Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy of Behold the Monster by Jillian Lauren!

4 stars

I am rating this book on the research that went into it, and not the content. I like a lot of true crime books /pods / documentaries, however this was a very difficult read for me. So much, that it took an extended amount of time to get through it and sit down to write a review.

The author did a phenomenal job of putting these difficult stories onto paper. She undoubtedly provided closure to many families. Reading the stories of what lead up to the deaths of the women was difficult. Reading how the perpetrator would go home at night and to work the next day turned my stomach...he was living a normal life when he, in fact, was a monster.

If you have a strong stomach then this is the read for you. Again, the author did an amazing job, the subject matter was just too heavy for me.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks, NetGalley, and the author for this ARC.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝔹𝕖𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣
𝗝𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗻
Serial Killers
496 pages

Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs

Journalist Jillian Lauren tells the dark story of serial killer Samuel Little.

Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs

I had a tough time with this one. Reading about serial killers is always dark. This was no different. Jillian interviews Samuel Little and uses those interviews to tell this story. There are so many other things mixed in that it seems like it was thrown together willy-nilly though.

There were lists scattered throughout the book. Lists of names, states, etc. Portions of the story were fictional accounts of the victims’ lives. The investigations are discussed. Going through the court system is in there too. It doesn’t flow cohesively together. Due to that, it didn’t hold my interest.

Those who are very interested in true crime might enjoy this. It is a dry read but includes an incredible amount of information on Samuel Little. Before writing this book, Jillian did a tremendous amount of research, including interviews with Little.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.

Behold the Monster by Jillian Lauren

Like many others, I find True Crime incredibly fascinating but I am not a super fan and had never heard of Samuel Little before.

It was fascinating. I really like Lauren’s voice and presence in the story. Her interactions with Little, law enforcement, survivors, and family made the story more vivid. It’s easy to think of these crimes in the past tense but many of Little’s victims were given as voice.

Thank you @netgalley and @sourcebooks for this advanced reader!

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(DNF, 30%)

This wasn't for me. I'm (like most white women) fascinated by true crime, but the style of telling the victims stories here felt really weird. It seems to straddle a space between fiction and fact, and I'm not comfy with real people's murders being 'expanded on' like that (I also avoid tv/film dramatisations for this reason)

This almost certainly has an audience out there that will love it, but it's not me

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

A thrilling look into the mind of a psychopath, Sam Little. He was America’s most prolific serial killer. This is a very violent story and has just about every trigger warning possible is present here. Major warning to any with squeamish tendencies.

This was a very interesting book. You can tell it was a well researched book and I learned many new details about this case.

Though this book was not for me, you can see the research and time that was spent. Just a bit long winded.

Serial killers and their brains fascinate and horrify me at the same time. I read lots of dark novels, both fiction and nonfiction, but none have been presented in as unique and tasteful a format as this one.

The author did a fantastic job of using her conversations with Sam Little to give a voice to the voiceless- his numerous victims. I was equally interested in Jillian’s interactions with Sam, as I was getting to visualize what each of his victim’s last moments may have been like.

Parts of this book were extremely tough to stomach, and I think that’s due to knowing these events actually happened. Sam’s life was marked with trauma long before he ever laid hands on a woman, and it felt like each year that passed by he became especially incorrigible. I really couldn’t believe how many other people across the course of his life allowed this evil in him to thrive and go on unchecked.

This book is not for those with weak stomachs, but if you have an interest in true crime / serial killers, you should definitely check it out!

Behold the Monster: Confronting Americas Most Prolific Serial Killer
by Jillian Lauren
3 stars

Jillian confronts a twisted individual to find out more. What might take everyone by surprise is how many women this one man has killed.

This book was just not for me, I enjoyed it a bit here and there. I like watching documentaries of true crime but reading them isn't for me. I love Jillians writing and how she told the story. She included the victims more than I thought would be in the book. For her to go and sit and talk with this guy so much and hear what she heard. I give you all the praises, you are truly amazing Jillian.

Thank you, Net Galley and Sourcebooks for this eARC for an honest review.

Loved this book. I really appreciate the length some writers go to research their subject and you can tell a lot of research went into this book. Kept me interested and I found out a few things I didn't not know about these cases.

I'm in a small group of people who enjoys studying serial killers and learning how their mind works. When I saw this book and what it was about I was excited to read it. Jillian Lauren's decision to "befriend" serial killer Samuel Little and then write about the experience was a wild ride. Their friendship started as a letter and morphed into phone calls, visits, and a docuseries. She was able to get him to talk and keep talking. Some of the details he revealed were baffling and how he claimed innocence for so long is crazy. As I was reading the book I was so glad their friendship formed and she was able to reveal so many things this man did. That she was able to get answers for so many greiving families and help solve cold cases.

If you like true crime and aren't squeamish I think this book is enlightening and in ways inspiring for all of the good that came out of her decision to befriend this deplorable man.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a true crime and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Whoa. A little hard to get my bearings but once I did, wow. As a true crime enthusiast, I recommend this one to everyone in my circle. I was unaware of these crimes but did a deep dive after reading. There were some major discrepancies but overall it was well written.

Lauren gets into not only a murderer's head, but those of his family and victims, too, to paint a complete and terrifying portrait of a real-life monster. I highly recommend this book for any true crime afficionado.

In Behold the Monster: Confronting America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer, Jillian Lauren focuses on Samuel Little, a serial of color that has been underreported for so many years. She sheds light on his victims and gives honor to their memory.
Jillian Lauren had no idea what she was getting into when she wrote her first letter to prolific serial killer Samuel Little. Her research led her to believe that he was guilty of many more murders than the three he was convicted of. The two exchanged dozens of letters and held hundreds of hours of interviews. And she gained his trust. Little confessed to the murders of ninety-three women, often drawing his victims allowing police to connect many to the actual women. How did he 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 helped bring answers to many families. The least loved of women, prostitutes, those of color, and transgender, finally have some answers about their deaths.
Lauren’s research is detailed as she herself went to as many places to see the scene of the crimes and the body dumb sites. She speaks to a variety of professionals in the criminal field to understand more about Little and the reasons his long rap sheet of crimes never kept him off the streets until he was convicted of murder. She also gives voice to the voiceless after learning about the victims from their families and loved ones. She also made sure to turn over information to police and other professionals that would help them build their cases. But it is her relationship with Little that makes this stand out. She hears the stories from him and why he did what he did. While some may give her grief about her tactics, she beautifully plays this psychopath giving readers a frank look into the mind of a killer.
Lauren strikes her net a little wide though. She goes into deep details about many things trying to give you a definitive idea of everything. But many of these, such as VICAP, Cold Case squads, etc. only need a general knowledge to understand the book. These meanderings take away from the urgency of the story, the memory, and the sacrifice of Little’s victims. The book is long as it is and shortening these sections would have relieved some of the strain that comes from longer books.
Overall, I enjoyed learning about Sam Little and loved Lauren’s dedication to the victims and sharing their stories. This is a good trade paper choice for true crime fans.

I received an ARC for review; all opinions are my own.

True crime cases are so fascinating to me; especially learning about what makes a criminal do the things they do. This book allowed me to learn about Sam Little, a serial killer who is responsible for decades of killing women in plain sight. My thoughts on this book vary from appreciating the insight of the murders and writing them in first person to absolute disgust in the graphic descriptions of the crimes. Some of it went too far for my taste as I thought some of it was too technical for the average true crime reader. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Behold The Monster is an in depth story of the most prolific serial killer in the US, Sam Little. Jillian Lauren developed a rapport of sorts with Sam when she began interviewing him in prison. Through her interviews, she tried to help give closure to the families of Little’s victims. Some of what Little relayed to her was spot. In other interviews it seems that Little got his facts mixed up, a problem when you’ve killed so many women!

Lauren attempts to tell the victim’s story from the bits and pieces provided by Little, family members and cold case files. Although well written, I just had a hard time staying interested in the book. The story does jump around but most novels do. I found it to be somewhat monotonous. That being said, if you are interested in true crime you will enjoy the read!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review.

If you're in the true crime space you may have heard the horror story that is the Sam Little case. The guy was a monster pure and simple.

Samuel Little was America’s most prolific serial killer with murders that spanned decades. With little known on his life, somehow Jillian Lauren was able to make a connection with Little. By gaining his trust, she was able to get information that lead to solving several open cases. As she dove more and more into Little, his life and the many crimes he committed, she was able to pull togethers so many details that were never known before. Over time, Little confessed to the murder of 93 women. In an incredible manner after so many years, he still could recall the smallest of details on each crime. What was frustrating is that Little evaded law enforcement for so many years and if he could have just stayed behind bars at any given time, so many women could have been saved.

Since the author bought in such a personal touch to this book, it was almost half memoir. She goes into her own traumatic experience which helped take the deep dive with Little. She did a great job about going into Little’s past as that certainly played a huge part into his life. For having the title of America’s most prolific serial killer, there wasn’t a ton on him until she was able to make that connection. Now, we know so much about his crimes and were able to help put families a little at ease by solving open cold cases.

Thank you Net Galley, Source Books & Jillian Lauren for the advanced copy for my honest review. This nonfiction, perfect for any true crime fan, is out and ready to be added to your TBR.

On the Cat Scale:
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