Monster - Steve Jackson

Wow! Just, wow. This is a true crime story, which I didn't realize until I was about a chapter into it, but it follows the deaths of three women in Colorado in the 1980s and 1990s. It focuses on one man, Thomas Edward Luther, as a ruthless serial killer and predator of women.

What a scary dude. This book was endlessly researched and the narrative is told in a thrilling combination of direct quotes from interviews and statements as well as reconstructed observations from those sources.

There is something completely fascinating about serial criminals that defies logic and understanding, but this book really delves into all of this. It also delves into the mind of a woman who loved Luther, despite knowing of his heinous crimes. Debrah Snider met Luther when he was serving time for a brutal sexual assault. She was working as a nurse in a prison hospital at the time. She fell in love with this guy and starting writing him. She somehow believed she could change him when he came out of prison, so long as he stayed away from other women. Great. At least she later admits that it doesn't make sense that she loves this man.

The book delves the most into the death of Cher Elder in 1993 and follows the investigation by Detective Steve Richardson. Richardson's dogged determination to put Luther behind bars was rewarded during the trial for Cher Elder's murder. 

Here is a picture of this brutal dude looking like a frumpy nobody. Good. He's evil and should rot and die in jail.
 

Thankfully, Luther is serving a very long prison term and not eligible for parole until 2085. This is seriously one of the best true crime novel's I've ever read. I'm going to be looking up more by Steve Jackson. 

4/5 Stars.