Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre.
Review: "An Hour to Kill" is no more than an above average murder, arrest and prosecution story. Set in Conway, South Carolina, it concerns the brutal rape and murder of Crystal Todd. There is no suspense whatever in finding her killer. For one, his name, Ken Register, and picture are listed on the cover! For another, the efficient local cops zero in on Ken very quickly. Moreover a load of crime scene DNA evidence implicates him. Finally, our hero waives his Miranda rights and confesses before seeking defense counsel! Those circumstances didn't leave much to chance and certainly didn't give his lawyer much wiggle room to attack the prosecution's case. A good review should not divulge the plot but there is so little suspense in HTK, that the point is moot. Reader interest could have been whetted had the authors attempted to explain the rage behind the brutal act or searched for any motive. Despite being fluidly written with little fluff or wasted space, HTK is a 3 star effort. It is suitable enough, at paperback prices, for true crime devotees. South Carolina residents may wish to add a 4th star. On second thought, they may wish to subtract one.
Rating: 
Summary: If you have a night to [do nothing].......read this book
Review: This book was well written. It grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go. I am a fan of true crime and a fan of Dale Hudson and Billy Hills. Read the book, you won't be sorry.
Rating: 
Summary: An hour to kill
Review: This is a true crime book.It is complete with the top people and the investigation team you get a true look inside of the whole case.I would say everyone needs to read this book it is a little
graphic but it is a 5 star book.I have never read a book that lays out the whole story like this one does.Also you don't want to put it down as you start reading it.
Rating:
Summary: GOOD READ...but
Review: The writers, with great effort, try to recount the events as they happen. Since this conviction was largely based on DNA testing of Register before he was ever a suspect,this is not a 'who dunnit book". There are a lot of questions about who Ken Register is. His 'dark side' however, is only addressed very late in the book (after the conviction). After hearing the whole story, I now feel the writers should have spent less time lavishing praise on the police (who elicited a relatively weak,(though telling)confession, and more time developing, researching and perhaps explaining Ken Register, who really did not fit the FBI profile (though his deviant fantasies
were later well articulated by an FBI profiler).
Since it seemed likely from the outset of the case that this horrendous overkill murder was committed by an intimate or acquaintance, the early police interviews of the victim's friends and acqaintances seemed pretty poor. They had good reason to look more carefully at Register much earlier in the investigation. No attempt was made to provide a credible explanation for his sudden , explosive , merciless killing-it left me with the feeling that further research beyond police interviews and trial transcripts would have yielded something more--There is no doubt that Register committed the murder-and his confession says why-but somehow it's hard to believe there were not more clues which in hindsight could have better explained this violent cruel murder,and the killer who did it
Rating:
Summary: Did he or didnt he ?
Review: Im still wondering from a legal point of view how the verdict was reached and on what basis. Apart from the DNA, there was only circumstantial evidence to commit this boy.
No history of violence, no problems with girls, he had a girlfriend, was there drug use ? had he been drinking, was it a case of love spurned ? So much cover up in many ways, such a small town its hard to beleive someone didnt know something about this. i still am not sure he did it. Well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: An Hour To Kill is a thrilling read.
Review: I love truecrime novels and this is one of those books that I just couldn't put down. The story is gripping as it tells about a murder in a small southern town and it never lets up until the end. It's one of the books that i put on my top ten list of favorite books of all times. An Hour To Kill is a thrilling read. Dale Hudson and Billy Hills did an excellent job telling the story. Definitely worth getting for the True Crime novel fan.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Book
Review: I heard my mom and dad talk about this book, then saw it on
television last week. I got the book from my school and read it in one day. It was so good. I am glad to know that DNA was able to help police capture Ken Register. What he did to Crystal Todd was awful. I think he would have killed again if he had not have been caught by the police...
too far from where Crystal Todd was killed. I recommend this book to other young readers in my high school.
Rating:
Summary: If you have An Hour To Kill -- Read this book
Review: This is one book you won't be able to put down however, I do agree with some of the others that there should have been more written about Ken Register and what could have made him do such a thing. This wasn't just a date rape, this guy had such a rage that it goes beyond belief.
Rating:
Summary: Remarkable Story Telling: Chilling Story
Review: How could Ken Register-- a church-going young man with a bright future -- get so deeply involved in his sexual fanatsies that he would rape and brutally murder his own friend? He works hard in and around his small town. People knew and loved him. What went wrong? Could Register be behind the vicious acts he is accused of? Hudson and Hills write with these questions and more in mind. And they do answer them. This tragic tale of an "all American boy" gone wrong, is also the tragic tales of TWO mothers who lost their children. Crystal was well liked in the community, attended church and had a bright future. Taking a ride home from a stranger would have been safer than taking a ride from a well-liked and trusted friend. But, she took a ride from Ken Register, instead. Crystal got more than a ride -- a literal stab in the back, in fact -- but she never got a ride home. Excellent authors telling a sad and tragic story.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Ann Rule
Review: Wonderful true crime story about a young psychotic killer who brutally murdered his best friend and tried to hide his guilt from the family and community. He even carried her coffin to her grave. This book was better than any Ann Rule book I have ever read and I give it high marks. Even those who aren't true crime fans will like it. I just ordered Hudson-Hill's other book, A
Reason To Live, and hope it is equally good as An Hour To Kill.
I hope they write a lot more true crime stories. High marks for
authors Hudson and Hills.
|
