I will preface this review by saying that this is one of my first true crime books. I am a true crime lover but have historically been a watcher or (podcast) listener.

In A Hunger to Kill, we hear Detective Kim Mager’s account of the arrest and subsequent investigation of serial killer Shawn Grate. It is also semi-memoir as we get a good chunk of the book devoted to our author, her childhood, and family life. I enjoyed this aspect of getting to know her better as it informed her point of view.

As for the majority of the book, it is focused on the interviews that Kim conducted with Shawn. Some of it reads a bit too procedural for my taste. It is clear that Kim is a very experienced police officer, and some aspects of the storytelling just seemed a little bit too dry considering the subject matter at hand. It came off a bit farther removed from some of the human element. Kim also made it very clear that she was the key to unlocking these confessions (and kudos to her!), but for how often that point was brought up, it wasn’t actually super apparent to me what special thing she did differently to bring upon that result.

I “read” this book exclusively via audio. On the narration front, the sentences themselves were often interwoven (within a single sentence) alternating between Kim and Shawn, and the voices followed suit. At times this was more distracting or even jarring than helpful.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Macmillan audio, and the author for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As someone who is familiar with both Ashland and Mansfield, Ohio, this book intrigued me. I was shocked to realize the arrest took place in September 2016 [9 months after I had last stopped in Ashland] and I wondered why I didn't remember hearing about this [at only 2ish hours from Ashland, we most certainly would have heard about it where I live], and then remembered that 2016 was a truly craptastic year for myself and my family and that overall, I remember very little about that year [I am sure that if I HAD heard about it, I would have remembered this horrific story had I not been knee deep in the hoopla], which explains a lot.

This book grabbed me from page one and as it went on, not only was I enthralled by the story [because HOLY FREAKING MOSES], I was both admired and was amazed by Kim Mager and her skill at working the suspect to get him to tell them all he had done [the convicted criminal is a despicable human being and I will not be using his name at all in my review] and where the bodies were [and remaining calm as horrific details started spilling out]. I admit I was also creeped out by this monster's audacity and sheer nonsense as to why he killed [and never believed his "remorse" at all; I think his only remorse was that he got caught before he killed again and again].

Well-written and laid out in a easy-to-read and concise way, this book will lead you down a path of horrors and will leave you amazed at the woman [along with the whole police department that she worked for] that got the answers they needed to bring this monster to justice [the notes at the end, in regards to him, are very satisfying]. The notes at the end are heartbreaking and I can only hope that the survivor, Jane Doe, and the families of all the victims are finding some semblance of peace and have been able to move on with their lives.

Jennifer Blom is a new-to-me narrator, but I certainly hope it's not the last time I get to listen to her narrate as she does an excellent job here.
This could not have been an easy book to narrator [tere are a lot of awful, descriptive, gross parts that would have been for anyone to narrate IMO], and Ms. Blom handles it so well - her calm voice makes some of the worst horrors much easier to digest [I hope she got to go home and hug puppies and unicorns each night after doing this narration]. I highly recommend both this audiobook and its narrator.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kim Mager [Police Detective (Ret.), Ashland, Ohio], Lisa Pulitzer - Contributor, Jennifer Blom - Narrator, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this true crime story by Kim Mager and Lisa Pulitzer, with the audiobook wonderfully narrated by Jennifer Blom. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

On September 13, 2016, in the small town of Ashland, Ohio, emergency dispatchers received a 911 call from a terrified woman who claimed to be kidnapped. The man holding her hostage was Shawn Grate, a serial killer whom the press later dubbed “The Ladykiller.” A key to his conviction and death sentence were Grate’s extensive recorded confessions—all extracted by one woman: Detective Kim Mager. As an experienced specialist in sex offenses, Detective Mager was one of the officers assigned to Grate’s case upon his arrest.

Reading and listening to this book puts you in the interrogation room. It was chilling to listen to Grate confess to multiple murders and sexual assaults. Detective Mager put her life on the line to develop a rapport with Grate to get him comfortable enough to spew. I used to live about 45 miles from where most of these crimes happened, but since moving away after they occurred, I never heard about them, surprisingly enough. Mager was so skilled at interrogating and getting information to be able to give some of these families peace. It also spoke of the personal and family sacrifices law enforcement officers make to keep us safe. Gripping true crime story, very well written and both voices wonderfully narrated.

If listening to Keith Morrison and other Dateline hosts regularly is your jam then this is the book for you. A Hunger to Kill is the interviewing police officer's perspective from her time trying to solve the case of an abduction when she stumbles upon the fact that the interviewee is a serial killer. I did have to break this listen up over a few days so I could stop and listen to/watch happy things, but it was worth the listen. I hope with law enforcement like this we can discover more about the motivations of killers. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

This was a comprehensive breakdown of the case and I think it was good that it was written by a woman. Totally messed up dude but she girl bossed it with the interview

I personally had never heard of this case before so I was very intrigued to see what is was about. I think as a person who was not familiar with the case it was a very good and easy listen! I think the author did a very good job at recalling the facts but also making it interesting to listen to and not a boring recall.

Either this is a take on true crime writing that I've never seen, or Kim Mager does it better than anyone else. Though there is one caveat - if your interest in true crime stops at the psychological aspects of the crime, you probably won't enjoy this.

In other review I've read so far, the main complaint is the author talking so much about her thoughts and her side of the experience, as if it's a memior. Personally, I love this. It makes the retelling feel well rounded. I'm not left with as many questions around the biases in play.

If it weren't for the repetitive facts (to the point I genuinely think the author must have forgotten she'd already told us this info bc it was brought up so many times - but with this being an ALC, maybe that will change? I'm not sure how publishing works), I'd have given it 5 stars. Admittedly though, I'm not sure if I would have noticed it if I hadn't finished this in less than 12 hours.

{Thank you bunches to NetGalley and publisher for ALC!}

This is the first book of this genre I’ve read. I’m a true crime podcast fan, but haven’t really listened to a true crime book before. I found it very interesting to hear from the detective’s POV and how she reached each level with the suspect. It was also great to hear how this actually impacted her and her loved ones. I can’t imagine doing a job like this and hearing and seeing all that she does. I would definitely recommend this to any of my fellow true crime fans.

This book was a riveting true crime story about a first hand account dealing with a serial killer. I liked the writing and it kept me on the edge of my seat. It feel like there may have been at least one case where the audio had been repeated or there was a glitch in the recording. For fabs of true crime podcasts, I’d recommend this book. ,

There was a time when accounts of horrific crimes seemed to be a dime a dozen. If they have continued in such abundance, well, I guess I just lost interest. It was with some trepidation that I began to listen to Kim Mager's account of the serial killer Shawn Grate's multiple acts of murder. I was unfamiliar with this case but was soon swept up into the account of his awful deeds. His actions came to light when his final victim, Jane Doe, managed to call 911 for help, and they are told to readers by author Kim Mager, an investigating police officer was spent more than 30 hours interviewing Grate. Her voice sounds authentic, although I am sure she purposely omitted some details; although she does not tell the story as a 'who-dun-it,' I very much appreciate that she tells the story as it unfolded to her. Mager is careful to credit other law enforcement personnel who worked on the case. And yet, something is missing from this narration. Perhaps it's Jennifer Blom's narration. She did the job she is supposed to do - reading the words as they were written. Yet, I think if I had read rather than listened to A Hunger to Kill, it might have been more emotionally arresting. Fans of true crime who are not wedded to 'the old formulaic narrative style of crime, investigation, arrest, will appreciate A Hunger to Kill.

I’m always amazed when things like this happen just three hours away from where I live and I had no idea.

The audiobook felt fast paced while also being extremely thoughtful and detailed. Never felt rushed. I felt like Officer Mager did an amazing job showing compassion for another human being while having the utmost respect and sympathy for the victims.

I believe I’ve listened to books narrated by Jennifer Blom before. Her voice is relaxing and something I could listen to for hours.

If you are interested in true crime or events local to the Cleveland, Ohio area I recommend checking out A Hunger to Kill. Thank you to NetGalley, Kim Mager, Lisa Pulitzer, Jennifer Blom and Macmillan Audio. I have written this review voluntarily.

I love true crime books, and while this one was intriguing, it was slightly different than other books in the genre so I didn't like it as well as others.

This book starts with Kim Mager, a detective on the Ashland, Ohio police force, being called in to interview a sexual assault victim who claimed to have been kidnapped. It soon becomes clear that the man they have arrested for the crime, Shawn Grate, is involved with more than just this one case, and he might actually be a serial killer. The book covers Mager's multiple interviews with Grate and her skillfully crafted rapport that allowed other victims to be discovered and Grate to be prosecuted.

The main issue I have with this book is that he is captured from the beginning. There's no investigation--they didn't even know that he or his crimes even existed until that point. It made the book more of Grate telling the investigators about his crimes and how the investigators (particularly Mager) were able to ask questions to get him to reveal information.

I listened to this as an audiobook and I think that helped me to get through it more than if I had been reading it on the page. It put me in the room with them rather than just reading about them. So if you're going to choose this book, the audiobook is the way to go.

Just go into your reading of this knowing that it is less about an investigation and more about how a detective goes about interviewing someone to get the best information. I feel as if Kim Mager is part psychologist, part police detective, because there are many times she has to straddle that line and understand what would motivate that person to want to tell their story and then use her skills to draw that story out.

This is a first-person account of a detective working a serial killer case and interviewing him. What sets it apart from other of this genre is how personal the author is in sharing the effect this work has on her as an individual and her family. Christianity plays a large role but she keeps it to the personal beliefs of the people involved, so it doesn't alienate non-Christian readers.

A Hunger To Kill is a compelling and addictive, yet horrific, inside look on how Detective Kim Mager was able stop a serial killer living in a small town in Ohio.

I feel conflicted describing a book like this using words such as “addictive” and saying that “I could not stop listening” when this follows a true story and involves horrendous things happening to real people. That being said, I think Kim Mager and Lisa Pulitzer did a great job writing this book in a way that allowed outsiders a behind the scenes look at the high stakes involved in catching and interviewing a serial killer.

Jennifer Blom did a great job with the narration and I was able to stay focused and drawn into the story for hours on end. I did have to take some breaks for the sake of my own mental health because this story is dark, disturbing, and tragic.

I enjoyed learning about the detective’s background detailing the way she grew up and how that shaped her into the detective she is today. She demonstrated
skilled detective abilities, bravery, and took extreme risks in order to retrieve and uncover necessary information. There were a few scenarios that had me thinking “no, you can’t do that, are you insane?”and I think some of her superiors thought the same thing!

I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but I’m glad this book caught my eye. 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the authors for allowing me to listen to the advance copy of the audiobook. All thoughts are my own.

This audiobook was interesting to me but it was a little bit slow to get into at first. I had not heard of this case, which surprised me given the scope, but then I realized that Grate was first arrested in the fall of 2016… so at least for me in California, a millennial who doesn’t have cable news, it had not been the massive national story Det. Mager was talking about.

What impressed me about the story:
- Detective Mager’s emphasis on her communication skills and her determination to connect with the suspect to get a full confession from him, to put victim’s families at ease and initially, hoping to find more live victims to rescue
- Her care for Jane Doe and respect for all the victims
- the gray area she allows for in learning about her suspect’s challenging childhood and all of the things he has done since then

I used to be very into true crime in general and have pulled back on that a bit due to feeling like it was exploitative to victims. This book is respectful of victims while also explaining what skills and strategies were used to interrogate and explain the psychology behind the actions of the perpetrator as best possible. I am not someone who glorifies law enforcement, but I do feel that our law enforcement would be in better shape if we had more officers like Detective Mager.

*received from netgalley for honest review* One of the first crime books i think ive read in one go this year! haven't been able to read like i used to but this was a very compelling read. Would recommend for people who read true crime.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 & 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝; 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭! 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐦 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫-𝐨𝐟-𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠—𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫—𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞.

𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥—𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝑨 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝑲𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒦𝒾𝓂 𝑀𝒶𝑔𝑒𝓇, 𝐿𝒾𝓈𝒶 𝒫𝓊𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓏𝑒𝓇, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, 𝒮𝓉. 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃’𝓈 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

If you enjoy true crime books this is for you. I swear my heart was beating outside my chest during the 911 call narration. Excellent audiobook!

A Hunger to Kill: A Serial Killer, a Determined Detective, and the Quest for a Confession That Changed a Small Town Forever
by Kim Mager; Lisa Pulitzer, narrated by Jennifer Blom

I remember when news of a horrible crime came out in September 2016. The news was terrible and it only go worse over the next months as more came out about the crimes of Shawn Grate. No doubt that not everything is known or will ever be known but he won't be committing any more crimes out of the confines of prison and even then, his clock is ticking.

Detective Kim Mager, an experienced specialist in sex offenses, was on the case almost immediately after a kidnapped woman was rescued from Grate. This book details Detective Mager's deep dive into the crimes of Grate since he was more willing to speak to her than anyone else. His desire for power over women was probably egged on by Detective Mager being a woman but she was up for the challenge.

Her conversations with Grate and the things she and others found out about his crimes makes for very chilling reading and listening. I was fortunate enough to have both the audiobook and the ebook so could follow along as I listened to the story, well narrated by Jennifer Blom. The ebook made it easy for me to look up names and locations of people I wanted to learn more about while reading/hearing the book.

Detective Mager had the background to handle this job, from her childhood being raised by strong parents to her marriage to a man who knew and understood her job. Even her son plays a part in this story, in a very interesting and helpful manner. There were times when danger was much too close, when Detective Mager didn't have the backup that should have been there for her, and when getting confessions may have clouded the minds of those interviewing Grate. Thank goodness this man was taken off the streets and at least some of his crimes are now known. There is no doubt in my mind that he would not have stopped what he was doing until someone stopped him.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC.

In September 2016, serial killer Shawn Grate was arrested after being caught holding a young woman against her will. Detective Kim Mager was assigned to interview Grate. Also known in the media as "The Lady Killer," Grate had been playing his lethal games with young women for some time. Experienced in sex offenses, Mager began interviewing Grate and found him opening up to her, presuming the reason he was so keen to speak to a woman was that he might be able to manipulate her as he had manipulated so many others. Grate intentionally began peppering interviews with clues and references to other victims. Over eight days, Detective Mager conducted interviews with Grate, putting herself in danger to help uncover five murders, multiple kidnappings, and a large number of sexual assaults on Ohio women. 

Written by Detective Mager and New York Times bestseller Lisa Pulitzer, A Hunger to Kill follows Mager from the arrest to Shawn Grate's eventual conviction, and all the personal and emotional experiences in between. The book is a definite for fans of Dateline or 20/20. The book is straight-forward and highly detailed.  The audiobook, performed by Jennifer Blom, feels like a fascinating true crime podcast.  A Hunger to Kill is a quick and fascinating read. 

A Hunger to Kill is available July 23, 2024.