Son: A Psychopath and His Victims

Rating:
Summary: "Son"
Review: I read this book and really enjoyed it. It was very well written and very understandable. I am 13 years old, and i still could read it, understand it, and like it! I hope more people will but this book

Rating:
Summary: "Son": A Psychopath and His Victims
Review: The Crimes of Fred and his mother, Ruth Coe: A true story of obsession, revenge and family tragedy in the all American City.

This is one of the most remarkable true crime books you will ever read. It is many things at once. For months, the story of a mother, a son and a city emmeshed in tragedy made headlines across the nation. This is the story behind the headlines. It is also an extraordinary examination of the mind of a psychopath and of the women -- and men -- who were his victims. And it is a chilling investigation of the consequences of a crime that does not kill -- but which destroys as surely as any knife or gun.

For more than two years, a rapist prowled the night streets of the homey, "All-American" city of Spokane, Washington, terrorizing women, sparking a run on gun stores, and finally causing one newspaper to offer a reward, the calls taken by the distinguished managing editor himself, Gordon Coe. In March of 1981, luck and inspired police work at last produced an arrest, and Spokane shuddered. The man was clean-cut, teetotal, conservative -- and Gordon Coe's son.

The family rallied behind Fred Coe. They had an explanation for everything. Fred's mother, Ruth, gave "Son" detailed alibis for the rapes. But the evidence was overwhelming. As Fred was led away, Ruth Coe was heard to say, "Down, but not out." It was no mere gesture of defiance.

Ruth Coe was bent on revenge, and soon the judge and the prosecuting attorney would feel the full force of her murderous wrath.

For eighteen months, Jack Olsen researched the cases of Fred and Ruth Coe to try to learn not only what happened within that family, but how and why. He intereviewed more than 150 people, and slowly, bit by bit, built up a portrait not only of that extraordinary family, but of the mind of a psychopath. Talking with the rape victims, he probed the devastating effect the violations had had on their lives two weeks afterward, two months afterward, two years afterward. And searching the memories of the women in Fred Coe's life, he unearthed a most horrifying question: What is it like to love and live with a man for years -- and then discover he is a psychopathic criminal?

The answer to that question, to all the questions Olsen asked, and the bizarre conclusion to an ever-more-bizarre series of crimes, make "SON" the most riveting account of villainy and dark obsession since IN COLD BLOOD.

Rating:
Summary: One of Olsen's best
Review: You always know to expect outstanding true crime writing from Jack Olsen, however, this has to be considered one of his best. The story of Fred Coe, his mother, the crimes, and those effected both directly and indirectly by his otrocities is written and researched perfectly. READ THIS book!