I put off reading this book because one of the victims was murdered in Henry Cowell Redwoods, on one of my favorite trails (leading up to the observation deck from where you can see the whole Monterey Bay and on a clear day it is SPECTACULAR). Actually, that's only part of the reason: the young woman was someone I knew - Ellen Hansen's mother was a friend of mine at UC Davis, and her pain was just something I've never forgotten. What a woman, what strength, and what a change it made in my feelin [...]

I read this book over the last few days and was pretty riveted by it all the way through. Graysmith's (author of "Zodiac") writing is not particularly great, and there are some awkward paragraphs I had to reread a couple of times before they made sense, but the research and pace at which the book moves is impressive. (I don't usually finish 400+ page books in a few days.)I was a baby in Marin County when the Trailside Killer was raping and murdering women on Mt. Tamalpais (The Sleeping Lady), Pt [...]

This is a book about the infamous Trailside Killer, who terrorized Pt. Reyes and Mt. Tamalpais(both in Marin County, north of San Francisco) and Santa Cruz in the late 70's amd early 80's. The same author wrote a book about the Zodiac Killer, another Bay Area serial killer. This book jumps right into it and moves quickly along. As another reviewer noted for himself, I finished this quickly, in about 3 days.It's hard for me to rave and glow about a non-fiction book like this. The author has simpl [...]

Just discovered I did write a sort of review. ahum. (I am a tad embarrassed but find them funny as well) I did not correct the spelling.Copied from bookcrossing on Wednesday, May 26, 2004This book has not been rated. Hi pam. How are you? Long time no traded books ;-) Well I finally started this book. You know what I did? I made a list of all my TBR books, I received by others, and when i received them, so I know which books have been waiting for the longest. This one was received on the 11th of [...]

Robert Graysmith takes great pains to detail the events in David Carpenter's life and role as a serial killer. Having had a career in law enforcement, I appreciate his thoroughness and attention to detail and that is what I was looking for-not entertainment. I have a personal connection to this particular case.If you're looking for a novel and story similar to his work in Zodiac, you may be disappointed. Admittedly the story of the Zodiac holds more appeal as it is unsolved and received far more [...]

This is not particularly written well, very disjointedbut it is truth.It scares me. I will definitely have nightmares.

Not very well written but intriguing. I read this because I grew up outside of San Francisco and have hiked Mt. Tam and some of the other places mentioned. Very creepy.

I usually enjoy true crime, but this one was far too disjointed to follow with any logic.As of late 2010, David Carpenter remains on Death Row in California.