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Killer Clown: The John Wayne Gacy Murders
Who was John Wayne Gacy? The model citizen whose business skills were admired by his peers? The hospital volunteer whose sweet-faced clowning lightened the patients' days? The member of the Jaycees who was a civic-minded friend of the community? The depraved maniac who sodomized, tortured, and killed thirty-three young men and boys? Shortly before Christmas of 1978, a teenage boy disappeared from the drugstore where he worked. He would be the final victim of John Wayne Gacy's horrifying compulsion. Then, ten days after the boy's disappearance. Detectives, finding a human bone in the crawl space of Gacy's house, dug into the lime-covered ground. With mounting horror, they pulled bone after bone from Gacy's suburban home until finally they had gathered the remains of twenty-eight more youths who had fallen prey to the killer clown.
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 19, 1983
511 people are currently reading
12565 people want to read
About the author
Terry Sullivan
14 books33 followersA former prosecutor, Terry focuses his practice on criminal defense, representing clients accused of felonies, misdemeanors, DUI/DWI, and traffic violations. Highly respected in the legal community for his aggressive courtroom style and negotiating skill, his fellow attorneys also cite his fairness and legal expertise.
As legal analyst for WGN-TV (Channel 9) for the past twenty years, Terry has discussed evolving legal issues on breaking local, national and international matters. He has covered topics such as the nomination of Supreme Court Judges, Proposition 8 and gay adoption. He has also discussed and analyzed many high-profile cases including the trials of O.J. Simpson, Conrad Black, Saddam Hussein, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Jason Van Dyke.
Terry earned public recognition while serving as a prosecutor under three State’s Attorneys. His most notable prosecution was of the infamous John Wayne Gacy, the most prolific serial killer convicted in the history of the United States.
Terry’s book, Killer Clown, placed him on the Chicago Tribune’s best seller list.
As legal analyst for WGN-TV (Channel 9) for the past twenty years, Terry has discussed evolving legal issues on breaking local, national and international matters. He has covered topics such as the nomination of Supreme Court Judges, Proposition 8 and gay adoption. He has also discussed and analyzed many high-profile cases including the trials of O.J. Simpson, Conrad Black, Saddam Hussein, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Jason Van Dyke.
Terry earned public recognition while serving as a prosecutor under three State’s Attorneys. His most notable prosecution was of the infamous John Wayne Gacy, the most prolific serial killer convicted in the history of the United States.
Terry’s book, Killer Clown, placed him on the Chicago Tribune’s best seller list.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 390 reviews
June 9, 2019
Okay so here's my take on this one... If you like reading about play-by-play police procedures then this book is for you. If not, this book will get very boring very quickly.
I wanted so much more out of this book than what it delivered. I wanted a little more insight into Gacy himself. This book was more of a fact delivering work instead of a story that is being told. It's just fact after fact after fact. And some facts that are told in the book need more information and we as the reader never get it. Sadness ☹️
Also I have to mention that the cover looks a bit too much like a tabloid headline for me.
like I said if you like police procedures and fact listing then you will like this book. If not don't bother.
I wanted so much more out of this book than what it delivered. I wanted a little more insight into Gacy himself. This book was more of a fact delivering work instead of a story that is being told. It's just fact after fact after fact. And some facts that are told in the book need more information and we as the reader never get it. Sadness ☹️
Also I have to mention that the cover looks a bit too much like a tabloid headline for me.
like I said if you like police procedures and fact listing then you will like this book. If not don't bother.
June 12, 2020
“They’ll never believe you.”
Recently it had gotten to the point where I was enjoying all the true crime books I picked up so much that I was worried I just couldn’t tell the difference between a good true crime book and a bad true crime book. Maybe my love for true crime was clouding my vision. Alas, no need to be concerned, because this was a bad one...
Okay, maybe bad is harsh. But it was a struggle for me. The first 150 pages are literally just the surveillance cops driving around after John Wayne Gacy while he went about his life of work, restaurants and bars. It was like Groundhog Day. For 150 pages.
After that, it did pick up, but I just felt like I didn’t really learn anything new. I’m not sure if that’s the book’s fault, or if there really just isn’t much more to this case. When reading true crime my objective is to learn more about why these people behave the way they do. And this book just really provided little insight into Gacy himself, it was more a list of facts after facts.
There was an updated section at the back, where Sullivan caught up years later with the team he worked on the Gacy case with. They discussed how their lives had changed and the lasting influence the case had. This ended up being the most interesting part to me, it just felt a little more personal as the bone-dry narrative had been removed. I wish the whole book had been more like this!
I also found it incredibly sad that quite a few victims managed to escape, but they didn’t go to the police - either due to a fear of not being believed, or because they were afraid of admitting to taking part in homosexual acts. It just makes you wonder that if things were different, maybe Gacy would have been caught earlier.
Not the most enjoyable or interesting true crime read for me, but worth checking out if you’re interested in learning the facts of the Gacy case! 2.5 stars.
Recently it had gotten to the point where I was enjoying all the true crime books I picked up so much that I was worried I just couldn’t tell the difference between a good true crime book and a bad true crime book. Maybe my love for true crime was clouding my vision. Alas, no need to be concerned, because this was a bad one...
Okay, maybe bad is harsh. But it was a struggle for me. The first 150 pages are literally just the surveillance cops driving around after John Wayne Gacy while he went about his life of work, restaurants and bars. It was like Groundhog Day. For 150 pages.
After that, it did pick up, but I just felt like I didn’t really learn anything new. I’m not sure if that’s the book’s fault, or if there really just isn’t much more to this case. When reading true crime my objective is to learn more about why these people behave the way they do. And this book just really provided little insight into Gacy himself, it was more a list of facts after facts.
There was an updated section at the back, where Sullivan caught up years later with the team he worked on the Gacy case with. They discussed how their lives had changed and the lasting influence the case had. This ended up being the most interesting part to me, it just felt a little more personal as the bone-dry narrative had been removed. I wish the whole book had been more like this!
I also found it incredibly sad that quite a few victims managed to escape, but they didn’t go to the police - either due to a fear of not being believed, or because they were afraid of admitting to taking part in homosexual acts. It just makes you wonder that if things were different, maybe Gacy would have been caught earlier.
Not the most enjoyable or interesting true crime read for me, but worth checking out if you’re interested in learning the facts of the Gacy case! 2.5 stars.
June 24, 2019
So much better than I ever imagined! Can’t wait to discuss in Peter’s Book Club! Full review will be up on my booktube channel at http://YouTube.com/peterlikesbooks
May 29, 2025
Update: I did end up finishing this massive book. My heart hurts so for all the victims and their loved ones.
Also, what important and difficult work had to be done by this team, outstanding!!
DNF - What a fat FUCK!! I can’t read anymore about this POS! The detectives interview him, no remorse!!! He says all 30 of his victims wanted to be killed and all came to his house for money. I have never hated a person more!! I can’t imagine having to discover the bodies. Also, the only time this monster sack of crap cried was when he knew there was no hope for HIMSELF !!!
Also, what important and difficult work had to be done by this team, outstanding!!
DNF - What a fat FUCK!! I can’t read anymore about this POS! The detectives interview him, no remorse!!! He says all 30 of his victims wanted to be killed and all came to his house for money. I have never hated a person more!! I can’t imagine having to discover the bodies. Also, the only time this monster sack of crap cried was when he knew there was no hope for HIMSELF !!!
May 15, 2012
I was warned by reviews on Amazon that this book was really heavy in the police and trial procedural stuff, and not the psychological aspect of Gacy himself. I was largely okay with this since I am usually really interested in the workings of the criminal justice system. But this book got pretty boring pretty quickly. The first half of the book is essentially a play-by-play account of undercover officers tailing Gacy. They watch his house, they follow his truck, they play a computer football game in their cars - a lot. They engage in many high speed chases because Gacy is apparently a reckless driver. One of them spills coffee on his crotch. They have beers with Gacy. They hang out in his house. Something smells funny. Sometimes Gacy is nice to them. Sometimes he isn't. Etc. Then there are little things that the author just kind of glosses over - for example, one of the witnesses pukes during his testimony, which strikes me as unusual and warranting some explanation, but it's just casually mentioned as if the witness just sneezed or something. The writer doesn't know how to tell a story, he just relays facts, which doesn't make for compelling reading.
June 26, 2011
Scared the heck out of me when I read this years ago! This book "cured" me of my obsession for true crime novels, although I still read them occasionally. I couldn't stand being alone while I was reading this gruesome story.
March 14, 2020
Fantastic book if, like me, you're interested in the whole case, not just the gory details of the murders themselves. Could have done with a bit more insight into Gacy as an individual, and his mind, but overall a brilliant read for anyone interested in a deep knowledge of this infamous case!
dnf
April 23, 2021April True Crime Club pick and I couldn't hack it and gave it a big ol DNF.
February 16, 2023
I didn’t know much about Gacy and his murders before this book. I liked that it started with his final murder and how he was caught. It’s a very gruesome and sad story.
The book is written by the lead prosecutor. One of my favorite parts of the book was the update on the author himself. It’s kind of morbid, but he is talking about how he cares for animals and keeps in contact with his Little Brother from Big Brothers Big Sisters. What he said was something like, “You’re going to be dead a long time,” meaning we’re only here for a very short time, so do some good in the world while you can.
The book is written by the lead prosecutor. One of my favorite parts of the book was the update on the author himself. It’s kind of morbid, but he is talking about how he cares for animals and keeps in contact with his Little Brother from Big Brothers Big Sisters. What he said was something like, “You’re going to be dead a long time,” meaning we’re only here for a very short time, so do some good in the world while you can.
January 4, 2024
A few years ago I forgot about a free audible trial and then had to select a bunch of books to listen to, knowing that I don't like audiobooks so I shouldn't pick what I really wanted to read. So, I'm not sure what my thought processes were in putting this in my audible library, but that's how we got here.
I probably picked this in the hopes that it would read like a true crime podcast. The author of this book, Terry Sullivan, was the state attorney in the case against Gacy. This gave the book a more up close, personal touch than many podcasts I've listened to, but I think it also meant Sullivan was less afraid to tell all the gruesome details.
A few of my main thoughts:
I'm glad I will never have to be a parent in the time before cell phones. To not know where your child is and have that be a normal thing is terrifying to think about.
It's alarming how well-liked and trusted Gacy was.
I don't know how criminal defense lawyers are able to do it. It must be terrible to have to push so hard for someone so evil.
Overall, I can see how someone who likes this sort of book would like this one. It's just not my thing.
I probably picked this in the hopes that it would read like a true crime podcast. The author of this book, Terry Sullivan, was the state attorney in the case against Gacy. This gave the book a more up close, personal touch than many podcasts I've listened to, but I think it also meant Sullivan was less afraid to tell all the gruesome details.
A few of my main thoughts:
I'm glad I will never have to be a parent in the time before cell phones. To not know where your child is and have that be a normal thing is terrifying to think about.
It's alarming how well-liked and trusted Gacy was.
I don't know how criminal defense lawyers are able to do it. It must be terrible to have to push so hard for someone so evil.
Overall, I can see how someone who likes this sort of book would like this one. It's just not my thing.
February 24, 2009
Back of Book:
WHO WAS JOHN WAYNE GACY?
The model citizen whose business skills were admired by his peers?
The hospital volunteer whose sweet-faced clowning lightened the patients' days?
The member of the Jaycees who was a civic-minded friend of the community?
The depraved maniac who sodomized, tortured, and killed thirty-three young men and boys?
Shortly before Christmas of 1978, a teenage boy disappeared from the drugstore where he worked. He would be the final victim of John Wayne Gacy's horrifying compulsion.
Then, ten days after the boy's disappearance, detectives, finding a human bone in the crawl space of Gacy's house, dug into the lime-covered ground. With mounting horror, they pulled bone after bone from Gacy's suburban home until finally they had gathered the remains of twenty-eight more youths who had fallen prey to the killer clown.
I had read this book many years ago. I was a pre-teen when this all went down. I remember the newscasts from the scene and my mother sending me out of the room quickly whenever Gacy's name was mentioned or photo shown.
Recently, I had occasion to watch GACY: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330181/ and the distorted facts of the case the movie presented made me want to find the book and read how it really went down.
The author, Terry Sullivan, was the district attorney and involved in the case almost from the get-go when Rob Piest was reported missing in December 1978. He presents what seems like a very accurate account of the surveillance and what led to Gacy's arrest as well as what led Gacy to the murderous path he chose.
The very idea that this man could have gotten away with an insanity defense and been out on the street again one day makes me shudder. Mr. Sullivan and the rest of the prosecution team proved their case as the last of the book shows.
Gacy was executed May 10, 1994, eight of his thirty-three victims were never named. And whether thirty-three was the total number in his murder spree is not known for sure.
WHO WAS JOHN WAYNE GACY?
The model citizen whose business skills were admired by his peers?
The hospital volunteer whose sweet-faced clowning lightened the patients' days?
The member of the Jaycees who was a civic-minded friend of the community?
The depraved maniac who sodomized, tortured, and killed thirty-three young men and boys?
Shortly before Christmas of 1978, a teenage boy disappeared from the drugstore where he worked. He would be the final victim of John Wayne Gacy's horrifying compulsion.
Then, ten days after the boy's disappearance, detectives, finding a human bone in the crawl space of Gacy's house, dug into the lime-covered ground. With mounting horror, they pulled bone after bone from Gacy's suburban home until finally they had gathered the remains of twenty-eight more youths who had fallen prey to the killer clown.
I had read this book many years ago. I was a pre-teen when this all went down. I remember the newscasts from the scene and my mother sending me out of the room quickly whenever Gacy's name was mentioned or photo shown.
Recently, I had occasion to watch GACY: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330181/ and the distorted facts of the case the movie presented made me want to find the book and read how it really went down.
The author, Terry Sullivan, was the district attorney and involved in the case almost from the get-go when Rob Piest was reported missing in December 1978. He presents what seems like a very accurate account of the surveillance and what led to Gacy's arrest as well as what led Gacy to the murderous path he chose.
The very idea that this man could have gotten away with an insanity defense and been out on the street again one day makes me shudder. Mr. Sullivan and the rest of the prosecution team proved their case as the last of the book shows.
Gacy was executed May 10, 1994, eight of his thirty-three victims were never named. And whether thirty-three was the total number in his murder spree is not known for sure.
May 16, 2014
Predominately concerned with the police investigation and surveillance operation and then the subsequent trial. Balancing one person's right to freedom against another's is really the crux of libertarian thought but when one person has a compulsive desire to strangle another and then sodomize the corpse before burying it under his house then the choice seems quite clear cut to me. It is largely academic whether Gacy was mad or bad he clearly could not be allowed to remain at liberty. The fact that he was allowed to do so for such a length of time was largely due to the incompetence and homophobia of various law enforcement agencies. If Gacy had restricted his victims to marginal people such as hustlers and pick-ups from gay bars and cruising grounds then the death toll would not doubt have been considerably higher.
July 18, 2018
Well written, most procedural on stakeouts and trial..., not much in the way of psychological analysis. The standard sicko, Gacy.
February 7, 2017
En 1994, John Wayne Gacy fue ejecutado por inyección letal después de su sentencia a muerte por el asesinato de 33 hombres jóvenes y muchachos durante los años 70's. La gran mayoría fueron enterrados en el "sótano" de su casa y otros en el jardín bajo el asador. Y hay algunos de ellos aún pendientes por identificar. Evidentemente que los engaños y patrañas de Gacy sobre sus víctimas me recordaron a IT de Stephen King. Gacy decía que Pogo el payaso era su lado cómico y agradable que le permitía acercase a los niños de un modo entretenido e inocente. Creía que sufría de una doble personalidad estilo Jekyll y Hide que lo volvía violento y sadista sexual sobre sus víctimas. Pero nada fuera de la verdad, ya que no demostró arrepentimiento alguno por sus crímenes. Un libro entretenido que por momentos se vuelve un poco repetitivo.
October 17, 2019
This book is quite disturbing! I knew John Wayne Gacy was a serial killer, but I had no idea how sick he really was! A sociopath and narcissist, he even mocked the victims' families. He killed at least 33 young men and the mom of one of the victims said he deserved 33 injections (meaning death by lethal injection). In an interview, Gacy told a reporter live on camera: she says I deserve 33 injections, she needs to take 33 valium and chill" 😲😲😲😲 How sick and gruel is that?
This book is in a novel format. If I didn't know that it is a non-fiction book, I'd say this is too sick to be real and nobody is as sick as the MC in this book. Unfortunately, this is a true story.
This book is in a novel format. If I didn't know that it is a non-fiction book, I'd say this is too sick to be real and nobody is as sick as the MC in this book. Unfortunately, this is a true story.
February 27, 2024
This is definitely not your typical true crime book. This is deep dive into the world of the investigation. I have to agree with most that at times it moves very slow. Overall it's a good book and takes you into the nitty gritty of how investigation are run and all the details needed to put a case together. If you want details about the murders this is not it.
October 4, 2019
As a Chicagoan, I naturally know about Gacy. He was the cucuy, the reason your parents gave you several warnings about talking to strangers and weird cars in the neighborhood. But, reading this, there’s just so much I didn’t know.
I can see how people can be bored with this but I was fascinated. I recognized so many of the streets, and the subdivisions. The story is very clinical but I also enjoy the play by play.
If you want to know more about Gacy and his last days the depths of his depravity, this book is worth the read.
I can see how people can be bored with this but I was fascinated. I recognized so many of the streets, and the subdivisions. The story is very clinical but I also enjoy the play by play.
If you want to know more about Gacy and his last days the depths of his depravity, this book is worth the read.
Read
June 18, 2023It's monotonous. It's just fact after fact after fact (and I was listening to the audio book) and I don't care enough. DNF at 42%
July 21, 2020
feel pretty good at this point saying John Wayne Gacy was NOT a good person
April 30, 2020
I didn't expect this book to be such an intense play-by-play record of the police investigation of Gacy. That narrative tactic is good at times, as it felt very immediate and gives a lot of insight into how police run their investigation. It can also be bad: much of the book is spent with the detectives who followed Gacy around for almost two weeks as they tried to build up evidence to arrest him. Some of that is just not very interesting (the police playing some archaic football video game; the constant, erratic driving and how they always seem to lose him. . .)
Overall, this was a good one to listen to. Too bad I missed out on the 16 pages of shocking images!!
Overall, this was a good one to listen to. Too bad I missed out on the 16 pages of shocking images!!
December 29, 2014
Proof that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, inside the shrieking, tabloid style cover of Killer Clown lies a sober account of the investigation into and prosecution of John Wayne Gacy for the murders of at least 33 young men and boys. Co-written by Terry Sullivan, a State Attorney who was involved in the case from the very beginning when the case simply appeared to be the disappearance of 15 year old Robert Piest, he then lead the investigation which eventually saw the recovery of the bodies of Gacy’s victims (26 of which were discovered in the crawl space beneath his home), before serving as a member of the prosecution team at his trial.
Clear and precise (no doubt thanks to Sullivan’s experience in front of juries), we get lots of information on legalities such as what to specify in search warrants to ensure that any evidence recovered is admissible in court, the painful process of retrieving records pre-computers, how to make someone think they can’t leave a police station without ever actually detaining them, the effects of constant, overt surveillance on both the surveillance teams and the suspect, the bizarre behaviour exhibited by a manipulator who thinks he’s far cleverer than he actually is, and the legal chess games played by both sides (Gacy would first try (and fail) to exhibit signs of multiple personality disorder, and then his legal team attempt to have him found not guilty by reason of insanity - he’d apparently been temporarily insane on 33 different occasions, slipping back out of insanity once the murders were committed and the bodies buried, alternatively they would also claim that the deaths were 33 cases of accidental auto-erotic asphyxiation. Thankfully, the jury decided this was all bullshit.)
Mr Sullivan thankfully isn’t interested in trying to put you into the victims’ shoes or into the mind of the killer, thereby saving the material from becoming too harrowing and upsetting (if that’s what you’re after, trying listening to Sufjan Stevens’ John Wayne Gacy Jr instead) and instead presents a clear and detailed illustration of the work that goes into trying to catch and put away terrifying people.
**Also posted at Randomly Reading and Ranting**
Clear and precise (no doubt thanks to Sullivan’s experience in front of juries), we get lots of information on legalities such as what to specify in search warrants to ensure that any evidence recovered is admissible in court, the painful process of retrieving records pre-computers, how to make someone think they can’t leave a police station without ever actually detaining them, the effects of constant, overt surveillance on both the surveillance teams and the suspect, the bizarre behaviour exhibited by a manipulator who thinks he’s far cleverer than he actually is, and the legal chess games played by both sides (Gacy would first try (and fail) to exhibit signs of multiple personality disorder, and then his legal team attempt to have him found not guilty by reason of insanity - he’d apparently been temporarily insane on 33 different occasions, slipping back out of insanity once the murders were committed and the bodies buried, alternatively they would also claim that the deaths were 33 cases of accidental auto-erotic asphyxiation. Thankfully, the jury decided this was all bullshit.)
Mr Sullivan thankfully isn’t interested in trying to put you into the victims’ shoes or into the mind of the killer, thereby saving the material from becoming too harrowing and upsetting (if that’s what you’re after, trying listening to Sufjan Stevens’ John Wayne Gacy Jr instead) and instead presents a clear and detailed illustration of the work that goes into trying to catch and put away terrifying people.
**Also posted at Randomly Reading and Ranting**
October 24, 2019
Sadly, I am here to report that I was massively disappointed in this book. Please read this to save yourself some time, energy, and aggravation.
Let’s be honest... we all know what we’re all here for. If you’re like me, you want to read about John Wayne Gacy. How he grew up, his crimes and issues leading up to the infamous murders, stories from his survivors, old friends, and ex wives, as well of a decent and informative account of the crimes and murders of the lost boys found in his crawl space.
This book is it’s own form of torture.
The first half, literally half, of the book is repetitive police accounts of tailing John Wayne Gacy. What the cops ate that day, how erratic JWG drives, how many times he slipped on ice walking to his house, more police stuff, and then more police stuff, then what they ate for lunch again- all which has very little to do with catching JWG or anything to do with his crimes.
I listened to this on audio book and it totals 14 hours. 7 hours of the book was police watching JWG and I could swear it was skipping because it was so god awfully repetitive and boring.
By the time we got to the crawl space, you’re thinking- “FINALLY! WERE HERE!”... pshhhh, girl, no.
They ALSO know what you’re here for, so they’re going to draw it out as LOOOONG as possible with more cop details. And every now and then, they give you little sprinkles of interviews and survivor accounts in between. Just enough to keep you around but not fully give you want you want.
And then you get to the court hearing and think, “Well, they’re going to HAVE to talk about this stuff now!”... barely.
Save yourself.
If you want to read something JWG related that isn’t a complete let down I would recommend The Last Victim. A guy (who writes this book just as self centered as THIS one) writes JWG in prison. This book is filled with accounts from the man himself, but warning... heavy on the sexual content.
Let’s be honest... we all know what we’re all here for. If you’re like me, you want to read about John Wayne Gacy. How he grew up, his crimes and issues leading up to the infamous murders, stories from his survivors, old friends, and ex wives, as well of a decent and informative account of the crimes and murders of the lost boys found in his crawl space.
This book is it’s own form of torture.
The first half, literally half, of the book is repetitive police accounts of tailing John Wayne Gacy. What the cops ate that day, how erratic JWG drives, how many times he slipped on ice walking to his house, more police stuff, and then more police stuff, then what they ate for lunch again- all which has very little to do with catching JWG or anything to do with his crimes.
I listened to this on audio book and it totals 14 hours. 7 hours of the book was police watching JWG and I could swear it was skipping because it was so god awfully repetitive and boring.
By the time we got to the crawl space, you’re thinking- “FINALLY! WERE HERE!”... pshhhh, girl, no.
They ALSO know what you’re here for, so they’re going to draw it out as LOOOONG as possible with more cop details. And every now and then, they give you little sprinkles of interviews and survivor accounts in between. Just enough to keep you around but not fully give you want you want.
And then you get to the court hearing and think, “Well, they’re going to HAVE to talk about this stuff now!”... barely.
Save yourself.
If you want to read something JWG related that isn’t a complete let down I would recommend The Last Victim. A guy (who writes this book just as self centered as THIS one) writes JWG in prison. This book is filled with accounts from the man himself, but warning... heavy on the sexual content.
November 15, 2017
I’ve read a lot of true crime in my lifetime. But I had never read the details about Gary’s killing spree. I knew he played a clown for children but that was about it. I found this tale to be very very long. Too long. It took half a novel to talk about the police following him. And the dinners they ate, the booze they drank. The book could have easily been cut in half and still made sense while advising of the vital details.
January 22, 2016
Horrifying, dreadful, shuddery. Excellently written and hard to put down. This story, full of the gallows humor that allows the police on the scene to cope with what they saw, would have been a laugh a minute if so many people hadn't really died. I wish I had learned more about the lives of the victims in here. That's my only real complaint.
June 17, 2019
Absolutely terrifying. Had a really hard time getting past some parts because of the sadomasochism and pedophilia. Was physically ill at some parts. It is so scary to think there are people truly this evil walking around us. I am in a Book Club and we are reading true crime. If it were not on the list I don’t think I would have read it.
November 17, 2020
Overall: 3 stars. A serious, no-frills account of the John Wayne Gacy case with a bit of a meandering chronological approach: could have used a bit more editing.
Despite its silly, sensationalist name (I was really reluctant to read something called "Killer Clown" but gave it a go because it was written by one of the prosecuting attorneys from the case), this is a serious book, which I always appreciate in true crime. The initial opening chapters, covering the kidnapping of Gacy's last victim, Robert Piest, were gripping, but the narrative began to bog down during the many, many chapters on the police surveillance of Gacy. I understand that the investigation itself was stalling out, but I would have appreciated a little insight/foresight inserted into the narrative in these parts to add some context to the endless scenes of police getting coffee and then chasing Gacy around Chicago only for nothing to happen.
What I found most enjoyable about this book was the section on the exhumation and identification of Gacy's victims. As a kid, I was really into those tv shows on forensic anthropology and archaeology, and I loved the technical details on how investigators linked the bodies with a person's face and humanized them.
I also usually love long, lengthy sections on criminal trials and legal procedure, but, although he might be a good lawyer, the author's writing didn't really drive the trial section forward with any sense of movement or suspense. I was a bit bored to be honest.
I would recommend this to any reader interested in a factual, rather serious deep dive into the Gacy case that focuses mostly on the investigators. (CW: this book was originally written in the 1980s, so the outdated term "homosexuals" is used frequently, although thankfully, the author doesn't seem to blame Gacy's crimes on his sexuality or blame the victims for their deaths because they were gay)
Despite its silly, sensationalist name (I was really reluctant to read something called "Killer Clown" but gave it a go because it was written by one of the prosecuting attorneys from the case), this is a serious book, which I always appreciate in true crime. The initial opening chapters, covering the kidnapping of Gacy's last victim, Robert Piest, were gripping, but the narrative began to bog down during the many, many chapters on the police surveillance of Gacy. I understand that the investigation itself was stalling out, but I would have appreciated a little insight/foresight inserted into the narrative in these parts to add some context to the endless scenes of police getting coffee and then chasing Gacy around Chicago only for nothing to happen.
What I found most enjoyable about this book was the section on the exhumation and identification of Gacy's victims. As a kid, I was really into those tv shows on forensic anthropology and archaeology, and I loved the technical details on how investigators linked the bodies with a person's face and humanized them.
I also usually love long, lengthy sections on criminal trials and legal procedure, but, although he might be a good lawyer, the author's writing didn't really drive the trial section forward with any sense of movement or suspense. I was a bit bored to be honest.
I would recommend this to any reader interested in a factual, rather serious deep dive into the Gacy case that focuses mostly on the investigators. (CW: this book was originally written in the 1980s, so the outdated term "homosexuals" is used frequently, although thankfully, the author doesn't seem to blame Gacy's crimes on his sexuality or blame the victims for their deaths because they were gay)
June 12, 2019
Sullivan's writing hooked me from the beginning. While there were a few times in which the book dragged, overall it held my interest fairly well. I also listened to the audiobook, which had a decent narrator.
This book made me feel a lot of things: Disgust, Sadness, & Relief (for how things finally ended for this evil man). I liked that this focused more on the investigative side of things since I've never read a book from that POV. While I didn't completely understand some things (such as why JWG was allowed to dangerously speed) and astounded at how arrogant JWG himself was, I learned a lot.
The surveillance showed just how tedious the process can be. This book doesn't gloss over the horrific details of what JWG did and while I'm usually not squeamish, even I felt sick at reading about them. The brutality of the torture and deaths JWG committed is almost unreal. I felt the trial chapters were the most powerful.
The updated ending got a little rambling with all the things that Sullivan has been doing with his own life, though there were a few interesting tidbits in relation to the case. I feel this book honored the victims well.
I am sincerely glad this evil man no longer lives among us.
4 stars.
This book made me feel a lot of things: Disgust, Sadness, & Relief (for how things finally ended for this evil man). I liked that this focused more on the investigative side of things since I've never read a book from that POV. While I didn't completely understand some things (such as why JWG was allowed to dangerously speed) and astounded at how arrogant JWG himself was, I learned a lot.
The surveillance showed just how tedious the process can be. This book doesn't gloss over the horrific details of what JWG did and while I'm usually not squeamish, even I felt sick at reading about them. The brutality of the torture and deaths JWG committed is almost unreal. I felt the trial chapters were the most powerful.
The updated ending got a little rambling with all the things that Sullivan has been doing with his own life, though there were a few interesting tidbits in relation to the case. I feel this book honored the victims well.
I am sincerely glad this evil man no longer lives among us.
4 stars.
December 6, 2017
The book is pretty good for the most part, but towards the end when it got to the trial, it became quite boring. I would've like to have read more about Gacy's side, but it was written by the prosecutor. And what's written on the cover is pretty cheesy. "He murdered 33 boys...now he will die for his crimes!" You can tell this was re-released before his execution. I think there may be better books on Gacy than this one.
October 6, 2018
4.5 stars really. Amazing, factual look at a truly terrifying killer. Sullivan gives a very close, step-by-step look from the law enforcement end of the story. I knocked it down from a 5 because there are some moments where he gets a bit too technical with Gacy racing around the city and the trouble the cops had with following him, but otherwise, and excellent telling of a sad and horrible story.
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