The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez

Rating:
Summary: More Narrative Drive Than Any True Crime Book I've Ever Read
Review: --with the possible exception of IN COLD BLOOD. Michaud and Aynesworth's THE ONLY LIVING WITNESS (about Ted Bundy) is probably the finest exploration of the genesis of homicidal mania, but for detail and incredible narrative drive, no true crime book I've ever read tops this one. May it always remain in print.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent True Crime
Review: A true crime treasure. This is one of the best true crime books out there. If you like true crime and criminal psychology, get it. If you scare easily - don't. This is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: i first bought this book from Brnes and Nobles, and finished the book hte next day. I didnt finish it so soon becuase it was so short, i finished it becuase it was great. The writer puts you inside of the killers shoes. It actually made me paranoid, becuase I live in Philadelphia, a big city like LA. It was weird how Ramirez could get into the homes and take lives so easily. The author describes it well. Would reccomend this book to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: The Night Stalker
Review: I had become very interrested in Richard as I grew up in California and lived there durring the time these crimes happened and was all scared all over California so I had to know why. I also felt compelled to know him, to know why, and to understand why. After reading this book, though I felt the author had him already guilty from the beginning of the book. He tells about all the horrible crimes as he says Richard explains them to him, then goe's into the family history, they the capture and court preceedings. I thought in the US one was innocent until proven guilty. It's not what happened here all though there is overwhelming evidence here, the fact remains, that this man's rights were violated.......... The author had to be in it for the money, otherwise he would've started from the life of the Ramirez family or the court proceedings then the life and then the crimes he claims Richard confessed to him. Another great injustice in our so called freedom of the USA.

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I EVER READ.
Review: I read a lot about true crime, as it is a career avenue I'd like to pursue. As someone who has read a lot of material regarding serial killers and mass murders, as well as many other books based on fiction or fact of other topics (I read a lot of John Douglas' work, which I highly recommend), I can honestly say that this book held my attention with both the information Philip Carlo obviously put a lot of time into researching, and his amazing descriptive ability. This read like a fiction. He tends to overuse words at times, but that is merely a small issue. This book is captivating and spell-binding, and the detail that has been put into it will definity satisfy the reader. It is human nature to be curious about the sick and twisted deeds of killers like Ramirez, and at the risk of sounding unsympathetic towards his victims, this book does not disappoint. Although it saddens me to read about such violence to innocent people, I want to know the truth, what the crime scene was like, and how the murder was carried out. It gives me a lot of insight into how these criminal master-minds think, and enables me to delve deeper into their psyche patterns.

Rating:
Summary: There are such things as monsters
Review: Richard Ramirez is, in my opinion, the most harrowing serial killer in American history, and maybe of all time. What made his heinous crimes so chilling was the methodical and totally arbitrary way in which he picked his victims. You didn't have to fit a specific profile for Ramirez to want to kill you -- you simply had to be sleeping in your house on the night he happened by. He was -- and still is, I imagine -- the very definition of evil ... a thoroughly ignominious "honor" to which he proudly confesses. This book does a great, albeit excruciatingly sad and frighteningly vivid job of recounting Ramirez's terrifying exploits.

Rating:
Summary: True Crime Writing At Its Best
Review: This book about Richard Ramirez, the so-called Night Stalker, is simply one of the best, most painstakingly researched books I have ever read in the true crime genre. Philip Carlo takes you through every single facet of the Night Stalker case, from the victims and thier families, to the life story of Richard Ramirez and his family, through the trials and the evidence and even the groupies that gathered around Ramirez during his lentghy trial.

Carlo takes you down slowly, down into the mind of Richard Ramirez. By the time you realize where you are, its almost too late; you understand the Night Stalker. The groupies make sense. You feel the bewilderment of the victims. You understand the drive of the dectectives and see flaws in the system. And maybe, just maybe, you understand why someone like Doreen Ramirez would be so obsessed with a killer that she would make it her life's mission to marry him on San Quentin's death row.

Unlike many true crime novels, where the "shocking photos" are nothing more than pictures of the places and the peripheral people, Carlo has photos of crime scenes, Ramirez in various stages of his life, the women who were obsessed with him, the outrageous trial behavior. One tiny dissapointment: couldn't the photo of Laura Kendall (undeniably gorgeous but unmentioned in the book) be replaced by a shot of his supporters from the Church of Satan in court?

All in all though, this is a work to rival Graysmith's in depth coverage of the Zodiac killer. I highly reccomend it to fans of good true crime writing.

Rating:
Summary: Bone chilling
Review: This book is an excellent overview of the life of Richard Ramirez. Everything from his childhood to his capture is perfectly documented and analyzed. I just knew the basic facts about Ramirez before reading this book. From El Paso, opperated in L.A, broke into houses and murdered his victims in their sleep. This book gave me a much deeper insight into his story by providing me with family member testimonies, survior testimonies and trial procedings.All of his crimes are explained by dates, times, locations and methods. The most disturbing thing that I discovered from my readings, was his seemingly hypnotic hold on women. It amazes me that a cold blooded murder and convicted rapist would have a waiting list a mile long of women willing to do anything for him. He is one of, if not THE most chilling killers I have ever studied (Bundy and Dahmer are up there) After I finished this book I began locking my door and checking the windows every night. I still do to this day. If you read this book you'll understand why.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing introduction to true crime reading
Review: This was my first true crime novel I had ever attempted to read, and my foray into this subject was a success. I am a psychology major, and I wrote a term paper on Mr. Ramirez with the help of this novel as one of my sources. This nonfiction work reads likes fiction in that it is so descriptive and jarring it almost seems like you are entering a sadistic universe that doesn't exist, although in the mind of Richard it actually does. A sadist to the tenth degree as well as a religiously obsessed genius, Richard is a man who one feels sympathy for if only for the fact that if it were not for his uncontrollable psychosis he could have actually been a wonderful asset to society with his unexpected wit and high intelligence. Read this man's quotes, ponder his wonderful speech given in court, and you will realize this is no "average joe" killer. This is an intelligent, sadistic, individual who is at war with the philosophical demons he posseses and the incredible beauty, talent, and genius he holds deep inside.

Rating:
Summary: "The Night Stalker" will captivate you
Review: This was the first book I have read about Richard Ramirez and I found it to be fabulously written. At I first I thought Carlo went into to much details about certain people that were pertaining to the hunt, Example the exact description of Gil Carrillo or of Frank Salerno. I had no interest in learning what weight there were or how tall these gentlemen are. I did enjoy though the progression of growth and experience these two received thru searching for the Night Stalker. There is a lot of information about Richard family, their lives, the relationship that they had with Richard and the true abilities and thoughts of the night stalker. When you are reading about the crimes ... you go deep into the details of the victims and what was suffered by them and of the loved one after their deaths. After Richard was sentenced some family member where able to speak on behalf of there lost loved one, and I found that to be a great part of the book. To hear what they were feeling after the death of their loved ones. The breakdown of the trial was wonderful written...Very informative!! I was quite young when Richard was sentenced in 1986 but I can remember bit and pieces of information which kept me interested and this book was a great find after so much time wonder what really went on. Phillip Carlo speaks a lot about the "fans" of Richard Ramirez and I was amazed about all of that. I never realize how intrigued Richard made women at that time. How women felt being near him or being able to actually speak to him. You can never really understand what is going on inside a person mind, but I think that Carlo explained Doreen to people very well. He took you into her life and her thoughts about Richard and his family. She fell in love with him and did what any women does for the man that she loves...she stood by him and on 10/03/96 they became Mr. and Mrs. Richard Munoz Ramirez.

All in all I hope that you choose to read this book. I 100% enjoyed reading this book!! I think it was a wonderfully written book by Philip Carlo and I hope I have written my opinion good enough for you to want to read "The Night Stalker"...