This is a fascinating read. It is well written detailing the cases covered. It gave a fascinating insight into the crimes.
A well researched book

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

Very mixed review for this book
Im afraid. Some of it - gripping and interesting. Some - not at all.
For me I’d have been more
Engages with some of the lesser stories chopped out
And you lose interest with these

Great cover though and great shelf
Appeal

A really interesting insight and a well researched and written book. I think it is definitely a must have for all of the true crime fans out there.

Always Chilling…
Murder - what motivates these killers? Cases of true crime collected here by the author from over thirty years in a journalistic crime career. These are some of the stand out cases, diverse and personal. Well written, intriguing and always, always chilling. Fascinating reading.

This was definitely one of those books that I was drawn too originally purely because of the cover (don't you just love a good front cover?).

This was a really fascinating read that had some tales of really brutal murders but at the same time as being engrossed at some of the crimes, other crimes had me just glancing over the pages.

Now I am a huge fan of True Crime whether it be on TV, in a book or a magazine but for some reason it just didnt fully hold my attention like I was expecting.

Did I enjoy it? Yes
Was I completely absorbed.?.. No
Would I recommend?.. No

Thanks to netgalley and Ad Lib Publishers for the ARC.

Very well written and researched, this book was interesting and unique in that it covered cases I wasn’t aware of prior to reading.

Hunter is a journalist who has worked in Canada and then the USA for many years so this is his book on the murders that he “encountered” as part of that life. Without any disrespect - as he realises that murder is incredibly traumatic to the families and communities affected - he admits that some are widely known and others have failed to reach a wider public awareness. But he has gathered twenty cases here –or possibly twenty murderers as some of his chapters relate to serial killers (notably “the dating game killer” and the “Interstate 10 killer” in California) with a huge number of victims before being identified and caught.
Apparently looking back to his previous working notes, each mini chapter has the name, introduction, a description of the crimes and how they were investigated and the trials and – regrettably to say – the subsequent appeals processes and their “success or failure”. It is not entirely clear why these specific crimes have been chosen, or the order selected for presentation; but collectively they make for a chilling read. This is for the range and scale of the killings, themselves only a miniscule fraction of the murder numbers in the USA annually. But also for the way that the investigations were carried out by various local organisations, often inexperienced, with lack of resources – and in the early days without the scientific skills and knowledge that allegedly make modern killers so much easier to indentify and stop. Beyond that is of course the process to try and convict the killers and take them off the streets; this is subject to the legal regulations and procedures that can be strung out for many years, even at the expense of allowing the deaths of more victims.
So why would a person want to read this book? Probably because it is a damning indictment of the extent and callousness of a substantial core of men (mostly) who hold other people in disrespect and can actively enjoy torturing and abusing others. Behind that it speaks to the inadequacy of the current policing system to cope with murderers in a preventative manner. It recognises the difficulties of finding and analysing the evidence of the crime sufficient to get a conviction, albeit that the latter is supposedly getting better (but more expensive). The USA legal system as it deals with murderers is of course seriously dis-spiriting, plea bargaining seen here allowing criminals to escalate from “minor” crimes to the most serious seemingly largely unchecked. The size of the USA and de-centralisation of policing and legal organisations across the nation allows serious crime to seemingly flourish unrecognised, even in these days of computer system and linked databases.
But of course these are not just issues that affect the USA. Undoubtedly the misogyny, belief in “expendable” people, violence, lack of resources and inability to recognise the incipient seriousness of seemingly lesser crimes is an international challenge. Maybe the value of this book over the mass” market” in crime TV and books lies in the review of the legal “results” of these murders which could bring a suite of additional concerns that once fully recognised, one might hope could be addressed.

Really enjoyed (ok not enjoyed but those who are fascinated by true crime will understand what I mean) this book. Took me a little while to finish because I kept googling the cases. The cases were just the right length and didn't get into too much detail.

Very intriguing and horrific and shocking cases of greed, jealousy and yes psychopathy. Some of the cases are clear cut others I am really not sure about especially with the last one. I also found that there’s not a lot of bias with certain of the cases, the author makes it too personal when he describes certain murderers as evil, torrid or whichever, there were certain times I felt uncomfortable about what his views where on the death penalty. For me this is fascinating but at the same time it’s quite heavily biased in the authors opinion.

Wow, some of these murders were brutal! I cannot believe people do this. I find books like this never fails to amaze me yet I’m intrigued every time.

This book did not disappoint!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for allowing me this prerelease copy

A great book for a true crime fan like me.
Brilliant selection of stories detailing crimes. Some of which can be a bit sad.
Took me a few days to read as the content was a bit heavy.
The author writes really well and I enjoyed this book a lot.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As an author of true crime myself (Bloody Yorkshire) I was excited to read this book. Really well-written detailing the facts of each case. Many of the cases were new to me.

If you love reading true crime, this is a must read.

Loved it. Took me one evening to read it all.

Tales of real life Murders in America that I hadn’t heard about. The author has a very easy to read writing style and writes in a totally accessible way, explaining what certain things mean to non American readers.

Highly recommended to all fans of true crime.

I found this book a nice quick read. The short stories gave a good insight into the crimes found them very interesting Very well written. Would recommend.

I am a fan of true life crimes whether it be a boxset on Netflix or a book so this one caught my eye! Books like these never fail to chill me and Brad Hunter dealt with the delicate subject matter very well. It definitely delivers on the title the book intends to give! Recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A really well written and informative book of true crimes and their outcomes.
I particularly liked the updates given at the end of each story, which makes this book stand out from other true crime books.
Very interesting and a definite recommendation from me.
4 stars ⭐️

The book is filled with stories about brutal murders, and people who thought they were clever enough not to get caught. I like that the stories are short and to the point, and especially the part how the police is reacting, and how and when they figure out who did it. Then it's a matter of proving it.

I do understand that most cases (in general) are about the spouse killing his or her partner, maybe with a helping hand, but I still think that they cases could have varied a bit more. There are so many gruesome murders in the US so it would have been interesting digging deeper into some stranger cases. Not saying these cases were bland, most definitely not.

It is hard to pick a "favourite", which sounds brutal, choosing a favourite out of all the murder stories, but the one that stuck with me was the all American hero, boy next door type, football player, who murdered several women, the I-5 bandit. Another case that stuck with me was the case of a teenage girl who wanted to get rid of her family because they wouldn't let her see her boyfriend.

A book for any follower of True Crime - Cold Blooded Murder by Brad Hunter is a well written book on a series of cases and crimes committed throughout the years.

Based in America, the book featured cruel murders and psychopathic killings and had a chapter dedicated to each one crime. Starting with the setting of the scene and an introduction to the persons involved and the persons of interest, the author did a good job at putting the readers mind into the how, what, why and when of the occurrences.

I found it was written delicately and respectfully, whilst also shedding light to the reader with the goings on and what had happened during the cases at the time. I also liked that there was a little post script at the end of every case chapter, updating the reader with proceedings and the current position on the case outcome.

Books like these never fail to chill me and Brad Hunter dealt with the delicate subject matter very well. It definitely delivers on the title the book intends to give!