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Rating: 
Summary: A good attempt but missing something
Review: "An Hour to Kill" concerns the violent rape and murder of 17-year-old Cristal Todd by her former boyfriend Ken Register, who is currently serving a life sentence for the crime. Dale Hudson and Billy Hills are not writers by profession and their bio makes that clear. Hill is a psychology professor and Hudson is a busineessman. The fact that they wrote as well as they did is a tribute to their hard work. However, there are some holes in this book that left this reader feeling somewhat unfulfilled. What works: Hudson and Hills do a fine job of setting the scene and detailing the small Southern town of Conway. You get a very good feel for what the community is like, its people and their way of life. As a Southerner myself, I thought it was dead on. Hudson and Hills also offer an unbiased view of both sides: the victim, her killer and their families. The writing is of high quality and doesn't descend into melodrama and sensationalism. What doesn't work: Hudson and Hills attempt to delve into the heart and soul of Ken Register with poor results. We know he was a "good kid" who worked at his church and was loved by his parents. But when they start bringing out the darker side of Register such as his indecent exposure charge and fascination with porn, no analysis is done. They never talk about what his friends or family thought of this. A reader is left to wonder how this young man lived a double life for so long. The other gaping hole is the relationship between Register and the victim, Cristal Evans. Bonnie Faye Evans never comments on the fact that Register had recently asked her daughter to date him again. Little is said about their dealings with each other and why he chose to pick her up that night. Was it truly because he had "an hour to kill" or had he been plotting it? Such things are never fleshed out properly. There were too many unanswered questions. Verdict: Hudson and Hill make a good attempt at telling a compelling story but sometimes fall short in that attempt. However, it's a book worth reading and if they team up again, perhaps next time they'll succeed at filling in the gaps.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Guy, Bad Guy
Review: An Hour To Kill is powerful reading! I was particularly moved by the arrest, interrogation, and conviction of Ken Register.
As a degree holder in criminology, I know all about police techniques to get a confession. Good Guy, Bad Guy is one of the oldest in the book.
If Ken Register had demanded to see an attorney early on, would the police have refused like when he made other requests?
If so, his whole confession could have been thrown out.
I feel very uneasy with the deceptive, high pressure, police interrogation but I wouldn't want to be in their shoes either.
If Ken Register didn't get caught police would be excoriated for allowing a murderer to go unpunished. Police were caught between a rock and a hard place.
Rating:
Summary: Good Guy, Bad Guy
Review: An Hour To Kill is powerful reading! I was particularly moved by the arrest, interrogation, and conviction of Ken Register.
As a degree holder in criminology, I know all about police techniques to get a confession. Good Guy, Bad Guy is one of the oldest in the book.
If Ken Register had demanded to see an attorney early on, would the police have refused like when he made other requests?
If so, his whole confession could have been thrown out.
I feel very uneasy with the deceptive, high pressure, police interrogation but I wouldn't want to be in their shoes either.
If Ken Register didn't get caught police would be excoriated for allowing a murderer to go unpunished. Police were caught between a rock and a hard place.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have read
Review: Based on a friend's recommendation, I read this book, and needless to say, wasn't disappointed. It has all the elements of a good true crime book: suspenese, intrigue, and investigation. I particularly appreciated the authors, Hudson and Hills, writing in that they developed a good story and allowed the action to drive it forward. True Crimes are usually boring and filled with useless information, but not so with this one. Honestly, I wasn't certain until the very end whether Register was guilty or not, but, I'm happy to say, the police nailed him to the crime with the aide of DNA anaylsis and good interviewing techniques. To those who are big fans of true crime and those who are not, you will enjoy reading this story. It was so interesting, I read it in one day.
Rating:
Summary: Murder, Justice and DNA
Review: From newspaper clippings, interviews and a 3,204 page trial transcript, Dale Hudson and Billy Hill recreated the events of November 16, 1991 leading up to the rape, murder and mutiliation of Crystal Todd and the subsequent trial of Ken Register. In 1991, when Crystal Tood was murdered, forensic analysis or DNA testing was new. Its use to identify Ken Register as the murderer set off a controversy in court that attracted national news coverage, popular talk show host Sally Jesse Raphael, INSIDE EDITION and author Mickey Spillane. The controversy centered around the vailidity of the test results, the use of the results as evidence and the question: Did Ken Register actually murder Crystal Todd? An Hour To Kill, reads more like a novel than true crime. But then, on the night of November 16, 1991 Crystal Todd probably thought what was happening was more like a nightmare than life. The descriptions of her wounds are chilling. Ken Register's cool, calm participation in Crystal's funeral as a pall bearer is reminiscent of Anthony Hopkin's portrayal of Hannibal Lecter. Authors Hudson and Hill have presented to the world a work of powerful analysis and credible research. An Hour To Kill is a must read for anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Not much of a true crime fan, but I liked this one.
Review: I saw this book in the library about two years ago and asked my mom if I could read it. Because I was 15 then, she told me I would have to wait until I was a senior in high school. Well, it was worth the wait. AHTK was so good that my friends and I passed the book around. One of my friends even gave a book report in class on it. What is so scarey about the book is that we know several boys in our class that fit Register's profile.
Talking about freaking someone out!!! For anyone who likes suspense and nonfiction, this is a good book. My only criticism of the book is that there were no pictures of the authors. It helps me to have some idea of what the authors look like. Otherwise, me and my friends give this book very high marks.
Rating:
Summary: Strangely written
Review: Out of respect for the deceased and the importance of the topic matter, I gave the book 3 stars. I don't recall the television coverage of the crime as it unfolded on TV. A few months ago one of A & E's true crime programs ("City Confidential", if I recall correctly) carried this story. The book doesn't adequately cover the persons involved nor the events, in my opinion. If you're able to catch the A & E presentation on television, by all means watch it; it provides a more rounded-out view of all that transpired and the parties involved.
This truly chilling story should be read by all.
Yes, the trial was covered.
Yes, the horrible fate of Crystal Todd was adequately outlined.
Yes, the authors were objective -- especially as the representations of the families involved (victim's and perpetrator's) are concerned.
But I have some criticisms as well:
1. The only photo of the victim is a marred portrait taken from a distance, on her headstone.
2. We are suddenly thrust into the "here and now" lives of these teenagers, with very little background information -- especially as regards their lifelong affiliation and friendship with one another (refer to A & E television program).
3. Large professional-quality photos of Mickey and Jane Spillane are included in the photos section, with captions as to their presence at the trial -- yet within the text pertaining to the trial they aren't mentioned. Ken, Mrs. Register and Mrs. Todd appeared on Sally Jesse Raphael and the authors cover that episode rather well...yet no photos from the confrontation on the show are reproduced. This doesn't make sense.
4. In the A & E television crime program, photos from earlier in the lives of Crystal and Ken are shown -- including a photo of them in a swimming pool together; both bathing-suit clad and she's sitting on his shoulders. I was surprised that this photo WASN'T in the book -- and, again, that only 1 poor-quality photo of the victim (you really can't even see what she looked like in life) is present in the book. As mentioned previously, I'm perplexed that little information about the years of their lives *prior to* the crime (especially as related to one another, or separately) is given.
5. Little is made in the book of Ken having viewed a couple of "snuff films" during the height of his pornography obsession.
There is one lingering doubt, however. I feel I must give Mrs. Register the benefit of the doubt (she seems an honest lady): If indeed she was telling the truth about Ken's appearance when he arrived home on the night of the murder, how could he have been so clean and non-disheveled? Given the extreme brutality of Crystal's gruesome murder, if he did indeed commit this crime how could he have avoided being hit by blood spraying, or not have sustained scratch marks, abrasions and perhaps a few bruises during the horrific struggle Crystal put up? Odd.
Read the book. But also try and catch the A & E television program pertaining to Crystal's murder. Rest in peace, sweetheart. I'm truly sorry for what happened to you.
Rating:
Summary: A True Crime Page Turner. Very Highly Recommended.
Review: This book is a page turner. A must read for every true crime reader. I could not erase the killer's evil from my mind and cried after finishing the last chapter of the book. Yet, I still went back and read it again. An Hour To Kill has it all: the pages are tense and rich and the story is filled with great suspense as young babyfaced Ken Register is exposed as a brutal sadistic killer and brought to justice while all the time denying his guilt to his famly and friends in the small town of Conway, South Carolina. Authors Dale Hudson and Billy Hills slowly unmask this once trusted nineteen-year-old, boy-next-door, and allows the reader to see him for what he is: a monster, living and breathing in his own dark and secretive world, continually out of touch with reality since his childhood. It was Register's own selfishness and greed with no welfare for others or remorse for his victim that finally consumed and his sealed his fate in the end. Readers will cry for the victim, sympathize for both mothers who are emotionally torn and spent at the end of the trial, and empathize with the police and prosecutor as they untangle Register's web of deceit. I even felt for Shirley Register, who truly loved her son and blocked out her son's depraved and twisted mind, as well as her volatile husband. An Hour To Kill allows the reader an incredible front row seat on an emotional rollercoaster ride with plenty of twists and turns that doesn't end until the last sentence of the book. I appreciate the authors' long hours of research required to bring such an accurate and true story. Hudson and Hills has shown us how a killer can lurk in our midst disguised as an angel of light, only to bring such great turmoil, pain, and death to her family, friends, and community. You guys are masterful writers. I look forward to reading your new book and watching you make it all happen again.
Rating: 
Summary: AN HOUR MAY LAST A LIFETIME...
Review: This is a very good true crime book about a murder that divided a small community and made national headlines. It involved the murder of seventeen year old Crystal Todd, who had been brutally killed. She had been stabbed in excess of thirty-five times, nearly gutted, practically decapitated, and raped. A resident of the small, good ol' boy town of Conway, South Carolina, her murder left its other residents stunned. All wondered how could this have happened in their town, and who could possibly have committed such a wanton, senseless murder?
Months later, after her friend and one time boyfriend, Ken Register, a popular, churchgoing, former All-American high school football player was arrested for her murder, all wondered how he could have committed this crime. Some even wondered if he had committed the crime, despite DNA evidence and a confession to the contrary, which indicated that Ken Register had, in fact, committed this heinous murder. It was during the trial that an unknown dark side of Ken Register emerged and shocked those who professed to know him.
This case gained national prominence, as it was one of the first capital murder cases to utilize DNA as forensic evidence at the trial and its use, as such, was still in its nascent stage and had not, as yet, acquired widespread public acceptance. Moreover, CBS ran a piece on the murder in which the show cast doubt on DNA evidence, as it made it clear that there were no national standards for either the testing of DNA or for the personnel who conducted such tests. DNA experts, Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, who would later go on to fame and fortune through their association with the O. J. Simpson case, also interjected themselves into the matter, though they would later disassociate themselves from it. Even author Mickey Spillane and his wife, Jane got into the act, publicly claiming post-trial that Ken Register was innocent.
The book goes into a lot of detail about the case, its investigation and trial, as well as about the parties involved. The only thing missing is some substantive analysis or insight into who Ken Register really is. While his dark side did come into play, it may have added more depth to the book if the authors had spent some time on a more substantive profile of Ken Register. There is really nothing much proffered by the authors as to what made him explode into such a killing frenzy other than a scenario imagined by the case detective. Still, this is a book that those who are interested in true crime will enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: you wont put it down
Review: YOU WONT PUT THIS ONE DOWN, IF YOU LOVE TRUE CRIME YOU WILL LOVE THIS ONE. ITS ABOUT A NINETEEN YEAR OLD BOY, WHO VIOLENTLY KILLS A YOUNG TEENAGE GIRL, THAT HE HAD BEEN FRIENDS WITH HER AND HER FAMILY FOR MANY YEARS. HE HAS A HOUR BEFORE HE HAS TO BE HOME, SO HE DECIDES TO TAKE THE LONG WAY, AND HE MEETS UP SOMEHOW WITH CRYSTAL TODD . IT ALL STARTS FROM THERE. NOT TOO LONG AFTER, HER MUTILATED BODY IS FOUND. ALTHOUGH KEN REGISTER WAS WELL LIKED AND A CHURCHGOER, YOU FIND OUT THAT HE HAD A QUESTIONABLE PAST, THAT MIGHT LEAD YOU TO BELIEVE HE WAS A KILLER IN THE MAKING. IF NOT CONVICTED, I WONDER HOW MANY MORE WOULD OF FACED THE SAME HORROR CRYSTAL HAD. THANK GOODNESS FOR THE PERSISTANCE OF CRYSTALS MOTHER 'BONNIE FAYE' AND DETECTIVES DEDICATION TO SOLVE THIS HORRIBLE CRIME.
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