I Am a Killer: What Makes a Murderer: Their Shocking Stories in Their Own Words was a good read by Danny Tipping and Ned Parker. The creators of Netflix's I Am a Killer set out to get answers to what does through the mind of a killer and what motivates them. They got these answers by talking to the killers themselves when obtaining unprecedented access to high-security prisons all around the country. Many of the killers will die in prison but they openly talk about their pasts as well as their crimes. There are also interviews with the families of the killers and the victims, as well as law enforcement officers involved in the cases. I enjoyed reading this book and cant wait to read more by the author.

While I very much enjoyed that the authors chose not to use sensational or serial killer murders, it did mean that this book was very repetitive. I also felt that it was very biased towards the murderers in this book. I understand that they had terrible upbringings in most cases, a lot of people do and do not commit murder. I feel like the leniency showed undermined the loss of the victims and their families.

As a true crime reader, I have always been fascinated as to how someone kills and why. Many times the explanations given as reasons fall flat on me or seem more like they are excuses than anything. These authors were given access to these killers and I believe a more rounded view of what makes killers tick.

The 10 cases presented are pulled from the series of the same name but includes information that was not presented in the series. The authors also talked with the families for their perspectives and the law enforcement personnel to give a more robust picture for the reader to make up their own minds about each case. I want to thank #Tantor Audio and #Netgalley for the audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Very much like the series. I did enjoy it though. I'm always up for a good crime documentary but I don't always have the time to sit and watch one on TV. It was nice to be able to do things around the house or listen while I was working and still get the same enjoyment as watching on TV. I'd love to see them do a volume 2 or another audiobook like this again.

I really enjoyed this book. I have been planning on watching the TV show, but haven't gotten to it yet. I found it interesting to hear from the killer. What I loved most of all was that the authors didn't take a side!

I love thrillers, am very interested in the human mind, and have recently started watching mystery/murderer documentaries, so when I saw this book I thought it would be extremely interesting — and I wasn’t wrong! I loved how the authors didn’t show bias towards if they thought the inmates were wrongly convicted or not. They gave the facts, found as many perspectives as they could, and let the readers make their own conclusions. I’ll be thinking about this book for awhile. It really goes to show that everyone has some sort of pain they are hiding. It also makes you curious about how people are found guilty and if it’s always fair.

I Am A Killer by Danny Tipping - I had really high hopes for this book, but let's be honest, if you're going to novelize your television show, just say that. Don't make it seem like it's some behind the scenes, breaking coverage of stuff that wasn't in the show. I just felt like the entire book was repetitive, and that's coming from someone who LOVES true crime(books, movies, podcasts, YouTube channels, etc)

This is a truly unique true crime book that offers readers an unprecedented perspective—the murderers themselves giving their chilling accounts of the events that unfolded. The storytelling prowess and ability to extract and weave these confessions into a gripping narrative make this book a must-read for true crime aficionados seeking an unconventional perspective. This book presents the accounts of the convicted killers, allowing them to narrate their side of the story in their own words. This approach provides readers with an eerie and unsettling insight into the minds of these perpetrators.

I received this audiobook as an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity.

Sad…Shocking…these stories are intense…exactly what you’d expect from this true crime book.

I enjoyed the Netflix series so it was nice to have expanded stories from some of the cases. There are no new cases so if you have seen the show you will know the stories. I think that the photos from the physical book would be interesting but the audiobook was perfectly entertaining on its own. Joe Hemple did a great job conveying emotion and sometimes he changed his voice so much that I honestly thought there was more than one narrator for the book. I think that fans of true crime will enjoy this, especially since it tells the story in reverse - I did the crime and here is how it happened. I will say that this many stories of abuse and neglect and sometimes outright torture was hard to take. With the TV show I could start and stop and I probably should have done more of that here because it was incredibly sad most of the time. Content warning for pretty much everything including child abuse, rape, assault, and neglect. Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am a killer: what makes a murderer, their shocking stories in their own words.
By Danny Tipping, Ned Parker

I want to start by thanking NetGalley, the publishers and authors, for allowing me to read this book.

Book Review
Overall, I think this book was well written. I thought it was interesting the processes the crew had to go through to get into the prisons to conduct various interviews. The authors of this book wanted to leave the opinions up to the readers instead of swaying them to feel a certain way.

Each story is so unique and goes into great detail about their lives and the crimes that were committed. A lot of the stories are about the killers and their lives, not about the victims.

I did watch the Netflix documentary, and I think a lot of the information presented in the book was similar to the show; however, it was interesting to see the logistics that went into each story.

Bottom line, I would recommend this book to people who are interested in true crime.

I had heard of Netflix’s documentary series I Am A Killer; however, I’d never watched it. Goodness, this was a heavy read…there was so much to unpack for each person. Interesting to hear from the accused’s side and those associated with the case. Appreciated there was no bias or coaxing of the readers/listeners. Fully understand this book/genre may not be for everyone, but I’d recommend to those who are curious and willing to listen with an open mind.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted ARC (audiobook)…as all opinions are my own.

I found this audiobook very interesting. Every chapter covers a killer and gives you their story and their crimes. I was expecting to mostly hate everyone and think they were just greedy monsters, but this book is much deeper than that. You will find everything, from greedy liars to people that have been failed by the system since they were just babies. Some of the histories are truly heartbroken and make you question the system, how it after failing to protect kids at every corner, then turns around and wants to impose deadly consequences on someone who clearly did not have a chance in life. It is definitely worth a listen for all true crime lovers.

Thank you Danny Tipping, Ned Parker, and Tantor Audio for providing me with this ARC.

Thank you to RV media, Tantor Audio and NetGalley for this Audio ARC. These are my own opinions. This audiobook is more on the stories that were in the Netflix show "I Am a Killer". I love the fact that the authors got the information from the killer themselves and not from other sources. There was A LOT of stipulations that they looked at before they proceeded with the different stories. They also made sure that both sides of the story were fairly heard. As a true crime lover this was an excellent addition to the show. The narrator was good, albeit a bit monotone. I really enjoyed the different cases and what the Killer had to say.

This book was a great look into what makes a killer. It didn't get too graphic on the crimes, which were committed, but focused more on the criminal’s life and what lead them to kill. Followed by what they'd done with their lives since. I found most of the killers to be redeemable people who had had very tough lives.
The narrator did make it hard for me to keep my attention focused on the book. And my attention drifted at times.
Overall, an interesting and informative look into what makes a murderer.

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook! I love watching true crime and reading about it and hearing the history of the killers. This book really shows you how much negative things in someone’s childhood can influence them.

This book is the story of the inmates who were on the I Am a Killer documentary series on Netflix. *Yes, I did see some of that series, but it has been quite a wile back* I found that I learned more from the book than the TV series. I was able to keep my mind on each chapter and concentrate on each person. It seemed like almost all of them had terrible childhoods, which is not a surprise really. However, they did not just take the killer's word for everything. They also talked to others who may be involved such as family, teachers, etc. This made for a better view all around. The book itself is not a fast read, but more a book to take some time with. More emotional and hard to take in, but it is a very good read. I really liked it myself. A different view than the norm, but worth it.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator’s voice was strong and clear, great for this serious subject. I’ve not seen the Netflix show but this was such an interesting read that I am putting it on my queue. It was different from most books I’ve read and I found it both sad and enlightening. Highly recommend to true crime fans!

I listed to this while on a road trip to Missouri which was quite interesting being that many of the killers were serving time in Missouri.

I looked through this from my youth advocate and child development lens. The repeating factor was child abuse/neglect but not only from the guardians but those we are supposed to entrust. It’s easy to say that the cops, social workers, educators and therapist should have done more. But what people fail to realize, is that our system is flawed and failing. These people are overworked, underpaid l, overwhelmed and need of serious help.

This doesn’t justify what these men and women did but it does show that there are underlying factors and we can just simply call them senseless killers.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest rating and review.

Much like the Netflix show, this book is so interesting and really lets the reader see into the minds of killers. It has been years since I watched the Netflix show, so I can’t really speak to how much crossover there is or how much new information is included in the book that wasn’t in the show.

What I like about this is that the crimes are not sensationalized. These are interviews with convicted killers who admit to their crimes. It’s intriguing to hear from them and the variety of answers they give as to the why, specifically how some express deep remorse while others just provide loads of excuses.