The Night Stalker: The hunt for a serial killer

Night Stalker by Phillip Carlo is - hands down - the best true-crime novel ever written (with a respectful nod to Anne Rule). Detailed, concise, terrifyingly descriptive. The level of research Carlo has undertaken to compile this work is staggering. The writing is completely engrossing. The evolution from little Richard Ramirez to the monster known as the Night Stalker puts the reader on a ghastly path to a detailed and gruesome journey through his career as one of the most notorious and vicious serial killers in American history. The triumphant (and highly satisfying) mob capture of Ramirez allows the reader to relax the shoulders and breathe a sigh of relief. The intricate details of the frustrating and endless trial of Ramirez shakes (and then restores) the faith in the criminal justice system. The stomach turns and the heart sickens at the notion that such "groupies" exist for animals such as Ramirez. Richard Ramirez is the epitome of every woman' nightmare. Carlo manages to summarize the monster's psyche with horrifying accuracy. The reader feels as if he or she is actually witnessing the Night Stalker's crimes taking place. I would not recommend reading this book while alone in the house. I've purchased this particular title many times over the last six years. In every case, it has mysteriously disappeared, likely due to friends fascinated by the creepy face on the cover. Not one to be embittered by passive theft (at least the book is being read), I embrace the notion of re-purchasing Night Stalker for two reasons: Phillip Carlo will benefit financially and I will continue to reluctantly enjoy the amazing true crime novel which chills my soul and renders me frozen with addictive fascination.

I've read a lot true crime books, most of them you'll find in the recommendations amazon will offer you as soon as you've purchased this one. This book however will make you consider buying something for protection or at least make you a little more aware of the weak spots of your house. The nickname "Nightstalker" in my opinion is a bad choice. According to the book Ramirez never really stalked, he randomly(?) entered homes at night and terrorized/killed the people in them. The first part of the book discribes these crimes in detail. What shocked me the most was, how much bad police work enabled R. to repeat these vicious acts over and over again. One can only hope, that the authorities have read this book too and learned from it. As for Ramirez himself I admit he had a bad start in life (like many, many others), but to be honest I still want him wiped out. Something like this should not be alive. Not on the streets, not in the joint. His Groupies in my opinion are all sickos and should be under 24/7 surveillance. They must carry the potential within them otherwise they would not support this scumbag. The lovely Mrs. Ramirez included.

This book was of particular interest to me because I remember being genuinely afraid of the Night Stalker as a child. What could be scarier than a man randomly entering houses and killing those inside? I tore into this book devouring page after page... that is until I got toward the end of the recount of the trial. Although I'm not a fan of the author's writing style, the book was well done. Philip Carlo brought forth the details that may or may not have been gathered by the various media during the activity, capture and conviction of Richard Ramirez. But the book, just like the book Helter Skelter, hit a snag when recounting the trial. Carlo dedicated close to 200 pages to Richard Ramirez's trial. Whereas I believe coverage of the trial is important and many authors neglect it, Carlo gives too much time and attention to the trial proceedings. Eventually the reading becomes mundane, laborious and repetitive. The entire trial lasted 14 months and I felt like it took me that long to finally get through it all. It doesn't take very long to understand the defense and their strategy, the prosecution, the judge, the jury and other ancillary players, yet Carlo rehashes the same themes throughout his documentation of the trial: the defense was inadequate, the prosecution was frustrated, Richard was annoyed, the jury was bored, the witnesses were grief stricken, the groupies and the media were en masse, etc. A retelling of the trial and it's key components gives the reader a peak inside the justice system for better or for worse, but I got frustrated with it all after 150 pages of various trial happenings. In his detailed coverage of the trial Carlo illustrated one of the more peculiar things about Richard Ramirez, and that was his groupies. It wasn't a shock to me that he had groupies because Ted Bundy, Charles Manson and even Joseph Fritzl (imprisoned his daughter for 24 years and repeatedly raped her) had devotees that were in awe of them and their bad boy image. But the Night Stalker groupies were way beyond anything I'd imagined. Even one of the jurors fell in love with him!!?? I don't know if the groupies were an indication of the degradation of society or just the incredibly fickle minds and low self-esteems of those women. In any case, their antics quickly went from intriguing to aggravating to utterly annoying. After all my griping about the superfluous trial recount, the book is still well worth reading. Philip Carlo did an exceptional job with the book, he even presented pictures of some of the groupies. If you read the book, be ready for a roller coaster that flattens out towards the end.

I really enjoyed this book because I felt it struck a good balance between the actual crimes (written as though we are riding along with the killer in gripping detail), the personal life and background of the Killer (so many books seem to leave out that serial killers are somebody's brother, son etc.), and the difficult and incredibly complex trial that follows (this was one of the longest and most intricate trials in all of CA history). I couldn't put it down. I am impressed with the amount of work that went into writing this book and it certainly seems to have paid off. Just like "The Only Living Witness" is one of the best books written on Bundy, I feel this is its equal in terms of Ramirez. Excellent, won't dissapoint.

Ok so... I love books on serial killers, the serial killers themselves fasciante me! So, I got this book to read up on Richard. There are pros and cons to it. The Pro is: It goes into detail about how he did each act. Which is great. Loved it. The cons: the bad thing was the book just dove right into him as an adult! There is no way of knowing how he got how he did.. It does not say anything about his childhood. I would think it would be more interesting knowing how he was as a child!But it doesnt. It just goes right into when hes an adult about to commit an act! I dont like that. It goes into detail about how he did each act, but its also focused on how they caught him, which detectives were investigating the crimes, how they talked about him and so on.. So for me, it was so, so .. Did not keep me on the edge of my seat like some books do on serail killers. Meh, was ok.. I would have liked it more if it had started from his childhood. Its more understanding to see what they do as a child. Its more clear. But it dives right into him as an adult about to commit an act.. So was ok.. nothing great for me...

I was 5 years old in LA when Ramirez was active. i was scared to death as a child, but i still had no idea how bad it was. This is the scariest book I've ever read. I was living overseas on an island when I read this, and I was scared walking home at night. I checked stairwells when walking even though there was no way he could be there. The scariest thing about this book and Ramirez is that he could've attacked anyone. Anyone could have been a victim. The writing is detailed and very interesting. The first part of the book is more exciting, but the trial and his childhood were also very interesting.

I had seen documentaries on the night stalker and knew he was evil but this book opens your eyes to the epitome of evil. A thoroughly researched book. my heart goes out to the victims and their families. The final shocker is the macabre groupies. Born or bred? I believe it's both. Ramirez also suffered two bad knocks to the head when he was young. He thought nothing of brutalising others yet was afraid for his sister when she slept in cars on the street. All Ramirez would be good for is scientists disecting his brain

Richard Ramirez had every opportunity to live a productive and meaningful life. With the exception of a sadistic Vietnam vet cousin sharing gruesome stories of his war rapes with Richard when he was a young lad, he was born into a dysfunctional yet hardworking and honest Mexican Catholic family in El Paso, TX. His grades were decent and the girls liked him. What made him become a dirty Satan-worshipping, AC/DC-loving drifter in downtown L.A. shooting coke and murdering innocents while they slept? The answers aren't here,,but that certainly doesn't stop Phil Carlo's terrific true-crime biography from working all the right nerves at the right times. The book is just plain chilling at times, with graphic details of the Stalker terrorizing California during a wicked summer heatwave in 1985. It gets somewhat redundant about a third of the way in the trial phase, with contradictory testimonies by experts and witnesses. The confusing characters (there's about three people named Hernandez, two related a third unrelated; two cops named Romero, unrelated; a cop named Ramirez, unrelated; two Rodriguez's, unrelated) don't help much, and I couldn't wait for the trial part to be over, with the Stalker chained and sent to San Quentin's Death Row. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the parts with Richard's wackjob court groupies (even a juror!), and the part when he runs into a locked up Sean Penn is utterly priceless. You won't be sorry you picked this one up, Carlo's extensive research pays off well in about 90% of the book.

I absolutely loved this book. The details and feelings were described amazingly. I have lent it over and over again.

Such a gripping and scary book. Written like a thriller. Really tough read at some points due to the graphic nature. The only drawback of the book is the second half simply cannot match the intensity and intrigue of the first. I read a bit of the trial section and just found it boring outside of a few details. I skipped to the epilogue and found a satisfying conclusion with some fascinating descriptions of Richard’s prison relationships. Highly recommend this book for its brilliantly told first half.

The writing is truly well-crafted and captivating.

Livre avec photos intéressantes, pas fan de Philip Carlo .

Muy bie investigado y de lectura que engancha desde el principio. Uno de los mejores libros de true cykme que he leído.