This audio book was so amazing! I am a true crime lover. This book was very well written and informative. This book will keep you hooked until the end and it is amazing to hear about the different pov’s especially Henley’s. You never get the apprentice or the victims side of the story but with this book you do and I loved how intricately researched and thought out this book is. 100% would recommend to anyone who is interested in true crime or anyone who wants to start!

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase in all formats for collections where true crime is popular.

I was not very familiar with the Candy Man killings in Texas. They happened when I was a baby but I am still surprised I didn’t know anything about them. The authors were very thurough in their recounting of crimes and events. I sometimes wished for fewer details and was a little surprised at how repetitive it was. There were entire sections that were repeated word for word. Still, it was an interesting look at how predators work and how they can control those around them, especially when they target children. I wish there had been more on the connection with the national ring and other killers.

Truly a horrifying story, a fascinating book, and a public service announcement rolled into one...

In the early 1970s, serial killer Dean Corll was luring, raping, and murdering teenage boy after teenage boy. But he wasn't acting alone. He had two teenage accomplices whom he'd strategically groomed until they were in way too deep.  This well-narrated audiobook tells their story, but it does much more than that.  After outlining the horrific details of these murders, the authors go on to elaborate on the fascinating psychological underpinnings that come into play in situations like this.  In addition, the final chapter includes important information and advice for parents to consider in order to keep their own children safe from predators like Corll. 

If you're a true crime aficionado, a lover of all things psychological, or the parent of tweens or teens, you need to get your hands on this book.  But beware; there are so many triggers.

Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for allowing me early access to the ARC audiobook edition of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book for an honest review.

This is a THOROUGH look at one of the worst serial killer's in history. Dean Corll was a monster and listening to the crimes in this book and how he lured two young men to help him accomplish his twisted desires is incredibly upsetting. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart.

That being said, there's something about true crime in a podcast or a documentary that makes it digestible, but books are HARD. I wish true crime writers/publishers would understand that we consume true crime in snippets. Even when that's binging a 12 episode podcast....it's done in snippets. One episode to the next. It feels like there's a beginning and an end, and we can stop whenever we want. But in book form...it just feels LONG. It feels like there's still so much to the story but how can there be because you've already heard so much of it.

I think true crime books need to revamp the way they are written. Either format them like a podcast. Each chapter focuses on a specific topic, or cut them down. If I see a true crime book that is 12 hours long (as long as this book), it feels like too much. I want a six-eight hour audiobook on this and that's it. Usually that's because there's so much heaviness with it, and again, there's no easy place to stop. (I'm aware chapters can be considered podcast episodes, but they rarely wrap up the same way, they rarely give you the same out to pause.)

This book is well researched, it's well written, it's well narrated (though sometimes it did feel a bit autogenerated, though I know it's not). But this book is also long. I felt myself forcing myself to pick it up and just get through one chapter at a time. It felt like a chore. And that's coming from someone who has listened to just about every true crime podcast out there and watched just about every documentary.

This is my overall plea to writers/publishers with true crime....tighten them up. I know there is so much story you can write, but sometimes it gets overdone and we dont need to walk through every single step of the crimes.

Thank you to HighBridge Audio and NetGalley for this ALC!

I really enjoyed this true crime book. I had never heard of the Candy Man before reading and it was intriguing to learn about him. Some parts were truly hard to listen to, but I enjoyed the narrator.

Lovers of true crime will definitely enjoy this one!

The book itself was fascinating and very, very dark, but I had such a hard time listening to it due to the narrator of the audio book. It just didn't work: lack of inflection, bizarre voices for some of the characters...it was very hard to listen to. I would have loved the paper novel!

#theserialkillersapprentice is what I listened to for the last week; had to do so in small chunks because the content is so graphic and sickening. It’s about a serial killer in the 1970s down south who would groom young teenaged boys to help him abduct, lure, rape and or kill other preteen and teenage boys. I really don’t want to talk about his name or the names of the “assistants” but instead want to talk about out another issue brought out about how young people (who’s BRAINS are NOT fully developed even at 18) were duped by this local friendly candy man that worked making candy and was just an average guy who helped kids out and was someone to lean on, smoke weed with, a place to get away from the rough life some of these kids had. But then, he would slowly try to get them desensitized to his way of torture and murder. First he had a “murderDar” much like people claim that there is “gaydar” this guy could single out the kids that needed adult attention and approval, kids who had no good home life or that were damaged in some way. He would be a friend to them, even in some cases, meeting their moms or other family members. He would get them drunk or high and then try to have sexual relations with them, some obliged, some didn’t, but this sicko played the long game. He also would joke with them about torture or murder. He would ask them to “find young white boys that might want to party that no one would miss” and would pay them, but them cars, tell them they could make@big money finding boys for the trafficking ring he was involved in. Once they were high or drunk he’d tie up a kid or handcuff them, and once he actually murdered one in front of his “accomplices” they were at that point complicit, and threatened - that this could happen to them if they told - that the syndicate would come after them if anything happened to him. And so these boys would continue to hang out, drink, and bring other boys and teens to this monster for him to rape, torture, and murder. He had them@help him bury them. Then he finally had them do some of the torture, some of the murders, they became a killing family of sorts and it was just absolutely nuts. Brutal.

The Serial Killer's Apprentice dives deep into the truths and details of The Candyman case, where Dean Corll lured and murdered young boys with the help of victim-turned-perpetrator, Elmer Wanye Henley, who was only 14 at the time. This was a very heavy read, and may be disturbing for some. I listened to the audio from NetGalley and I do wish the narrator wasn't so monotone.

Thank you NetGalley for this read in exchange for my honest review!

This was a very very intense read but very well written! It always intrigued me on the mind if a serial killer and this book provided a ton of information!

Great job to the author!!!

Audiobook was awesome!

This was intense! It was very interesting to see into the mind of a serial killer. This book was very well researched and provided a lot of information. The subject makes it a somewhat difficult read, but I knew what I was getting into. This was well written.

The Serial Killer's Apprentice by Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman explains how murderers can mold young, impressionable minds into the perfect violent apprentice. Using the story of Dean Corll and the young, damaged Elmer Wayne Henley and David Brooks and how Corll manipulated, abused, and shaped the boys into cold blooded Killers.

The authors provided a clear and concise storyline including testimony, confessions and support evidence. They even addressed holes in the trial and details surrounding the case.

Thank you #NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for early access to listen to the audio version of The Serial Killer's Apprentice, fantastically narrated by Christina Delaine. Some narrators have the ability to bring characters to life and she is one of them.

Review of “The Serial Killer’s Apprentice”

By: Katherine Ramsland, Tracy Ullman.

Available April 16/2024

Check it Out on Goodreads!!

Disclaimer: Please note that I received an Audio ARC from Netgalley and HighBridge Audio, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

“The Serial Killer’s Apprentice” by Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman is a gripping dive into the world of Dean Corll’s influence on his accomplices and Houston during that era. This book doesn’t just talk about the murders but also delves into their lasting impact and similar cases, making for a detailed and impactful read.

I really appreciated how thorough the authors were in their research, especially when covering the trial and Henley’s involvement. It gave me a deeper understanding of the whole situation.

But, I gotta say, some parts gave me the creeps. The descriptions of torture and death definitely weigh heavy on the emotions.

Overall, though, the book skillfully unpacks themes like vulnerability and the failures of law enforcement, making it a captivating and cautionary story about the corrupting influence of evil. It’s not an easy read, but it’s definitely worth it for anyone interested in true crime.

Get it at…

📗 - Hard Copy -📗

Your Local Canadian Book Seller

Indigo

Amazon Canada

📱 - Digital - 📱

Kobo

Kindle

🎧 - Audio - 🎧

Audible

Libro.FM

Have you ever heard of Dean Corll? Until I opened up The Serial Killer's Apprentice, I had not, but now his name and his acts will haunt me until my dying days.

This painstakingly researched true crime book doesn't shy away from the horrifying aspects of the crimes committed by this madman, known as The Candy Man. We see how he groomed his victims, turning some particularly pliable ones into his henchmen, and then the others were simply killed if they could not be trusted to keep his terrifying secrets. The insight into his grooming techniques was particularly disturbing, which in the second half of the book is expanded into a discussion of other serial sexual predators and their tactics.

This was not a book I enjoyed reading, but it was an important one. I praise authors Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman for providing such a thorough exploration of such troubled minds. I can't say I'll challenge myself like this again for a few months, since the unsettling details and overall horror took a lot out of me.

I'm very picky when it comes to narrators on audiobooks. Although I would have preferred to listen to it a bit more sped up, I thought it was narrated well, I do think it should have maybe been read more for the information and not tried to use voices for the different qutoes. Lots of information; crazy, disturbing info! I did think it was interesting that the Serial Killer discussed was born in the town I currently live it!

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. Once it releases, I’d like to try reading a physical copy or an eBook version because the only reason I didn’t finish is because of the audiobook’s narration. The narrator is very monotone throughout with almost no inflection whatsoever, making it difficult to pay attention. I can tell the book is heavily researched and well-written, so I hope to give it another try in a different format!

Thank you to Katherine Ramsland, Tracy Ullman, HighBridge Audio, and NetGalley for the audio ARC. All opinions are my own.

In the early 1970’s Dean Corll of Houston, Texas was an unknown prolific serial killer with two teenage boys as accomplices. It wasn’t until Elmer Henley, one of the teenage accomplices, shot and killed Corll in 1973 that anyone was aware of how many boys and young men were sacrificed to Corll’s sadistic appetite. This books discusses how Corll recruited his two accomplices, how he found his victims, and ultimately how the world found out about these tragic killings.

The first half of the book covers a bit about Corlls background and the recruitment of Brooks and Henley. The second half of the book goes into the psychological aspect of the three and compares them to other serial killers. It also covers what signs to watch for and how to talk with kids and what to do to try and keep them safe from pedophiles. There is also the statements made by both Brooks and Henley.

I never thought about the 1970’s-1990’s as the golden age of serial killing, which doesn’t mean serial killing is not still happening. Listening to some of the things they did to get victims makes me think about the choices I made in the 1980’s and how easily I could have become a victim, as a teenager my thought was it would never happen to me.

This book felt very raw and hard, there was something a bit different about the first half of the book that is different from the many crime books I’ve listened to. One correction on pronunciation I would give is in section 004 when discussing Corll’s mom remarrying and moving to Vidor, Texas, the town is not “Veedoor” it’s “V eye door.” Overall the narrator was good with changing voices/accent to notate Brooks and Henley words. Listened at 2.5 speed.

A hard read, with many gory details- perhaps too many details.

That being said, this book sought to learn how someone could be conjouled into assisting a serial murderer. It highlights the cooersion and control utilized. While difficult to read, this direction of human behavior is important to understand in order to prevent this in the future.

I have a hard time giving a star rating to this content- it feels disrespectful to the many victims and I feel the need to clarify that the rating is related to the research, writing, conclusions and audio performance.

The Serial Killer’s Apprentice delves into the chilling story of Elmer Wayne Henley's descent into darkness under the influence of serial killer Dean Corll. With meticulous detail, the book navigates the intricate dynamics of manipulation and coercion that led Henley from unwitting accomplice to active participant in heinous crimes, shedding light on the blurred boundaries between victimhood and complicity. Through Henley's harrowing journey, the author skillfully unpacks themes of adolescent vulnerability, the insidious nature of predation, and the failures of law enforcement, making it a compelling and cautionary tale of how innocence can be corrupted by evil. As a true crime junkie, I found this book fascinating.

Felt like a true crime podcast. It was nice. It was very very very non fiction and felt that way, if that’s not something you’re into you may want to skip this one.