The Search for the Green River Killer - Softcover

Smith, Carlton; Guillen, Tomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 045121238X ISBN 13: 9780451212382

Publisher: Signet, 2004

Synopsis

Updated to contain new information on the apprehended suspect and his conviction, this gripping look at the Green River Killer, who has claimed the lives of forty-nine women in Washington State, details the frustrating investigation, providing a glimpse into the mind of a mass murderer. Reprint.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

This reckoning of the deaths of almost 50 women in Seattle is distressing not only for the gruesomeness of the crimes but also for reasons probably not intended by Smith and Guillen, who reported on the murders for the Seattle Times. The descriptions of decomposed corpses are nauseating, and the blundering and so far unsuccessful police attempts to find the murderer are irksome. Readers are likely to be equally angered by accounts of how the media hampered the investigation by meddling in it and exploiting it, and by a nagging sense that this book is just one more example of that exploitation. Unable to secure the cooperation of two primary police investigators (who wouldn't comment because the cases are still open), the authors rely on sources as diverse as an FBI agent, a psychic who is investigating the cases on her own and a former suspect with a demonstrated ability for manipulating the media. Moreover, the book offers abundant chaff with the wheat as when, for example, it discusses unrelated murders committed in Canada and Hawaii. Maps.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This is the first book about the investigation--so far unsuccessful--of the worst case of serial murder in American history. Beginning in 1982 with the discovery of the first victims in the Green River near Seattle, at last count 49 young women--almost all prostitutes or teenage runaways--have been murdered. Despite a massive effort, police have uncovered no good suspects, due in large measure to the victims' soliciting behavior. The killer may have stopped for whatever reason or possibly moved--similar serial murders have occurred in Portland, Oregon, and San Diego. The authors are Seattle journalists in command of their material, and the result is a cut above the typical mass market paperback original. Recommended for true crime collections.
- Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Signet
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 045121238X
• ISBN 13: 9780451212382
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 544