This is a very in-depth look at the police cold case work in attempting to solve a string of murders all thought to have been committed by Samuel Little who became known as the most prolific serial killer in the United States. Jillian is writing a book about these murders when she contacts the killer and visits him in prison hoping he will tell who the victims were and how he disposed of their bodies. It is gruesome in many of the details but if you are a serious reader of true crime novels this is one you must read. I found it really hard to read in some places but I am not usually drawn to books of this kind. The book was well researched and the author did a good job of weaving the story of all these murders into an interested book. It is amazing he went so long without being captured and convicted.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Behold the Moster is a good book for true crime lovers. Sam Little was a serial killer that confessed to killing 93 women and the FBI and law enforcement have confirmed 60 cases. The women Sam killed were alone in this world. He would prey on women without families, prostitues, and drug addicted.

Sam Little talked with the author, Jillian Lauren, and confessed to many murders on a taped lines while he was behind bars.. The author worked with the FBI and law enforcement to find some of the victims. She interviewed family members and was able to find four women that escaped from certain death by Sam Little.

This is a very detailed book and much research went into the writing. Many things about this topic and this case in particular is disturbing. Jillian Lauren has to have nightmares about this guy even though he passed from Covid in 2020.

This book is for lovers of true crime books. There are lots of details in this book. This book is not for the feint hearted.. I would like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of Behold the Monster in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #JuillianLauren #BeholdtheMonster

I didn’t finish this one. It just seemed to go on and on and on with nothing actually being said. There have been less than a handful of books I’ve not finished so you know it’s bad. The writing style was really choppy, like some of the pages I had to go back and reread because I thought I missed something but no, it was just all over the place.

Terrifying, but in a good way. A great meld of journalism and interesting writing. I very much enjoyed it!

This. was.... okay. Like the opening was fascinating to see this insight into the author's mind and drug addiction. but like it just fell off the rails after - i had to dnf.

Behold the Monster by Jillian Lauren

Pace: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Overall Enjoyment: 5/5

Jillian Lauren wrote Sam Little in order to find out more information about his years as a serial killer. What she found out though was more than anyone actually expected. Confessing to 93 women and how he was able to evade capture and manipulate the detectives for four decades. The descriptive nature from Sam Little was almost too. Much sometimes because he seemed to remember so much about each woman. Behold the Monster is a gripping true crime that is enriched by deep descriptions. Her conversations with Little were all recreated in a natural way. Sam Little is a Monster and is something nightmares are made of. Lauren is able to obtain information that will ultimately help law enforcement place all of his victims together and ensure his demise.


Release Date July 18, 2023 Can’t wait

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Jillian Lauren gets up close and personal with a monster while interviewing the a prolific serial killer Sam Little.

It goes without saying that this book is a difficult read. A shocking and disturbing look into the final moments of the women he killed. The Author interviewed him while he drew pictures of the women and gave account of their final moments. Little has been linked to over 90 murders.
At times I found it confusing as she flip flopped between names and genders on one particular victim.
While I understand she mixed some fiction to try to give a little more perspective, but at times it came across harsh towards the victim.

It was too much for me, to hear all the ugly details of his kills. I was more interested in the trial transcripts and what makes someone capable of such evil. Disgusting to see how he got away with so much even with his extensive rap sheet.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I chose this book! Wow, Samuel Little, what a piece of work! Given the circumstances and the decades of evil inflicted, it is impressive that his story could be pieced together allowing closure for some families and giving those women who died a name. The details shared, investigate work from departments countrywide and the author's devotion to integrity bring clarity to the many facets of this serial killer's upbringing, choices, thought processes, the women murdered and the trauma remaining for the few who survived. Well written, sad, and disturbing.

I guess I thought I like non fiction stories more than I did? This really wasn’t for me. I love true crime shows and podcasts I just couldn’t get into reading about it. I think the writing was good I just wanted more from the story.

This was a difficult read. I'd heard of Sam Little but didn't know too much about him. And now I know more than I ever could want to know. He murdered many women of color and that alone makes the story worth it so we never forget who they were (60 have been confirmed but there are still 30ish that haven't been).

I found the writing to be a bit choppy. Bouncing back and forth between different time lines with irregularity. I'm also not a fan of the victim's parts of a true crime read being fictionalized. I understand that sometimes blanks have to be filled in but I felt like it was too much in this book.

If you're into true crime, you know how Sam Little is just constantly breezed over even though his body count is much much higher than other known serial killers.

This was a great look into his thoughts and well written story telling. Reminds me a bit of Michelle McNamara's work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book had everything I wanted. The writing was raw, honest, and funny and never had a moment where I was left wondering. The author Jillian Lauren helped the reader to feel as if you were a part of the interviews with her and sam. The additions of the victims stories written in third person perspective allows for me as the reader to not only sympathize with the victim but with sam as well a little which is a tricky thing to be able to do let alone as many times as she did. Giving us the sheriff who eventually arrested him perspective's was another layer that I did not know I needed but ended up loving. It not only brought some comedy to the book as well. It allows for everyone to understand that everyone is human, the killer, the victim, the sheriff, and the author. Overall I would give this book 4.5/5 stars only because sometimes I was a little confused on where the present ended and the past began.

Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own. Like many I was extremely excited for this book. Very little was known about Sam Little before 2020. It seemed as if all his crimes kind of disappeared and he was given a golden ticket. Yes, Little was in prison but his many victims were and their families didn’t have the peace they deserved.

As a woman of color this was particularly hard for me to read as we were his major targets. When these stories and these victims were laid out for us by the author it was not told in typical true crime fashion and the author’s personal experience with abuse started the story which initially confused me. I found that I wasn’t sure if this was more fiction than fact at certain points and I know a lot of inference had to be made because you cannot trust the stories of a serial killer especially not almost 5 decades later.

The parts that really devastated was that after all this time there are still more than 20+ individuals whose stories and whereabouts are still unknown. It is extremely scary and frustrating especially with technological advances but I know that with the proper time and research these cases will be closed and these families will be at peace. I do not see myself reading this one again as it was an extremely vivid and difficult read but I am happy I gave it a try.

Happy reading everyone and if you do purchase this one keep on the bedroom light.

Jillian Lauren takes us on a journey of bringing to life the victims of the most prolific serial killer, Sam Little. This story is just absolutely mindboggling in that there were so many offenses that he committed, not including the murders of 93 victims across 34 years, multiple states and multiple times in each of those states, and I mean multiple states. Several times through the book Jillian reminds us in a list form of the cars he drove, the names of his victims, as well as his arrest record from various states. It's haunting in it's simplicity of the depth and length. He could have been stopped. He wasn't. It took multiple agencies, multiple people doing the hard diligent work of bringing it all together, and that work is continuing even to this day. His story is told through Jillian's first hand account of multiple phone calls and face to face interactions with Sam Little, and while I sit here in stunned disbelief of the details that are known now, it's just simply mindboggling to try and wrap your head around Sam Little, his motives, his story, his life, his destruction of families, the ripple effect of his atrocities. Thank you Jillian for bringing this to the world, for bringing the victims to life and giving them a voice that most didn't know and would have been lost without all that you have uncovered. A story I won't soon forget.
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

A dark, scary and interesting look into the mind of a serial killer. Sam Little is one of the most prolific serial killers in US history and most people don't know who he is. The author gives us a deep look into not only his crimes, but the events in his life that shaped him into the monster he became.

Some parts were long and drawn out. Sometimes the timeline got a little muddled, but overall, fantastic work. Scenes, people, events, were described so the reader doesn't have to focus on this; just the person present whose story is being told. This will be a great read rec for those seasoned true crime readers. I wouldn't necessary give this to a first timer to the genre. This book definitely leaves you with a lot of unanswered questions and curiosities.

As a true crime junkie, Behold the Monster is a fascinating read.
Learning about Sam Little , a serial killer not many may know. Also, with an in-depth look from inside the authorities.
Great research was put into this book and it shows.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I have always had a fascination with true crime especially crimes that are serial in nature. Samuel Luttle is truly a horrific story to dive in to but it is well worth the time and energy. I appreciate how methodical the author was in their research h and conversations.

Some people may be put off by the author's inclusion of their own personal history during the writing of this piece...as well as the inclusion of some fictional accounts of the lives of the victims prior to meeting Little. For me I was more put off on the victims fictional accounts, but in attempts to humanize them, I can see why that might be something an author would do. But I would say if that is a problem, maybe skip those sections if it's easier on your conscience. All in all this was a very interesting read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

Behold the Monster gives an in-depth look at the relationship between the most prolific serial killer in the US, Sam Little and the author Jillian Lauren. This book had been on my TBR since watching the associated documentary Confronting a Serial Killer and I thank Netgalley and Sourcebooks for an advance copy in return for an honest review.
The amount of time and dedication that Jillian Lauren put into Behold the Monster is apparent from the first page. You can feel her anxiety and anticipation as she visits with Sam to procure the murderous details that ultimately help convict him on numerous unsolved cold cases. Driven by her need to help the unnamed victims, Jillian takes you down the path that consumed her life for many years and I found it hard to put down while reading about her experiences face-to-face with Sam, the multiple detectives, the families, and in the courtroom.
However, I was a bit put off by the addition of the 'fictional' chapters of Sam Little's victims. I appreciate that she was trying to give a voice to those that he murdered, but to me these chapters felt more like a dramatization that didn't need to be there. The story of Jillian and Sam has such an impact, that reading more about their interactions would have made a stronger impression.
I felt that the best way to review Behold the Monster was to separate the fiction from the non-fiction. I believe that the non-fiction first hand account from Jillian deserves 4.5 stars, but for me the fictional chapters were only 3 stars. Overall, I give the book 3.75 stars (rounded up to 4).

Behold The Monster, by Jillian Lauren.
This is the story of Sam Little, known as the most prolific serial killer.

Unfortunately I had a hard time reading the story, as it bounced around about his life, and written in a way that was not conducive to a good read for me. Her writing was jumpy, and rough, in the way that she laid out the story. It would go from his later life to his earlier life, and back, which made it hard to track what he did and when.
True Crime has always been a favorite read for me, and it's rare for me to give up on a book, but I just couldn't finish it.
I did receive this book as an ARC (advanced reader copy). This review is my own honest opinion of the book, and in all honesty not one I feel that I can recommend.