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Monster Mass Market Paperback – July 2, 2013
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More About the Author
Best-selling and award-winning author and journalist Steve Jackson lives and works in the mountains of Colorado. Born in Bethesda Naval Hospital in 1955, he grew up in Hawaii and Colorado. He graduated in 1979 from Colorado State University with a BA in Journalism.
A newspaper journalist for 25 years, he worked in locales as varied as Montana, Hawaii, Guam, Micronesia, Indonesia, Indiana, Washington D.C., Florida, Oregon and Colorado. During his career with newspapers, he received numerous national and regional awards for feature writing and investigative reporting.
As of August 2014, he has written nine non-fiction books in true crime, history and biography genres. His first non-fiction book, Monster, a true crime, was published in October 1998 and within two weeks became a NYTimes bestseller. In 2003, his World War II dramatic narrative, Lucky Lady, received The Colorado Book Award, best biography/history, from the Colorado Center for the Book; Lucky Lady was also the runner-up that year for the Admiral Samuel Morrison Naval History Award.
Just released on August 5, 2014 is his latest true crime, BOGEYMAN, the story of the manhunt for one of America's worst child serial killers and the tenacious Texas lawmen who brought him to justice.
He's also written eleven crime thrillers in collaboration with former New York City assistant district attorney Robert K. Tanenbaum.
In June 2013, Jackson joined a forensic investigative team searching for the remains of the Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov in Perm, Russia as part of his research for an upcoming dramatic history FINDING ANASTASIA. The team will be returning to Russia in June 2014 to resume the search.
Outside of writing, his interests include backpacking, fly fishing, skiing, guitar, reading, softball, music, wine, beer and spending time with his family and friends.
A newspaper journalist for 25 years, he worked in locales as varied as Montana, Hawaii, Guam, Micronesia, Indonesia, Indiana, Washington D.C., Florida, Oregon and Colorado. During his career with newspapers, he received numerous national and regional awards for feature writing and investigative reporting.
As of August 2014, he has written nine non-fiction books in true crime, history and biography genres. His first non-fiction book, Monster, a true crime, was published in October 1998 and within two weeks became a NYTimes bestseller. In 2003, his World War II dramatic narrative, Lucky Lady, received The Colorado Book Award, best biography/history, from the Colorado Center for the Book; Lucky Lady was also the runner-up that year for the Admiral Samuel Morrison Naval History Award.
Just released on August 5, 2014 is his latest true crime, BOGEYMAN, the story of the manhunt for one of America's worst child serial killers and the tenacious Texas lawmen who brought him to justice.
He's also written eleven crime thrillers in collaboration with former New York City assistant district attorney Robert K. Tanenbaum.
In June 2013, Jackson joined a forensic investigative team searching for the remains of the Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov in Perm, Russia as part of his research for an upcoming dramatic history FINDING ANASTASIA. The team will be returning to Russia in June 2014 to resume the search.
Outside of writing, his interests include backpacking, fly fishing, skiing, guitar, reading, softball, music, wine, beer and spending time with his family and friends.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
68 of 69 people found the following review helpful
By
Sherrie Martin
on April 9, 2000
Format: Mass Market Paperback
1 Comment
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I read true crime occasionally out of a need to know what makes these people tick, though I'm not sure that anyone will ever have the answer to that question. This book details the ghastly crimes of suspected serial killer Thomas Luther. Although convicted of only one murder, Luther left a bloody trail of rapes and assaults, as well as compelling circumstantial evidence linking him to numerous unsolved murders. The one victim he was convicted of killing, Cher Elder, is brought to life in these pages by the author. One shudders to think of her last moments in the hands of evil incarnate. The woman who loved and stood by Luther, a "psychiatric nurse" named Debrah Snider, is a complete cypher. Even after she was confronted with the chilling and unmistakable evidence of what he was and what he did, she remained true to her man. This book, which I made the mistake of reading while home alone at night, spares few details of the hideous carnage committed by Luther. Although I would have liked to see a chapter on Luther's childhood and the abuse he alleges he suffered, this book nonetheless gives the reader a fairly comprehensive insight into the psyche of a monster.
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46 of 47 people found the following review helpful
By
mkirby212@aol.com
on July 12, 1999
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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I'm a voracious reader of true crime and find that too many of them are poorly written. This book is unusually well written and well organized. I came across the book by following a cable show on NecroSearch, the volunteer forensics organization that participated in helping Richardson put Luther away.
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43 of 45 people found the following review helpful
By
Crystal J. Morton
on June 25, 2000
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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This is one of the best true crime books I've ever read, and I've read hundreds. It is very well-written and gives detailed insight into what went on in Tom Luther's mind. The reader gets to know the 'two Toms' -- the Good Tom and the Bad Tom, and we see him as a human being, not just his criminal side that the media reports. Additionally, the reader gets to know Deb Snider, the woman who loves Good Tom enough to put up with Bad Tom year after year; it's very easy to say she was stupid to tolerate his treatment of her, but the author does a great job of helping you understand why she did so. Highly recommended reading for true crime fans!
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By
A Customer
on October 21, 1998
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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Alert, True Crime fans! For those of us who feast on the genre and who have known too often the frustration--a kind of tawdry humiliation, really, considering the subject-matter--of spending good dollars for bad product, Steve Jackson's "Monster" is superb value both content- and price-wise. At a beefy 530 pages (Amazon's count is uncharacteristically incorrect), Jackson's book is well-researched and features a clear narrative account that is beyond mere "easy to follow"--this book enters the realm of the "could not put it down." The book's length allows its author to include a wealth of detail regarding the heinous crimes of one Thomas Luther, and allows him to do so in an unstilted manner--there's not an incident recounted here that reads awkwardly. Unlike many convoluted attempts by authorial wannabes, Jackson's prose is the real deal; it reads as true as its recounted conversations ring. The book records the pursuit of Luther by Detective Scott Richardson, and documents the twists, turns, and inner turmoil involved in a case of this nature: As Richardson struggles first to find the body of Cher Elder and then to prove the case against the sociopathic Luther, a chronic repeat offender, the reader becomes an active agent in that pursuit, rather than a passive follower of it. Those of you well-read in the genre know what I mean when I say that this is an extremely difficult task for a writer. Jackson is worth two Ann Rules and three Jack Olsens, and those are writers I much admire. Indeed, other than Capote's "In Cold Blood," the Platonic ideal for a true-crime tome, I can think of no book I've found more of an enjoyable challenge.Read more ›
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By
Marlene Meijer
on May 12, 2003
Format: Mass Market Paperback
1 Comment
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I really liked this one. It was very hard to put down.
Why is this book so good?
Because you do not learn about one vision but Jackson gives you the versions of how the people who lived near "The Monster" experienced him.For example you will see Luther through the eyes of the woman who loved him,through the eyes of the detective who tries to nail him for years,and bites his teeth in the case. You will be in the skin of his victims their families,but also you will feel their pain,how scared they are,how he managed to create a web surrounding him with people who got mixed up by this men.
The style of the writer appeals a lot to me,eye for detail
As i said before, when i was reading i felt like i was there.
If you start reading this book,make sure you have a lot of time,cause you can't put it down!
Hope you understand my English
Why is this book so good?
Because you do not learn about one vision but Jackson gives you the versions of how the people who lived near "The Monster" experienced him.For example you will see Luther through the eyes of the woman who loved him,through the eyes of the detective who tries to nail him for years,and bites his teeth in the case. You will be in the skin of his victims their families,but also you will feel their pain,how scared they are,how he managed to create a web surrounding him with people who got mixed up by this men.
The style of the writer appeals a lot to me,eye for detail
As i said before, when i was reading i felt like i was there.
If you start reading this book,make sure you have a lot of time,cause you can't put it down!
Hope you understand my English
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By
TomTomTara
on October 24, 2013
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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Repetitive. Needed a good editor to pull this together. There's too much needless information in every direction. Persons in the story give their renditions over and over again. This author just doesn't know when to stop. Less is more and a gifted writer can weave a riveting tale; it took effort to finish this book.
Additionally, while possible victims are introduced to the reader, only one is the MAJOR focus of the book. While Cher Elder's murder is worthy of remembrance in a book (as all victims are), the expectation is that a "serial killer" has serial victims who will share the spotlight. Additionally, one young lady who is presented in the beginning of the book as one of the victims of the killer has different DNA than the suspect by the end of the book and so may not belong in the book after all.
This is a bad dude who belongs in prison, no doubt about it. I'm just not sure I understand what he's done entirely from this book. Yes, he beat women. He killed Cher Elder. A few women he's been seen with he may or may not have done something to. I finished the book and I'm still not clear.
There's seems to be ambiguous feeling on the author's part about Snider, the girlfriend: She loves him, she testifies, no- she's not cooperating, she's a victim too, etc. Let me help you out - she's a psycho herself and should have been charged as an accessory. She obstructed the investigation and lied to investigators. A psychiatric nurse is she? What a joke.
Additionally, while possible victims are introduced to the reader, only one is the MAJOR focus of the book. While Cher Elder's murder is worthy of remembrance in a book (as all victims are), the expectation is that a "serial killer" has serial victims who will share the spotlight. Additionally, one young lady who is presented in the beginning of the book as one of the victims of the killer has different DNA than the suspect by the end of the book and so may not belong in the book after all.
This is a bad dude who belongs in prison, no doubt about it. I'm just not sure I understand what he's done entirely from this book. Yes, he beat women. He killed Cher Elder. A few women he's been seen with he may or may not have done something to. I finished the book and I'm still not clear.
There's seems to be ambiguous feeling on the author's part about Snider, the girlfriend: She loves him, she testifies, no- she's not cooperating, she's a victim too, etc. Let me help you out - she's a psycho herself and should have been charged as an accessory. She obstructed the investigation and lied to investigators. A psychiatric nurse is she? What a joke.
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