Smooth Operator: The True Story of Seductive Serial Killer Glen Rogers

by Clifford L. Linedecker

He Made Them Feel Beautiful, Special and Adored...

Tall, blond and strikingly handsome with penetrating icy green eyes, Glen Rogers could use his knee-weakening charm to entice lonely women out of romantically lit bars and into the night. Each one thought she had found the perfect man-until Roger got her alone and turned on her in a bloddy rage that would end in her own violent death...

Then He Lead Them Like Lambs to the Slaughter...

In all, four women would find out too late the deadly truth. For underneath his Prince Charming facade, Roger hid a twisted fury that could only be sated by strangling or stabbing beautiful, vulnerable women. Finally, after a gruesome six-week killing spree that shocked the nation and landed Rogers on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list, he was caught in a grueling twenty-mile high-speed chase.

Smooth Operator

Here is the fascinating true story of one of the most notorious serial killers in history--a man who used his fatal charms to lure innocent women into a cruel date with destiny...

With 8-pages of startling photographs.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 15, 1997

About the author

Clifford L. Linedecker is a former daily newspaper journalist with eighteen years experience on the Philadelphia Inquirer, Rochester (N.Y.) Times-Union, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, and several other Indiana newspapers. He is an experienced investigative reporter who has covered police and the courts on each of the papers where he was employed. He is a former articles editor for National Features Syndicate in Chicago, and for "County Rambler" magazine. He is the author of numerous true crime titles, including The Man Who Killed Boys, Night Stalker, Killer Kids, Blood in the Sand, and Deadly White Female.

Reviews

[Fishface · Rating 2 out of 5]

Depressing story of a loser who killed a succession of women for no clear reason. The author makes no headway at all on the goal of making the killer seem worth writing about, then makes the mistake of not going enough into the lives of the victims, which could have saved this book...

[Chris Demer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moderately well-written true story of Glen Rogers- a bad boy who got much worse with age. After several brutal killings of petite women with red hair or red highlights in several different states, he was apprehended and convicted of capital murder in both California and Florida. He is on death row, but has not been executed after more than 10 years.
Given his background, it should have been no surprise that his criminal behavior would escalate. He grew up the 7th child in an abusive, dysfunctional family with a seriously alcoholic father. His mother was known to have held his head under water in the bathtub when he was little, letting him up just before he drowned. (Interestingly enough, she had reddish hair.)Unable to manage in school (IQ? Learning disability, brain damage?) he was kicked out in 9th grade never to return. From those early years he was constantly in trouble with the law- robbery, b&e, assault and on and on. Never spent much time behind bars though and often only received a slap on the wrist. He was a mean drunk who frequently found himself in bar fights, often as the loser. He had blackouts. Rarely kept a job for long. Eventually, his crimes escalated to murder.
The amazing thing is that, when he set out to impress women, he was polite, (Perhaps overly so), well groomed and well dressed, and generally had money to spend (Probably stolen.)He was good at recognizing desperate, lonely women. But...
Leaving a bar with him was a deadly business.
Recommended for true crime buffs.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

In part from back of book "Tall, blond and strikingly handsome with penetrating icy green eyes. Glen Rogers could use his knee-weakening charm to entince lonely women out of romantically lit bars and into the night. Each one thought she had found the perfect man - until Rogers got her alone and turned on her in a bloody rage that would end in her own violent death...."

[Bill reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glen Rogers was a blond haired, blue eyed charmer who picked up women in bars with his smooth talk and charm. The first victim refused to drive him home and was found burnt to a crisp in her old pickup truck. She had been raped and strangled before her demise. The law were quickly in pursuit of Mr. Roger's, and no, it was not a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
Glen's history of violence, especially against women, was staggering. Several girlfriends and a couple of wives survived multiple beatings by the lunatic. For some unknown reason, many of the beaten women forgave him. The smartest of the flock, Maria, fled to her native Hungary.
Roger's had an uncanny knack for targeting vulnerable, damaged women with histories of broken marriages and bad luck in choosing partners. A laundry list of teenage pregnancies and addiction issues are repeated ad nauseam.
The final portion of the book is bogged down by details regarding extradition and the conclusion is a predictable one and, of course, the name Ted Bundy appears.
Smooth Operator is a passable read. 3.5/5

[Bri Barkley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked how the author spent time describing the victims and their lives. He also spent very little time on the trial which a lot of other true crime writers spend half the book writing about and it's really drawn out. Really good read.