
To authorities she spilled the shocking details of a night of horror. It was the lead they'd been desperate for in a multi-state manhunt for an elusive serial killer. Where the witness took them was to the last man anyone would have suspected.
Richard Marc Evonitz was beloved by friends and family. He was handsome, intelligent, and compassionate. Serving a spotless eight years in the U.S. Navy, he was a town hero who lived in harmony in an exclusive South Carolina neighborhood. The only ones who saw Evonitz's dark side were his victims. They were helpless teenage girls who, one by one, were subjected to his twisted sexual fantasies of kidnap, rape, and murder-until his double life came undone by the brave cunning of his last young victim. But as authorities and the media descended upon him, Evonitz had one more shocking surprise in store for everyone-a stunning final act of violence and reckoning that would turn a bright sunlit morning blood red.
amazon.com
----------------------------- Must re read again perhaps cause I do not remember it at all.
7 out of 10
Diane mailed this book to me and signed it.
From the Back Cover
She Was Young, Terrified, And Still Bound In Handcuffs When She Was Found On The Street Screaming For Help...
To authorities she spilled the shocking details of a night of horror. It was the lead they'd been desperate for in a multi-state manhunt for an elusive serial killer. Where the witness took them was to the last man anyone would have suspected.
Richard Marc Evonitz was beloved by friends and family. He was handsome, intelligent, and compassionate. Serving a spotless eight years in the U.S. Navy, he was a town hero who lived in harmony in an exclusive South Carolina neighborhood. The only ones who saw Evonitz's dark side were his victims. They were helpless teenage girls who, one by one, were subjected to his twisted sexual fantasies of kidnap, rape, and murder-until his double life came undone by the brave cunning of his last young victim. But as authorities and the media descended upon him, Evonitz had one more shocking surprise in store for everyone-a stunning final act of violence and reckoning that would turn a bright sunlit morning blood red.
amazon.com
----------------------------- Must re read again perhaps cause I do not remember it at all.
December 18, 2022
Tragic
Well written and researched. The author does a seemingly good job laying out the horrific crimes committed. Includes great insights by FBI profilers and others before each chapter. Also includes photos. This was written in 2007 and there have been some updates to some of the people mentioned that have not been updated in the book. Some spelling errors.
Well written and researched. The author does a seemingly good job laying out the horrific crimes committed. Includes great insights by FBI profilers and others before each chapter. Also includes photos. This was written in 2007 and there have been some updates to some of the people mentioned that have not been updated in the book. Some spelling errors.
February 13, 2015
I've gotten into a true crime phase recently, and I followed up The Monster of Florence with this one. When I picked these books up from the library, my fiancé thought they sounded interesting too, and, knowing I can't really read two books at once, he told me that he would read whichever one I wasn't reading, and then we'd switch. So I chose The Monster of Florence to start, having no idea what Into the Water contained.
As he began to get into it, he felt more and more creeped out because, as it turned out, the events in this book took place in the mid-1990s and early 2000s, not far from the area where he grew up, and exactly IN the town where he went to college in the mid-2000s (Fredericksburg, Virginia).
This book - probably because Diane Fanning isn't as talented of a writer - wasn't nearly as good or well-crafted as The Monster of Florence, but as far as interest level goes, it kept mine. The story is creepy and terrifying and rather interesting. And, of course, unlike The Monster of Florence, at least it has a tangible end. It might be frustrating that the dude is not spending his life in prison since he killed himself, but honestly, what was more frustrating to me was the staunch denial of the dude's wife after everyone else in his family came to a shocking and sad acceptance of the truth about who their son/brother was. His wife still refuses to believe it, even though their own sex life demonstrated his sexual deviancy. Poor woman needs as much help as he did.
As he began to get into it, he felt more and more creeped out because, as it turned out, the events in this book took place in the mid-1990s and early 2000s, not far from the area where he grew up, and exactly IN the town where he went to college in the mid-2000s (Fredericksburg, Virginia).
This book - probably because Diane Fanning isn't as talented of a writer - wasn't nearly as good or well-crafted as The Monster of Florence, but as far as interest level goes, it kept mine. The story is creepy and terrifying and rather interesting. And, of course, unlike The Monster of Florence, at least it has a tangible end. It might be frustrating that the dude is not spending his life in prison since he killed himself, but honestly, what was more frustrating to me was the staunch denial of the dude's wife after everyone else in his family came to a shocking and sad acceptance of the truth about who their son/brother was. His wife still refuses to believe it, even though their own sex life demonstrated his sexual deviancy. Poor woman needs as much help as he did.
August 28, 2022
Well, I gave the book 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dianne Fanning is a great author but for some reason I feel this book was very long winded. It spoke more of the Police investigation rather than everything that happened during the abductions. She wrote about it but again through the Investigation versus her speaking more about the families. It took long to get into it. I wanted to know more about Richard Marc Evonitz (the serial killer) more about him as a child but it jumped straight to him being 18 and up. Nonetheless, the book was ok. My heart and prayers go to the Family of Sofia Silva and the Lisk Sisters. May they be beautiful angels in heaven.
April 25, 2024
I watched The Kara Robinson story on Lifetime. I looked up the book that was the inspiration for this movie. This book is well-written. This horrible excuse for a man in this book is sick. It really shows you how. Just normal everyday people can be a sick serial killer. I highly recommend this book. However, it's very graphic. I am planning on reading other books by this Author.
February 6, 2025
Bounced around a lot but when it got going it was good. There is a Lifetime Movie about this called the Kara Robertson Story and about her abduction. The book takes you through his ALL his abductions leading up to her story.
January 18, 2016
I did not like the opening and set up of the book but overall a good book. This is about serial killer Richard Marc Evonitz and the horrific crimes he committed.
January 21, 2016
This is my favourite Dianne Fanning book so far.
January 23, 2016
Terrible book! The writing was so purple and incoherent I barely managed to finish it. The case was interesting but the writing killed the story for me.
October 12, 2022
His neighbors thought that Marc Evonitz as a fun kind of a guy with a few quirks, such as an obsession with Ted Bundy. His wife married him a a teenager and after being tied up during sex encounters, finally left him after several years.
Marc took out his anger on fifteen year-old Sofia Silva, who he abducted, raped and murdered. He wrapped up her body and disposed of her in a river thirty miles away.
It was discovered thirty eight days later and an innocent man was arrested
Kati and Kristin Like were next to vanish without a trace. Marc was a ghost, much like his hero Ted Bundy. They were also tossed off of a bridge and into a river.
Numerous suspects were investigated, many of them guilty of other murders. The staggering number of similar killers is overwhelming. DNA did not match any of them.
Somehow, Marc found a second wife. It did not calm him down and another girl was abducted but she managed to escape and a police manhunt ensued.
The final chapters fizzle out as Marc is captured and is linked to three murders and how many more will never be known.
Overall, Into the Water has too much old time religion of the victims surviving families believing in some kind of divine intervention. I needed more on Marc.
Marc took out his anger on fifteen year-old Sofia Silva, who he abducted, raped and murdered. He wrapped up her body and disposed of her in a river thirty miles away.
It was discovered thirty eight days later and an innocent man was arrested
Kati and Kristin Like were next to vanish without a trace. Marc was a ghost, much like his hero Ted Bundy. They were also tossed off of a bridge and into a river.
Numerous suspects were investigated, many of them guilty of other murders. The staggering number of similar killers is overwhelming. DNA did not match any of them.
Somehow, Marc found a second wife. It did not calm him down and another girl was abducted but she managed to escape and a police manhunt ensued.
The final chapters fizzle out as Marc is captured and is linked to three murders and how many more will never be known.
Overall, Into the Water has too much old time religion of the victims surviving families believing in some kind of divine intervention. I needed more on Marc.
March 6, 2023
This felt like an overly researched news article that just needed to make their word count.
I read true crime books regularly and for some reason I just could not follow this one. Maybe it's because there were so many different factors that Diane Fanning was explaining all at once. With Marc Evonitz never facing a trial for his crimes, it was harder to understand exactly what happened. He went undetected for several years and other men where suspected in his crimes. But other true crime stories were somehow tied into this one as well. It was just so messy.
More true crime reviews at A Reader's Diary
I read true crime books regularly and for some reason I just could not follow this one. Maybe it's because there were so many different factors that Diane Fanning was explaining all at once. With Marc Evonitz never facing a trial for his crimes, it was harder to understand exactly what happened. He went undetected for several years and other men where suspected in his crimes. But other true crime stories were somehow tied into this one as well. It was just so messy.
More true crime reviews at A Reader's Diary
August 2, 2023
If I didn’t have a personal interest in these cases due to growing up in the area, I’d be kind of disappointed in this book. There are a lot of typos (and weird spacing errors in the kindle edition). At the end, the author thought it was worthwhile to print these long proclamations made about the various task forces involved in solving the cases and I’m not sure why. I surely didn’t read them. It looks like a grocery store paperback and it reads like a grocery store paperback, but it does effectively summarize the situation all in one place. It disproved several ideas I’d held from speculative news articles from back then.
November 28, 2021
This true crime novel was written a little differently. I liked that there weren’t large paragraphs of nonsense/unneeded bits of information. I liked that there other cases interspersed with the 3 main ones. Made me wonder just how many crimes Marc comminuted across the States in his time on earth? How many lives did he destroy?what made him tick? (Although I’m not really sure I want to know the answer to that one.) it’s such a shame he took the coward’s way out. I’d like to have seen him rot in jail or sitting in old Sparky for what he did to this families and all the unknown families.
July 15, 2022
The continuity and flow of this book need work. An outline would have done wonders. I understand that the author was taking us from past to present to attempt to set up events but the result was far from successful. I have three stars because it was an interesting case, however, after reading and watching true crime dramas most of my life, it is really hard to put such a human face on the killer. It’s one thing for the people around him to say that they didn’t know or didn’t see the signs but the glimpse that the author shows us into the “mind” of this killer is too kind.
January 5, 2023
I love true crime. I did not like the style of this book. There were so many unnecessary details and sub-stories included that it was twice as long as it should have been. It also jumped back and forth so much that I thought I was getting whiplash. I wanted to throw it in the water and just look up news articles to find out what happened.
October 20, 2021
Writing was good, spell check horrible
Very well written and researched. If it hadn't of had misspelled words every 2-3 pages would have been much better read. Paid $11.99 and should have stuck to a paperback.
Very well written and researched. If it hadn't of had misspelled words every 2-3 pages would have been much better read. Paid $11.99 and should have stuck to a paperback.
November 9, 2022
Excellently told
I'm writing this review in a state of frustration. The story is excellently told. Well written. Heartbreakingly sad. However, there were sooooo many typos. It seemed as though there were several on every page.
I'm writing this review in a state of frustration. The story is excellently told. Well written. Heartbreakingly sad. However, there were sooooo many typos. It seemed as though there were several on every page.
May 22, 2024
Poorly written. Overly verbose with descriptions, especially from the author’s perspective. Lots of information that did not pertain to the subject of the book. Very confusing. Writing and timeline was disjointed. I only kept reading the book because I wanted to know how he was caught.
March 2, 2020
Great book.
July 12, 2021
Excellent book about a chilling series of crimes.
August 1, 2022
Tragic story, with a heroic victim who escapes and brings a serial killer down.
August 17, 2022
Good book overall.
Full of detail and well-sourced quotes from the people who actually worked the case.
I disliked the innumerable typographical errors.
Full of detail and well-sourced quotes from the people who actually worked the case.
I disliked the innumerable typographical errors.
October 30, 2022
All over the place
the writer was all over the place the first half of the book as well as numerous typos . Do you not spell check before publishing
the writer was all over the place the first half of the book as well as numerous typos . Do you not spell check before publishing
August 30, 2025
Interesting tragic story but filled with way too many side stories. At times I was losing track of all the side stories
February 18, 2023
This book, although not long, felt like it dragged on forever. I could not follow the writing style and a lot of the detail didn’t feel relevant to the story. I usually love true crime, but this just didn’t do it for me.
February 14, 2010
Any true crime reader knows Ann Rule. And any true crime reader knows that most t.c. readers love Ann Rule. Most say she's the best at the genre, love all her books, etc. I'm no exception. But Diane Fanning is coming in real close.
Into the Water is the second, at least the second, book of Fanning's that I've read and it went fast because I couldn't put it down. Fanning not only writes with passion, unlike the plain old just stating facts like some t.c. writers, but she incorporates other tidbits into the story. Everything from little facts (Patricia Cornwell using actual autopsy records for her fictional books) to side stories that had some bearing on this story.
Most t.c. writers, from what I've read, will either use different stories (Ann Rule) or stick to the one story and nothing else (pretty much everyone else) but Fanning gave other crimes where Evonitz was looked at and cleared, or looked at and accused, etc. She gave other stories of children going missing and if they had nothing to do with Evonitz she gave what information she had at the time of the writing.
I guess you could look at that as it would get in the way of the main story but it doesn't - not when Fanning does it.
Overall, this was very informative, very scary, and written well. And..... I don't think I caught one mistake the whole time! :)
Into the Water is the second, at least the second, book of Fanning's that I've read and it went fast because I couldn't put it down. Fanning not only writes with passion, unlike the plain old just stating facts like some t.c. writers, but she incorporates other tidbits into the story. Everything from little facts (Patricia Cornwell using actual autopsy records for her fictional books) to side stories that had some bearing on this story.
Most t.c. writers, from what I've read, will either use different stories (Ann Rule) or stick to the one story and nothing else (pretty much everyone else) but Fanning gave other crimes where Evonitz was looked at and cleared, or looked at and accused, etc. She gave other stories of children going missing and if they had nothing to do with Evonitz she gave what information she had at the time of the writing.
I guess you could look at that as it would get in the way of the main story but it doesn't - not when Fanning does it.
Overall, this was very informative, very scary, and written well. And..... I don't think I caught one mistake the whole time! :)
April 5, 2011
I picked this book because I liked true crime. The crimes talked about in this pages are detailed and may bother some readers so use your own desecration. Author Diane Fanning, talks abt Richard Marc Evonitz, America's most wanted sex killer. Richard was handsome, intelligent and compassionate and was beloved by his friends and family. Richard had served 8 spotless years in the Navy and was known as a hero in his quiet exclusive South Carolina neighborhood. No one ever saw his dark, twisted sides, no that is except for this victims. Young girls, teenagers whom he subjected to his twisted fantasies of, kidnap, rape, and murder. He would kidnap them, torture, kill, and the dump them - in and/or close to water. He may have continued on down his dark, violent path, tearing the hearts our of other families if it had not been for one young girl. Kara, a teenager he had kidnapped from a friends yard kept her wits. She played along w/ his sick, twisted sex games until she was able to escape and get to authorities. Where Kara took authorities, stunned them. No one ever would have suspected this former Naval man. As authorities descended upon Richard he had one last plan, a final act of violence and he was not going to go down alive.
April 13, 2010
Evil is out there. Walking among us. Evil is our friend and neighbor. Evil is our co-worker. Evil eats at our table and we eat at his. How do we spot evil? How do we keep our families safe as well as ourselves? This book has taught me that we can't. We can not see evil if it has no face.
This book is well researched and well written. It covers the side of that evil yet covers the side of the victims, and their family's. A well rounded book. Fair and detailed. This is one of the few books that brought out such emotion and heartbreak for me. I could just feel the pain and anguish felt by these young girls as they suffered. Then the pain of the families and it began again. Diane Fanning has the talent to draw you into the very heart of this investigation through her written words. You will never look at a stranger or maybe even a new friend in the same way. In fact you may never look at even a family member the same way. Because.... if you can not see the face of evil you see no evil person until it is to late and we may be reading about you or yours. Be diligent.
This book is well researched and well written. It covers the side of that evil yet covers the side of the victims, and their family's. A well rounded book. Fair and detailed. This is one of the few books that brought out such emotion and heartbreak for me. I could just feel the pain and anguish felt by these young girls as they suffered. Then the pain of the families and it began again. Diane Fanning has the talent to draw you into the very heart of this investigation through her written words. You will never look at a stranger or maybe even a new friend in the same way. In fact you may never look at even a family member the same way. Because.... if you can not see the face of evil you see no evil person until it is to late and we may be reading about you or yours. Be diligent.
September 2, 2012
I'm not putting a rating on this book simply because I had a very hard time reading it took me 2 months. There are several inconstancy's in the book, it is to be expected of some true crime novels. The reason it took me so long to read this book and know about the inconstancy's is because I am close friends with his sister the one who turned him in. She was completely devastated by this she had no clue that he was this monster until the night his surviving victim thankfully got away she knew the only way to stop him was to turn him in. I feel very badly for all the victims and their families, as well as my friend it was very hard for her for a while but is doing better.
April 12, 2016
Richard Marc Evonitz was the sonar technician on the U.S.S. Koelsch searching for the wreckage of the Challenger space shuttle, he was also a kidnapper, rapist, serial killer ... and coward.
Another "nice guy next door" who was an expert at hiding the monster inside.
What really creeped me out was when the cops found the Even-flo breast pump when they were searching his house ... had he intended on making his neighbor with the new born baby his next victim? And are there more victims whose bodies have never been found?
We may never know .....
Another "nice guy next door" who was an expert at hiding the monster inside.
What really creeped me out was when the cops found the Even-flo breast pump when they were searching his house ... had he intended on making his neighbor with the new born baby his next victim? And are there more victims whose bodies have never been found?
We may never know .....
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews