This is true crime at its best--gritty and immersive without ever feeling exploitive, grounded in research. By looking back at why the victims of the "Candyman's" Houston murders, Olsen does more than recover historical and artifactual remains of their stories: she also offers readers a strong sense of why these stories continue to matter, what they can tell us about ourselves, and how we can move forward.

I think this book was pretty good, just not something I could get into at the moment. So it may just not be for me? It was a cool concept though and the characters were a lot of fun.

In the 1970s, at least 27 teenage boys in Houston were kidnapped, sexually assaulted, tortured, murdered and buried by Dean Corll, given the moniker “The Candy Man.” Many were reported missing, but the police never put the cases together and in many instances wrote off the reports as kids who had run away.The horror these boys experienced was only made known when one of Corll’s young accomplices killed him. As bodies and bones were dug up, most of them were in such decayed condition that they couldn’t be identified. They became known as the “Lost Boys” until thirty years later when forensic anthropologist Sharon Derrick was determined to put a name to as many as she could, an effort that took years and was made possible only by scientific advances.

This is an important story; one that needs to be told and especially the lesson of how, along with prejudice against “ hippies” and homosexuality,
reports of poor teenagers missing from dysfunctional families were basically ignored by authorities. Equally important is the recounting of Derrick’s relentless search for the identity of the lost boys. The account, unfortunately, gets bogged down a bit in details, shifting timelines, and repetition.

The Scientist and the Serial Killer was an in depth (possibly too in depth for some) look at a case that I had long forgotten about. I am so grateful for Lise Olsen's in-depth reporting on a case that was so complex. So many forgotten turns in this case came to light - and I had no idea there were still victims that had not yet been identified! It blows my mind and really sheds light on the lack of motivation by the government to put resources and funding into DNA testing.

Grotesquely Fictionalized Serial Murders

The book begins with a good illustration with pins for the locations of the killings or bodies.
“Chapter 1: The Death of a Killer” takes on a pop-thriller novel linguistic density: not a good thing given the subject. It describes how Elmer Henley awoke, and random stuff he said like: “Hey, what are you doing?” What is the source of this description? The author seems to be imagining this fiction. Sources are not cited. After digressive notes, we suddenly learn that two people have been “hog-tied and handcuffed” on the “shag carpet”. Who would want to read this? The story is told from the perspective of serial-killers. And its describing “the nightmare” or making horrors out of events, seemingly for entertainment. I was hoping to be informed by this book, to learn the facts of this case. This is not a book I want to read. Even a novel version could have been better done by focusing on researching facts, and characters. The Contents page explains that the “new” forensic evidence the blurb focuses on is only covered in the last “Part VI: The Last Unsolved Mysteries”. There some facts are found, such as a summary of the case: “Ames, the alleged ringleader, was charged in federal court for distributing those pornographic images… and went to federal prison…” There have to be some grounding that explain such basic background before jumping into fictionalized portrayals of what the murderers did during the worst of their crimes. The point is to understand and stop such misconduct, and only detached information can do this.
—Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Fall 2024: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-fall-2024

A chilling and thought-provoking exploration of the mind of a killer.

Lise Olsen's "The Scientist and the Serial Killer" is a gripping and unsettling novel that delves into the dark corners of the human psyche. The story follows a brilliant but troubled forensic psychologist as she becomes obsessed with understanding the mind of a notorious serial killer.

What makes it stand out:

The concept of a psychologist becoming dangerously fascinated with a killer is both chilling and thought-provoking. The protagonist is a complex and flawed character, making her both sympathetic and terrifying. Olsen creates a truly unsettling atmosphere, drawing the reader into the depths of the killer's twisted mind. The narrative occasionally slows down, which can disrupt the momentum.

"The Scientist and the Serial Killer" is a disturbing and unforgettable read that will stay with you long after you finish the final page. It's a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and those who are fascinated by the darkness that lies within the human mind.

This is a fantastic and expansive true crime book. Anyone with an interest in the genre will have likely heard of Corll, but not like this. A must-read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this book I had a hard time jumping into it. I would rate this a 3/5 I think it was good but something I wouldn’t pick up again.

Wow. There was so much about this book that I learned. The formatting of the book was messed up, so it made it hard to reward, but the detail was insane.

This was a very interesting account of a very tragic situation. I liked the writing and seeing the photography was haunting.

The Scientist and the Serial Killer by Lise Olsen tells the story of Houston's Lost Boys, victims of Dean Corll, aka the "Candy Man". The book was long and hard to follow. I tried but I did not finish this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

The story starts out really strong and intriguing but the details ended up being muddied by all of the extra information. It felt like the book took forever to read. Most true crime books are much more condensed and to the point. This book kept going back and forth between the scientist who helped IDing many of the victims and the actual story of the crime. I really think the book could have been organized better and condensed.

I really wanted to like this book because the story it tells is so important and heartbreaking, but I found it difficult to connect with. The narrative is all over the place, jumping back and forth in time, which made it hard to follow. With so many names and details thrown at you, it felt overwhelming rather than illuminating.

I was hoping for more focus on the science behind identifying the victims, but that part felt underwhelming. There’s one long explanation about bone measurements, but not much else about the forensic techniques. And when one of the victims was identified based on circumstantial evidence and inconclusive DNA, I couldn’t help but feel a little let down by the process.

Something else that didn’t sit right with me was how often the author described the victims as “beautiful” or “handsome.” It felt out of place and unnecessary, especially given the tragic nature of their stories.

The book also spends a lot of time on the various investigators, which took away from the focus on the victims and their families. I wanted to feel their stories more deeply, but the writing style made it hard to get there.

In the end, while the book does shed light on an important and horrific case, it just didn’t come together in a way that resonated with me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me a read.

I think the writing of this book was a bit rough. It was a lot of quoting and it seemed to grab from articles and thrown together to make a narrative. The way it flowed was rough for me to get invested.

I made it 20% into the book and I had to bounce out.

Maybe those who enjoy books where the narrative is mostly quotes will find it enjoyable, I'm looking for a flow when reading a true crime / non-fiction book.

This is so poorly organized and written that it does a disservice to the victims, the young men known as the Houston Lost Boys, and their families. Olsen's writing is full of implicit bias (a woman is described as "determined yet charming" as if someone cannot be both (and why is it necessary to describe her as "charming" in the first place?) and then in the same sentence her accent is described as "charming;" another woman doesn't go to college but "somehow" becomes a teacher, suggesting incredulity that such a thing could happen and that such a person would be qualified to teach; and countless other examples. She goes off on unrelated or barely-related tangents (the Peter Pan theory, which fizzles out and which she abandons within a handful of paragraphs), makes unnecessary and judgmental asides, and focuses on superficial and irrelevant aspects of individuals' appearances, belongings, homes, and occupations. She makes unsubstantiated assumptions and claims about what people's beliefs and attitudes. This ms needs heavy, guided revision and may benefit from a co-author.

Fans of true crime probably often wonder if they are a few degrees of separation from a real life serial killer. I grew up in Chicago, a large metropolitan area, and I know that two female acquaintances were semi-adjacent to serial predators: John Wayne Gacy, the “Killer Clown” (she worked at the same pharmacy where the last of Gacy’s 34 victims also was employed) and the Tylenol Killer (she was the assistant manager at one of the drugstores where that still unknown murderer planted tainted capsules). Now I live in Salt Lake City, less than a tenth the size of Chicago, and I volunteer at the University of Utah where Ted Bundy was a law student while killing 4 women. Brrrrrrr….

This book is the true story of the Houston Mass Murders victims of Dean Corll, known as “The Candy Man”, who murdered and tortured at least 28 young men between 1970 and 1973. Corll stopped only because an accomplice/potential victim finally shot him. Like with Gacy (who was arrested a few years later), so many of Corll’s initial victims were young outcasts and unidentifiable when their bodies were found (5 of Gacy’s are still unknown).

Dr. Sharon Derrick is a real life “Bones,” a forensic anthropologist who tried to restore the identities of the Houston “Lost Boys” and give some closure to the families of missing people when she started at the Harris County Medical Examiner’s office in 2006, 33 years after Corll died. She was mystified as to why these teenage boys (who would have been her contemporaries in high school) had never been claimed. Her work on the backlog of unidentified dead helped identify all but one of Corll’s.

Olsen’s book delves into the original investigation and the discovery of bodies at multiple grave sites. The Houston Mass Murders reaped international attention based on the quantities of victims discovered, which at the time seemed unthinkable (Corll’s victims were the highest discovered count at that time in the US; Gacy, Sam Little, and Gary Ridgway surpassed the Candy Man).

Olsen describes the meticulous procedure that Dr. Derrick takes as she tries to identify the victims one by one and seeks out some background on how these lost boys could have encountered Corll and his accomplices. The history of the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office is also detailed as well as the incorporation of the Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services, FACES, in order to construct modern 3-D portraits and the usage of familial DNA profiles, all significant advancements since the 1970s. Olsen also examines the hostile Texan attitudes towards homosexuality in the 70s, which often dismissed Corll’s victims as “lesser” since they may have been vulnerable gay teens.

This is a fascinating book for a true crime fan. It is, in parts, gory and horrifying, but it also gives meaning to the lives of the victims once Dr. Derrick and her team identified them. 4 stars.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

In 1973, the cops were called to investigate the murder of a man named Dean Corll in Pasadena, Texas. Once they arrived, however, they realized the case was much more complicated than a single murder. The murdered, Elmer Wayne Henley, immediately confessed to killing Corll but also informed cops that there were dozens of Corll's murder victims buried beneath the ground of an outdoor shed. 27 bodies were eventually recovered across multiple burial locations, all males in their late teens and early twenties, who had been victims of brutal rape, torture, and murder. Unfortunately, many of the bodies were badly decomposed and couldn't be identified. This book takes a look at the decades-long investigation and pursuit to identify the victims and give closure to their families.

This book was very interesting in its premise. I did not know much about this case going into it. Unfortunately, I felt the book was loaded with too many people, facts and timelines. The author jumped back and forth between past and present narratives, often repeating herself in order to remind us what was introduced in an earlier section. She also included a lot of history of forensics that was barely pertinent to this case and listed many other missing persons who ended up being ruled as not connected to Corll, so the inclusion of their names just got confused in the story about the 27 victims. I felt there was also too much focus on the litany of investigators involved in the case. This might prove interesting to readers more versed in forensics, but for me, this book didn't flow well.


*** I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ***

While the premise of exploring the intersection between forensic science and criminal psychology is compelling, this book ultimately falls flat. The narrative often feels disjointed, jumping between scientific details and case studies without a cohesive flow. The author’s attempts to humanize the professionals involved in these investigations sometimes feel forced, and the clinical tone can be dry and hard to engage with. While there’s some fascinating content regarding the criminal mind and forensic breakthroughs, the lack of a strong, compelling narrative or in-depth character exploration makes it difficult to fully connect with the material. Fans of true crime or forensic science may find some interest, but it doesn’t deliver the gripping experience one might expect from the topic.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I found it to be a meticulously detailed narrative that deeply explores a chilling series of events of one of the first identified mass murderers in the U.S. The book delves deeply into the perspectives of detectives, the haunting locations where bodies were discovered, the anguish of the victims' families, and the scientists who painstakingly pieced together identities from skeletal remains.
The story is comprehensive, and the author balances all human, scientific, and procedural aspects, creating a vivid picture of the complexities surrounding the case. The inclusion of insights from the justice system of that era adds a fascinating layer of context, revealing both the strengths and shortcomings of legal and investigative practices at the time. I found the accompanying photographs helpful, but the descriptions were somewhat underwhelming. Better descriptions could have further enriched the reader’s understanding of the evidence and its importance to the investigation. Overall, *The Scientist and the Serial Killer* is an engaging read for anyone interested in true crime, forensic science, and the human stories behind major criminal investigations.