Rating: 
Summary: Best True Crime Book I've Ever Read
Review: I must admit I am not a big fan of this genre. I've tried Ann Rule and the others but most of the stories are usually shallow, repetitive, and boring. My wife first read An Hour To Kill and was so engrossed in the book she finished it in one night. Reading me parts from the book, she peaked my interest. After wrestling the book from her, I told her if it was like all the other true crime books I've read in the past that I would probably stop after the first couple of chapters. What a wonderful surprise An Hour To Kill turned out to be. Finally, a true crime book so well-researched and written that it held my attention from beginning to end. Hudson-Hills did a masterful job of baiting the reader and patiently giving little morsels of information so one could make up his/her own mind based on the evidence. Honestly, I wasn't sure whether Register was guilty or not until the very last chapter when Homicide Detective Bill Knowles laid it all out. Talking about an ending: I had chills all night long after reading the book. I admit it now, after reading An Hour To Kill, there are some good true crime books out there.
Rating:
Summary: Not much of a true crime fan, but I liked this one.
Review: Let me say up front that I'm not much of a true crime fan. I find most true crime boring, repetitive, and poorly written. My
wife first read this book while we were vacationing at Disney World then urged me to read it. "I'll give it twenty pages and that's all," I agreed. Four hours later, I was still reading it.
The book has great structure and organization, is written well,
and presents a horrible murder that cuts as deep as a razor. More
than anything, the authors were fair to both the Registers and the Todds, and presented an unbiased account of the murder and
investigation. The book affected me in such a way that I sat down and shared the story with both of my teenage daughters. I want them to know Ken Register is the poster boy for small town
next door neighbor's everywhere. Five stars for An Hour To Kill
people like Bill Knowles and Ralph Wilson who had the guts to push forward until this young man was finally convicted and sent to prison.
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: A 5 Star True Crime Book
Review: An Hour To Kill has it all: suspense, mystery, intrigue, strong characters, and bizarre behavior. This Ken Register guy is a real trip. In relation to the book, the action starts from the first page and continues all the way through to the last page. I liked Hudson and Hills' style of writing and thorougly enjoyed how they changed back and forth between scenes. Also, there was no amount of material included in this book which wasn't necessary to drive the story forward. A lot of true crime books are too detailed, and become boring when they include too much information, weighing down the story. I would recommend An Hour To Kill to all those people who are looking for a good true crime book. These two guys are good writers and are going to be on top of the charts if they continue their same pace. I look forward to reading their next book. It should be a good one.
Rating:
Summary: A Thriller
Review: An Hour To Kill is a well written and documented book. This is one of the best true crime books I have ever read, and I am looking forward to more books from Hudson and Hills. Not only is An Hour To Kill easy to read, but the authors do a splendid job in telling this story, plotting the events of the case, and developing the characters involved in the book. This book is such a page turner that I could not put it down until I had read every single word. I then wanted to go back and read it all over again. I did, however, find the events of this murder very disturbing, and my heart goes out to the mother of the victim, Bonnie Todd. How awful it must be for her to know that her daughter's killer was right there all along, comforting her through her grief. This is truly a Southern tragedy profiling a teenage sexual sadist, but even more disturbing is that a murder like this could happen to any of us at any time. An excellent book that I would recommend to all my friends.
Rating:
Summary: I waited two years for this book
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: 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: One of the best books I have read
Review: I recently had an opportunity to hear Dale Hudson,one of the author's, speak in Myrtle Beach. I was so fascinated with his talk that I bought a copy of the book from him when he finished. True Crime has not always been one of my favorite subjects, as murder, mayhem, and blood keeps me awake at night. However, this is unlike any true crime book I have ever read. It is intriguing and the story line pushes you from one page to the next so much so that you can't stop until you have read it all. What a sad, sad story about a teenager who couldn't control his sexual behavior and a community who couldn't believe he had
done it. Now we all know there are predators like Ken Register living in our small towns and waiting to strike upon innocent victims like Crystal Todd. My gratitude to the authors for writing this story. Every teenage girl should be required to read it.
Rating:
Summary: loved the book, waiting for the television movie
Review: this is as good as it gets in true crime. ken register is such a monster,i believe if he was tried again he would get the death penalty. i am just so sorry crystal faye todd trusted her good
friend with her life. in the end, it was the biggest mistake she ever made. this was the first book i have read by dale hudson and billy hills, but it won't be my last. they have a way of telling a story that is unique, as if i was there with the police and watching the whole thing. i can't wait to read their
next book.
Rating:
Summary: One of the top true crime books.
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.
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