“Behold the Monster” is an uncomfortable read, but that is exactly what it should be. The author gets a little too close for comfort to serial killer Samuel Little, but in doing so helps to answer the pervasive question of “why” someone might be motivated to commit the acts that he did. The answer is vile and unflinching. In exploring his motivation and trying to give a name as well as a voice to his victims, author Jillian Lauren tells the story in a partially autobiographical manner, exploring her motivations for capturing the story in the first place, which in turn causes the reader to reflect on the reasons for reading such a disturbing tale. The sheer number of Little’s victims, along with his method of choosing them, could lead to them being anonymized and forgotten, but Lauren lists them in painstaking detail and tells their stories so that they may be remembered. This book is a page turner.

Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer.....names we are familiar with, even if we don't know all the details. However, told from the author's account of her interviews and research over several years, she brings to life the world of Samuel Little, the most prolific serial killer in US history, in horrifying detail. As a fan of some true crime stories, I found this subject interesting, and the story was so much more horrifying and shocking than I ever anticipated. Confessing to about 93 suspected victims (some near my home region!) and over half of those confirmed by FBI documentation is astounding, mesmerizing, and incredibly disturbing. Jillian Lauren did a fabulous job of bringing this little-known gruesome story to light. Definitely one to check out for fans of true crime. Thank you to Jillian Lauren, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc.

Intriguing and chilling look into the mind of serial killer Samuel Little. Author Jillian Lauren does a great job of characterizing the experiences of both the killer and his victims. Very interesting book that kept my attention from start to finish.

"Behold the Monster" was an interesting and unusual book. The story focuses on Samuel Little, the most prolific serial killer in US history. But also, someone you have probably never heard of, especially as his killing spree spanned decades, spanned the country, focused on women whom society ignored, and it was rather late in his murderous career before the authorities started linking unsolved murders and realized they were dealing with a serial killer. Although the book is about Little, it is also just as much about his victims, the journalist who developed a close relationship of sorts with Little to obtain the information for her story (which turned into a much bigger project than expected, and into this book) and help link Sam's memories with cold cases (including helping solve a case), and the law enforcement officers, especially one larger-than-life Texas Ranger, gathering the evidence to solve their cold cases and make sure Little was convicted for at least some of his crimes. Fair warning, the book contains a lot of crude and derogatory language, mostly in relations to the victims, with the author and the police often mirroring the derogatory language that Little uses as a way to establish rapport with him and keep him talking. Little was in and out of trouble for most of his life, but he often found ways to escape serious punishment. Behold the Monster is an apt title, because apparently Sam could be rather charming and persuasive, and by the time he revealed his dark side, it was usually too late.

Behold the Monster: Confronting America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer
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Author: Jillian Lauren

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Sourcebooks and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: He was sitting right across the table...and he would have killed her if he could. Jillian Lauren had no idea what she was getting into when she wrote her first letter to prolific serial killer Samuel Little. All she knew was her research had led her to believe he was guilty of many more murders than the three for which he had been convicted. While the two exchanged dozens of letters and embarked on hundreds of hours of interviews, Lauren gained the trust of a monster. After maintaining his innocence for decades, Little confessed to the murders of ninety-three women, often drawing his victims in haunting detail as he spoke. How could one man evade justice, manipulating the system for more than four decades? As the FBI, the DOJ, the LAPD, and countless law enforcement officials across the country worked to connect their cold cases with the confessions, Lauren's coverage of the investigations and obsession with Little's victims only escalated.

My Thoughts: I have always had a fascination with serial killers, such as Bundy and Gacy. While I liked the aspect of this book, the format of it was a little confusing. This is the story of Sam Little, a serial killer, who caused chaos in the lives of many young women and their families with almost 90 killings and only four victims lived to tell about it. The author made many visits to him in prison and spoke with him on the phone several times. Sam Little is a very dark and disturbed person, his birth was chaotic, his upbringing was evil, and his thought process extremely dark. Little only prayed on women who would not necessarily be missed, drug addicts and prostitutes, easy targets. His evil of choice was strangulation. Little confessed to a total of 93 women he killed, and at the time of this book, the FBI has only been able to confirm 60 deaths.

This was the first serial killer true crime book that I have read in a long while. Other than the format being confusing, I felt like the author added a lot of her own opinion to this book, crossing the line from non-fiction to fiction. I would love to have seen more trial transcripts or even interviews with the jail psychologist into the workings of his mind. There is no doubt that Little was pure evil and what he did was horrendous. Overall, this was an enjoyable book that I would recommend to other readers.

Remarkable! Different than all true crime I've read. A must read for all TC lovers! I received this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I knew some about Samuel Little, but learned a lot more. I still can’t decide if I liked the fictionalized accounts of his victims or not. It does give them a voice, but I think if I’m reading true crime, that is what I want, true crime. Overall, an interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks (non-fiction) and Jillian Lauren for the eARC.

Before reading this book, all I really knew about Samuel Little was that he was the most prolific serial killer in the United States. He confessed to killing 93 women between 1970 and 2005, with 60 of those murders confirmed by the FBI.

This was an interesting read, and I learned a lot. I give credit to the author for being able to sit and talk to this killer for as many hours as she did because he was pretty disgusting. She did gain his trust and, through his confessions, was able to help the FBI connect some of their cold cases.

What I didn't care for about this book was the formatting. The author fictionalized the victims' first encounters and last moments with the killer. I think this may have been done as a way to give them a voice, but ultimately, it distracted from the fact that this is a true crime account and perhaps bordered on being disrespectful in some cases.

I also thought the naming of each state he killed in and the nicknames for his victims was way too repetitive and got very annoying towards the end.

I did like that the author included transcripts from the trial near the end of the book. It included testimony from one of his victims who escaped, and I admired her strength and bravery.

Overall, I do think this is a good book to read if you want to learn more about Samuel Little. This author definitely got to know him very well.

Thank you, @netgalley and @sourcebooks, for the gifted e-arc!

3.5 stars rounded

4 stars. I really love when true crime books focus on lesser known killers. While Samuel Little isn't exactly unknown, I hadn't read a book about him yet. Very creepy man and Jillian is a very brave soul.

Really enjoying this, as a huge true crime fan i love discovering new authors that i havent read before in this genre, especially female authors. I found the book captivating and i had never heard/read about this serial killer before. Sometimes, the book jumped around a bit in a way that i felt confused on who's story was being told (the author? the victim?) but otherwise an overall good reading experience.

This was challenging to get through. The author flips between fiction and nonfiction, and writes imaginings of some of the killings, presumably based on her conversations with prolific serial killer, Samuel Little. The language she uses was hard to grapple with — the fictionalized retellings seemed harsh toward the victims at times, and some of the stories about Sam’s childhood seemed to (intentionally or not) excuse his later criminal behavior. It was hard to switch back and forth between the two types of story telling, and I felt like it was jumping around and hard to follow at times. I would have liked some more reporting on the actual police work that happened, as well as some more court room reporting. This largely focused on the killings, and might be too much for some readers!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital arc of this book!

This was riveting! Jillian Lauren, a writer with no true crime experience as far as I could tell, visits with Samuel Little, America's most prolific serial killer, in prison to try to find out the details of his many crimes. Little murdered women throughout the United States over many decades, and Lauren was able to get details from him that no one else was. Reading her accounts of her meetings with him was chilling, but I found it very interesting that he was so willing to talk to her when he didn't even know her and she had no ties to him, the victims, or the police. It seems like he really wanted to just get his stories out there after all this time, but he wasn't remorseful, which makes reading his words really difficult at times. Lauren takes some liberties by writing some of the victims' stories as if she were there, putting thoughts and motives behind their actions that we don't know are completely true. I thought I would have a harder time with that, as the victims themselves aren't around to speak for themselves, but ultimately I think it gave some much-needed context to their stories and gave the reader a better understanding of who these women were.

True crime books suck as this are always kinda intense. Listening to the terrible crimes that were committed and hearing the perpetrators own words about these crimes just brings it to a whole new level. I'm not sure how Lauren had the stomach to sit with this man and listen to him talk about his crimes and his life, but I salute her for giving names to the victims she could and helping to give these victims voices and give some answers to the families

“I tattooed swallows on my chest for them to remind me that while you reach into the dark waters, turn your face to the sky.”

the book talks about sam’s victims and their stories. it includes interviews with family members as well. those who escaped sam, also provide insight to their nightmare. sam is so disturbing. this book was hard to read! he confessed to 93 women. the FBI confirmed 60 of them.

I'll start by saying I didn't finish this book. I wanted to like this book, but I struggled hard. For me the book was very much very hot and cold. There were passages that were really good. For example, some of the detailed murder scenes were done really well. Great detail and pretty believable as far as what could have been going through the victim's head, the descriptions torn clothing etc. Unfortunately, there were other passages that just left me very confused. There were times where there would be a quick description of a conversation Little had with someone. I would read it several times over and still be lost on what the point was or what it was supposed to mean. This occurred mostly when describing short back and forth described by Little, not during conversations with victim prior to or during a murder. The other thing that bothered me and I'm not sure if I just didn't understand the passages or if the author didn't know Martine Luther King Jr and Malcom X were not the same person, but there were at least two times it seemed like there were being used interchangeably. The second time I even had my wife read the passage to see if it was just me. She agreed that it seemed like the names were being used interchangeably but said either way it was confusing. It bothered us to the point we took to doing a little digging to see if the passage was describing something else about when they died that would explain what we were reading. We never did figure it out. This one just wasn't for me.

This was an interesting read. I enjoy true crime and knew a little about Sam Little but not a ton so it was interesting learning about him. I listened on audio and sometimes found it a little hard to follow but still enjoyed the book. The story was extremely well researched. I loved the way the author gave the victims a voice. I was amazed with the way Jillian was able to aid with investigations and help give families some answers. It was interesting hearing about Jillian's relationship with Sam.

This book is difficult and haunting but worth a read if you like true crime.

I usually like true crime, but I just can’t get into
This one. I have tried multiple times and it’s not catching my attention unfortunately. I didn’t like the way it was being told.

True crime at its finest - I love when an author can show me inside the mind of a criminal . Humans are fascinating and I love seeing how a story unfolds .
This one did not disappoint - if you love true crime , serial killers , and bingable reads then this one is for you !

This was such a fascinating true crime novel! There were many similar facts that I already knew, but also new to me information. It was an easy dialogue to navigate and held my attention to the very last page. Highly recommend for all the true crime junkies out there!

Behold the Monster is up there with one of the most compelling and horrifying accounts of the reign of murder and terror Sam Little subjected his victims to.

The author approaches this case with fact and imagination which makes it so much more real. Giving voice to the mostly unloved and forgotten victims made this more than a deep dive into the mind of a psychopath serial killer.

It also highlights the racism and judgement Little's victims were subject to, meaning that their murders were barely investigated. Little's rap sheet was prolific, and he was caught mid attack, and yet still, his sentences were ridiculously lenient.

It is only because of dedicated cold case Investigators and the bravery of those like the author, who faced Little in jail to gain his trust and confessions, that the victims secured some kind of justice.

A difficult read, a haunting story but also a fascinating one.