When a Killer Calls: A Haunting Story of Murder, Criminal Profiling, and Justice in a Small Town
- Downloads：2750
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-12-31 19:21:18
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：John E. Douglas
- ISBN：0063074478
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Donna
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This is a chilling account of the murder of two young girls in rural South Carolina。 It follows John Douglas， as the FBI special agent and profiler， as he investigates and delves into the mind of the suspect。 The crimes are heinous， with a perpetrator that is deeply disturbed， but fully aware of his actions。 I have to admit， the story line brought me to tears several times， in part， because I knew this was not fiction。 It was very insightful into the profiling by Mr。 Douglas， the efforts of law This is a chilling account of the murder of two young girls in rural South Carolina。 It follows John Douglas， as the FBI special agent and profiler， as he investigates and delves into the mind of the suspect。 The crimes are heinous， with a perpetrator that is deeply disturbed， but fully aware of his actions。 I have to admit， the story line brought me to tears several times， in part， because I knew this was not fiction。 It was very insightful into the profiling by Mr。 Douglas， the efforts of law enforcement， and the workings of the judicial system in this case， as well as the prior failings of the various systems to incarcerate this man for previous crimes。 The anguish and fear of the two families， and the phone calls the family of Shari Smith had to endure from her murderer are heart wrenching。 It is a well written， totally absorbing book， even though it is not always easy to read。 I did receive an ARC of this book through the publisher and Netgalley， through Scene of the Crime。 I am very glad I did。 。。。more
Dirty Dayna
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Ehh my struggle with true crime right now bothers me I'm so bored of them。it seems I am on a hunt for one to really change my mind and showcase something special。 My issue is that the 。eat of the book is fantastic but they keep getting very over drawn out which takes away from the special and creates a boring vibe Ehh my struggle with true crime right now bothers me I'm so bored of them。it seems I am on a hunt for one to really change my mind and showcase something special。 My issue is that the 。eat of the book is fantastic but they keep getting very over drawn out which takes away from the special and creates a boring vibe 。。。more
Linda Kalies
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I have read many of John Douglas’ books， and while they are typically stark and haunting， they never disappoint。 When a Killer Calls is a heartbreaking true story of the kidnapping and murder of 17 year old Shari Smith。 She was a bright， beautiful， and talented young woman with a future of unlimited options ahead of her until a sadistic monster snuffed it out。 This is not a book for the feint of heart， but you’re looking for a detailed telling that is done with compassion， this is for you。
Mandy Hazen
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Interesting but not really my cup of tea。 Well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story。 I received an advance review copy for free， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。
Erin Stutts
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This book deserves ALL of the stars！ In the same vein as other great true crime books （think American Predator and I'll Be Gone in the Dark）， John Douglas and Mark Olshaker's latest book， When a Killer Calls， tells the story of two murders that take place in rural South Carolina。 The writing is propulsive， and the details of the crimes and the profiles of those involved mesh to create nonfiction that reads like fiction。 I can't recommend this book enough！ Now I need to get my grubby hands on the This book deserves ALL of the stars！ In the same vein as other great true crime books （think American Predator and I'll Be Gone in the Dark）， John Douglas and Mark Olshaker's latest book， When a Killer Calls， tells the story of two murders that take place in rural South Carolina。 The writing is propulsive， and the details of the crimes and the profiles of those involved mesh to create nonfiction that reads like fiction。 I can't recommend this book enough！ Now I need to get my grubby hands on the extensive backlist of this team of writers。 Thank you to Goodreads for organizing the giveaway and especially to Dey Street Books for the copy of the book。 When a Killer Calls is absolutely one of my top books of the year。 Go ahead and preorder this one！ It comes out 2/22， and you're going to love it！ 。。。more
Sheila
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I received an ARC of When a Killer Calls， by John E。 Douglas: Mark Olshaker。 I remember watching a show about Shari。 This book is a story about Shari， who even in the face of death， was an incredible women。 Shari let her faith lead her， in all walks of life。 Shari died way to young。 This book is a testament to Shari and the law enforcement who helped bring her killer to Justice。
Sandie
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May 31， 1985 and Shari Smith had it all。 It was two days before her high school graduation near Columbia， South Carolina and she was to sing the national anthem before the ceremony。 Her high school class was going on a trip to a tropical island after graduation。 She was planning to live in Charlotte for the summer and with her sister， Dawn， perform at Carowinds。 Shari had a boyfriend and a loving family。But none of those plans came to fruition。 On her way home， Shari stopped at the bottom of the May 31， 1985 and Shari Smith had it all。 It was two days before her high school graduation near Columbia， South Carolina and she was to sing the national anthem before the ceremony。 Her high school class was going on a trip to a tropical island after graduation。 She was planning to live in Charlotte for the summer and with her sister， Dawn， perform at Carowinds。 Shari had a boyfriend and a loving family。But none of those plans came to fruition。 On her way home， Shari stopped at the bottom of the driveway to get the family's mail。 That's where her father found the car minutes later， door open， engine running。 There were footprints leading to the mailbox but none returning。 Despite the police being called immediately there was no sign of Shari。 But then the calls started。 The man on the other end admitted to having Shari and instructed her family to expect a letter。 When the letter arrived the next day， it was titled Last Will And Testament and Shari had written it as a love letter to her family。 She knew she was about to be murdered and wanted to reassure her family and urge them to move past her death。 Lawmen had never seen such a thing。 The FBI was called in to assist in finding the man who took Shari。John Douglas was the head of the FBI profiling unit。 He and a co-worker had invented the system of criminal profiling by spending time going from prison to prison interviewing killers。 He had worked on the cases of the Atlanta child murders， the Green River Killer and many other well known cases。 He flew to South Carolina and worked on a profile with the local law establishment。 His profile gave the police a way to narrow down their search。 In the meantime， the man who kidnapped Shari continued to call， asking to speak to either Shari's mother or her sister， Dawn。 He seemed to revel in the pain and anguish these calls produced。After a week， Shari's body was found where the killer had directed Dawn to tell the police it would be。 Then another tragedy。 Nine year old Debra May Helmick was kidnapped from her front yard with her little brother watching。 A week later her body was also found。 Soon afterward， forensic evidence helped the police narrow their search and arrest the killer， Larry Gene Bell。I read everything John Douglas and Mark Olshaker write。 There can be no more authoritative voice in the world of finding killers than John Douglas。 His books portray the process by which such killers are found as well as the effect such a hunt has on the men and women we have charged with doing so。 This book follows through Bell's trails and gives updates on the various people in the book。 It is recommended for readers of true crime。 。。。more
Jodie
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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）
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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