Roy Wenzl
Author of Bind, Torture, Kill: The Inside Story of BTK, the Serial Killer Next Door
Works by Roy Wenzl
Bind, Torture, Kill: The Inside Story of BTK, the Serial Killer Next Door (2007) 304 copies, 11 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- Journalist
- Organizations
- The Wichita Eagle
- Short biography
- Roy Wenzl is a reporter for The Wichita Eagle. Two of his serial narratives, 'Saving Dad' and 'Hope City',were published in Reader's Digest. He has won national awards, including a first place from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2001 for the serial narrative, 'The Hero's Son.' He was the primary author of The Wichita Eagle's book about the BTK serial killer, published by Harper Collins in 2007: 'Bind, Torture, Kill, The Inside story of the Serial Killer Next Door.' In 1981 he was part of the newsroom team at The Kansas City Star and Times that won a 1982 Pulitzer prize for coverage of the Hyatt hotel skywalks collapse. He has taught writing in newsrooms, in university classrooms, at the national IRE convention, at National Writers Workshops and at the American Press Institute. He's a native Kansan, a farmer's son, a graduate of Kansas State University, and a grandfather.
Members
Reviews
BTK is one of those True Crime books about serial killers that spends more time on those involved in apprehending the killer (law enforcement and media, mainly) than on the motivations and personal life of the serial killer, and for those looking to dwell in the dark and murky details of the deviant murderer’s inner mind (not that that’s a bad thing, mind you), this can be somewhat of a disappointment. Those expecting to spend excessive time on BTK’s origins and double-life as a sex show more crime serial killer and beloved father and respected member of the community will find themselves instead delving deep into the lives and relationships of those members of the police force and news media that spent decades documenting his crimes and tracking him down. This is not a knock against the book, which is expertly researched and presented, but rather a warning for those looking to become more “intimate” with BTK.
The book follows the history of the BTK saga chronologically – with the occasional flashback – starting with his first kill, and to the book’s credit, the murders are described in full as they occurred, so the reader is not left to puzzle over the crime scenes along with the detectives and reporters. There are probably other books out there that focus more on the killer and his acts, but the attention to the law enforcement side offers greater detail to the extent of the manhunt, the obstacles it had to overcome, and most importantly, gives a greater appreciation as to why it took decades for them to finally track down a killer who turned out to be far less intelligent than most assumed. The book is detailed without dwelling masochistically on those details, and the occasional sidetracks the narrative takes lend a human depth to the perception of the side of the story that receives less of the spotlight. A great read that manages to be informative without descending into morbidity. Bonus points for a brief but rather unflattering behind-the-scenes cameo by John Walsh and his America’s Most Wanted sideshow. show less
The book follows the history of the BTK saga chronologically – with the occasional flashback – starting with his first kill, and to the book’s credit, the murders are described in full as they occurred, so the reader is not left to puzzle over the crime scenes along with the detectives and reporters. There are probably other books out there that focus more on the killer and his acts, but the attention to the law enforcement side offers greater detail to the extent of the manhunt, the obstacles it had to overcome, and most importantly, gives a greater appreciation as to why it took decades for them to finally track down a killer who turned out to be far less intelligent than most assumed. The book is detailed without dwelling masochistically on those details, and the occasional sidetracks the narrative takes lend a human depth to the perception of the side of the story that receives less of the spotlight. A great read that manages to be informative without descending into morbidity. Bonus points for a brief but rather unflattering behind-the-scenes cameo by John Walsh and his America’s Most Wanted sideshow. show less
I'm surprised by how much this book sucked me in, as I'm not the type who normally likes to read about serial killers or has much interest in them. But this book does a good job of making the people involved seem real, and I was anxious to see justice done by the end of the book.
BTK - short for Bind, Torture, Kill - somehow managed to elude capture for over thirty years. He left behind DNA at the scenes (although, at the time, that was pretty useless), and he communicated infrequently with the police through letters, poems, and clippings. And, for a long time, it seemed that BTK had gone dormant. Perhaps he had died, or gone to prison for another crime, or moved away. But after the local paper, the Wichita Eagle, ran a thirty-year memorial of the Otero murders, show more BTK's first, he resurfaced again, playing a cat and mouse game with the police officers who were desperate to capture him. In the end, two things got BTK captured: a computer disk, and his own ego.
This book was written by several authors, all of whom worked at the Wichita Eagle and were involved in reporting the crime for numerous years. The police officers involved in the manhunt gave the authors a great deal of insider information for the book, which makes this read differently than most true crime books. Not only do the authors paint a picture of Dennis Rader, but they give equal (if not more) time to Ken Landwehr and the numerous other detectives involved.
It's an interesting and compelling read, and it amazes me that Rader had seriously gotten away with murder, if he hadn't decided that he wanted the headlines and attention that he felt he "deserved" as a serial killer. show less
This book was written by several authors, all of whom worked at the Wichita Eagle and were involved in reporting the crime for numerous years. The police officers involved in the manhunt gave the authors a great deal of insider information for the book, which makes this read differently than most true crime books. Not only do the authors paint a picture of Dennis Rader, but they give equal (if not more) time to Ken Landwehr and the numerous other detectives involved.
It's an interesting and compelling read, and it amazes me that Rader had seriously gotten away with murder, if he hadn't decided that he wanted the headlines and attention that he felt he "deserved" as a serial killer. show less
I really enjoyed this book. It goes beyond just the police notes or just the newspapers. It really delves into all the viewpoints including that of BTK himself using all the different historic files from the story. It puts together the pieces in chronological order with a chilling amount of detail. You feel invested in the outcome of the case, the news articles and the lives of those involved. It was honestly the best nonfiction, true crime stories I've read and I commend those involved, show more especially Wenzl. show less
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 4
- Members
- 468
- Popularity
- #52,558
- Rating
- 3.6
- Reviews
- 11
- ISBNs
- 14
- Languages
- 2
