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29 Works 965 Members 8 Reviews 1 Favorited

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Includes the name: CARLTON SMITH

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Works by Carlton Smith

The Search for the Green River Killer (1991) — Author — 273 copies
Cold Blooded (2019) 56 copies
Murder at Yosemite (1999) 40 copies
Vanished (2005) 34 copies
Seeds of Evil (1997) 27 copies

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This is like, the worst book I have ever read the whole way through. The writing is absolutely horrible. Almost the entire first quarter is taken up with the story of the kidnapping of the killer's brother, which I already read about in [b:I Know My First Name Is Steven|75502|I Know My First Name Is Steven|Mike Echols|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170876560s/75502.jpg|73038]. WHHYYY. All other parts were either really slow moving and boring (entire chapters focus on people who have absolutely nothing to do with the case except for being suspects due to being shifty people on parole) or was about things that seemed like they would be interesting but completely glossed over (it seems like a grand total of 5 pages at most were dedicated to the final murder of a Yosemite employee). Dull! Can learn more reading a few newspaper articles. And whenever the author attempted to draw more universal conclusion it was totally half-assed. Like, is Smith really trying to blame the mother in this? Seriously? I don't think so. Written to grab a quick buck... this was published even before the trial concluded.… (more)
 
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Joanna.Oyzon | 1 other review | Apr 17, 2018 |
I found the beginning of this book to be tedious and unnecessarily slow. I get the need to paint a picture for the reader and to set the scene, but I don't need to go back 100 years in the past of the town the crime took place, I don't need to know how and by whom the town was founded. And I don't need to know how far back the murderers and conspirators can trace their lineage. However, once the book finally moved away from that and onto the actual families and people in intimately involved in the crime, I found the book engrossing and a fast-paced, interesting read that I really did quite enjoy. I was surprised and disappointed to find out, however, that ironically while the beginning of the book was slow and tedious with unnecessary and uninteresting information that had nothing or at least very little to do with the actual people and the actual crime, the end of the book (especially the last chapter) not only went too fast to the point of giving the feeling of being rushed but the author never said how the jury trial went. Whether Joel and Dana were convicted, and if so what their sentence was. He never mentioned what became of Jack Ponce and Peter Radovcich, either. Nor whatever happened with Monica Zent and her father. A lot of unanswered questions and an open-ended ending. Also, the author seems to have some kind of an odd disdain for people who are part of Generation X that I find eyebrow-raising at best, and oddly attributes Dana and Joel being part of this generation as at least reason in part for the way they "turned out," for lack of a better phrasing, which makes no sense whatsoever. The meat of the book was interesting and I easily got lost in it, but overall because of the beginning and lackluster (and incomplete) ending, it's not anything special. I'd recommend it to other true crime fans, but I would feel an obligation to caution them about the problems with the ending. I will admit that the ending is the way it is because the book was published a year before the outcome of the jury trials, but that really only means that perhaps the author should've waited a little longer to publish. It's also possible there is an updated version of this book that I don't know about. But that isn't the book I read, and I don't read true crime novels to create my own ending or have to Google the actual outcome.… (more)
 
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madam_razz | Jan 19, 2017 |
on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 I wrote:

I had it set as available (on bookcrossing) because of the bad reviews on amazon.
Well,I am reading it now and yes now I do understand the bad reviews.
Carlton Smith is not writing like he should have, neutral, but he is constantly telling us that poor serial killer, had suffered a mayor head trauma, so it was not really his fault.

I tried to skip those parts and then it is a good read.
What I think is annoying, he seems to know more negative facts about the victims than about the serial killer Adam Ford.
… (more)
 
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Marlene-NL | 1 other review | Mar 12, 2016 |
The book starts with the abduction of Steven Stayner from Merced, CA which is very close to Yosemite National Park, on December 4, 1972. He was a prisoner of a pedophile for seven years. The murders covered in this book began in February 1999. The man arrested for these murders was Steven’s older brother Cary Stayner.

After covering the abduction and briefly touching on what life with his ‘false’ dad was like, the effect his abduction and return had on his family in general, we get to the murders. The is rather detailed in describing the investigation, into what would turn out to be the wrong suspects, this leads to questions about the lead FBI investigators and speculation that had the FBI not focused their investigation in the wrong direction, the fourth victim would still be alive. This is just speculation of course, there was no reason for Stayner to be suspected. He had legitimate reason to be at the hotel where the victims were staying.

Unfortunately the book was published before Stayner went to trial, I found the results of the trial at Crime Library. I have also listed them below. Some friend of mine thought the book was boring. I don’t agree with them, but if you like trial details and investigation details as opposed to historical details you might not like this book.

Since the fourth murder was in the park, Stayner was tried in Federal court.
On 2/11/2000 the Feds declared their intention to seek the death penalty.
July 12,2000 a federal judge ruled that the government could seek the death penalty.
September 15, 2000 Stayner plead guilty and confessed to the murder of Joie Armstrong thus saving his life.

In the trial for the other three murders:
August 26, 2002: Stayner was found guilty.
September 16, 2002: Stayner was declared sane.
October 9, 2002: Jury recommended death. Appeal is automatic.

That is all the information that was on that site. Considering how long the appeal process is for death-penalty cases, I wouldn’t be surprised if Cary Stayner is still on death row. Also, some of the details in the Crime Library account and this book are different. Not hugely different however.
… (more)
 
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BellaFoxx | 1 other review | Feb 19, 2015 |

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