When a Killer Calls: A Haunting Story of Murder, Criminal Profiling, and Justice in a Small Town
- Downloads：3067
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-12-23 19:21:24
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：John E. Douglas
- ISBN：B08WLWGQH9
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Jodie
，
Going into when a killer calls knowing of the case and victims you would expect it to be a little boring but that was not the case for this book。The book went into more profiling and tracking Bell down and interviews with him。 It also went into the background and the lives of the families。 I found it interesting the depth of the phone calls to the one victim Sheri’s sister Dawn。 There were times the book went into a lot of detail and felt it bogged it down。 If you can get past that it’s a good b Going into when a killer calls knowing of the case and victims you would expect it to be a little boring but that was not the case for this book。The book went into more profiling and tracking Bell down and interviews with him。 It also went into the background and the lives of the families。 I found it interesting the depth of the phone calls to the one victim Sheri’s sister Dawn。 There were times the book went into a lot of detail and felt it bogged it down。 If you can get past that it’s a good book。Overall if you know of the cases things are learned in the book that you will not get other than from a profiler and if you do not know of the cases this is a book to learn about the victims and profiling。 。。。more
Elspeth
，
This book was a summary of how John Douglas used profiling techniques to solve the kidnapping/murder of two girls。 While this may have been an interesting case on its own and very impressive that Dawn， the sister of the first girl that was kidnapped and murdered， allowed herself to be bait for the capture of the "unsub" suspect， I found Douglas' writing to diverge into tangents too often and hard to keep my interest。 I did read Manhunter before and remember enjoying it， but this story just didn' This book was a summary of how John Douglas used profiling techniques to solve the kidnapping/murder of two girls。 While this may have been an interesting case on its own and very impressive that Dawn， the sister of the first girl that was kidnapped and murdered， allowed herself to be bait for the capture of the "unsub" suspect， I found Douglas' writing to diverge into tangents too often and hard to keep my interest。 I did read Manhunter before and remember enjoying it， but this story just didn't resonate with me。 I would have preferred to hear more about the crime itself rather than the history of the behavioral unit and lots of details about the unit itself and the thought process on why they profiled the unsub the way they did。 。。。more
Brad
，
When a Killer Calls by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker is about a case that was first mentioned in Mindhunters - the Shari Smith kidnapping and murder by Larry Gene Bell。 Shari Smith was abducted from the driveway of her family home a few days before her high school graduation。 Bell called the family from multiple pay phones putting them through hell over the fate of Shari。 Several days later he abducted 9-year-old Debra May Helmick from her front yard。 The book shows the intense fear the communi When a Killer Calls by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker is about a case that was first mentioned in Mindhunters - the Shari Smith kidnapping and murder by Larry Gene Bell。 Shari Smith was abducted from the driveway of her family home a few days before her high school graduation。 Bell called the family from multiple pay phones putting them through hell over the fate of Shari。 Several days later he abducted 9-year-old Debra May Helmick from her front yard。 The book shows the intense fear the community had - and the early lack of leads for Smith's killer。 There's a lot of detail on the work of Douglas's profile group and just how close to describing Bell it was。 There's a lot written about the courage and faith of the Smith family， especially Dawn Smith， Shari's older sister。 （Bob Smith， Shari's father， was actually a prison chaplain。） Douglas was a big help in the interrogation of Bell， getting him as close to a confession as anyone。 Douglas also testified in the trial where Bell's behavior was demonstrative and silly at times。A good choice for readers who want true crime and the impact and process of criminal profiling。 。。。more
Mehva
，
This is a very very detailed account of the search for two kidnapped girls， who were eventually murdered and the search for the killer and the process of bringing him to justice。 It was interesting， but if you aren't interested in the details， it was a little dry This is a very very detailed account of the search for two kidnapped girls， who were eventually murdered and the search for the killer and the process of bringing him to justice。 It was interesting， but if you aren't interested in the details， it was a little dry 。。。more
Jen Juenke
，
This is the story that I remember from John Douglas and Mark Olshaker。 A whodunit， a real thriller true crime story。 I absolutely loved that the author went back to his roots and came back with a strong book。The story is about how a young lady and a small girl were kidnapped and brutally murdered by Mr Bell。 I loved how the author laid out the crime， how the police and the FBI came to work together。 I absolutely LOVED how they solved the crime。 I won't spoil it， but DANG technology and teamwork This is the story that I remember from John Douglas and Mark Olshaker。 A whodunit， a real thriller true crime story。 I absolutely loved that the author went back to his roots and came back with a strong book。The story is about how a young lady and a small girl were kidnapped and brutally murdered by Mr Bell。 I loved how the author laid out the crime， how the police and the FBI came to work together。 I absolutely LOVED how they solved the crime。 I won't spoil it， but DANG technology and teamwork made it work。 The only downside was the trial of the killer。 I thought that we had already heard about the crime， defendant， we didn't need another 40 pages of the court proceedings。Overall a solid true crime book。 。。。more
Valerity （Val）
，
I enjoyed this book， despite having read another book about the case。 Seeing it from the profilers’ perspective made this book for me。 I’ve enjoyed several other books from these authors。 This killer was just so reprehensible。 Very good true crime。 I received an advance review copy for free， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。
Katee
，
Thank you to Dey Street Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review。When a Killer Calls tells the story of the kidnapping and murders in 1985 of Shari Smith and Debra May Helmick right outside their homes by the same individual within weeks of each other。 Local law enforcement called in the FBI to help with their investigation。 Through their working with the FBI， they were able to determine who their murderer was and bring him to trial。I'm going to Thank you to Dey Street Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review。When a Killer Calls tells the story of the kidnapping and murders in 1985 of Shari Smith and Debra May Helmick right outside their homes by the same individual within weeks of each other。 Local law enforcement called in the FBI to help with their investigation。 Through their working with the FBI， they were able to determine who their murderer was and bring him to trial。I'm going to be honest， I think this could have been more easily as a podcast episode than a 336 page nonfiction book。 There just isn't enough information that I think warrants a book of this size。 I hate to say that because I think the deaths of these girls matter， but in a world that's being saturated by true crime material their stories will be forgotten in this format。 Their killer， who I'm not naming here， was a narcissist and a good portion of the book focuses on him and his antics in the courthouse。 From reading the book， that seemed to be where the majority of the information for the book actually came from because there wasn't much that could be derived from the investigation that would lead towards a compelling narrative for readers。 I've read other collaborations by the authors in the past have enjoyed their other books before but this one missed the mark for me。 。。。more
Susan Csoke
，
Teenager Shari Smith was abducted from the driveway of her home。 Soon after nine year old Debra Helmick was abducted fom her yard。 John Douglas devised a risky strategy to capture the serial killer。 Thankyou Goodreads for this free book。
Paula
，
When a Killer Calls by John E。 Douglas and Mark Olshaker was an interesting book and featured several true crime stories。 The book begins with a girl， Shari， who is abducted and weaves other crime stories into the main story。 The book was well written and provided a lot of details and inside information。 I would rate this a 4 out of 5 for true crime。 #WhenaKillerCalls #NetGalley
Shasta
，
As with any true crime book it can be fairly hard to review because of the subject matter。 However， John Douglas is incredibly knowledgeable and credible so you know you’re getting facts！ The writing is well done， and flows easily。 If you are in to true crime this is a book for you！
dylan
，