The Official Websleuths Investigative Book Club Book #2 - Confessions Of A serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer.

[Bounceycat]

Just finished chapter 2, which detailed his childhood. It made me wonder how many of his childhood friends noticed something different about him, even in hindsight.

 

[tricia]

Hey Everyone we will be having a YouTube Livestream shortly to discuss the BTK book.
We will go live at 8 PM Eastern. Hope to see you then.
Tricia

 

[Bounceycat]

Just finished the book and I need brain bleach. Wow that was a difficult read. It's as close as you'll get to a BTK autobiography. Off to find a lighthearted romance novel to borrow from the library to cleanse my brain!

 

[JacksonFentry]

Finished ken and Barbie murder novel today. Btk must be kin to these families.

 

[SnarkyTreehugger]

I think I may have to sit out on reading this book. I can’t keep up

 

[watergirl62]

I just finished chapter 5 Cubing. It was a struggle for me to get through because I didnt find it interesting. I am not sure I will actually finish this book.

 

[Lisa G1]

I am struggling to get thru this one. I find I have to skim over the details. What an evil man.

 

[tricia]

We're doing a livestream tonight at 8 PM Eastern. We'll discuss Nancy Guthrie and the BTK book by Dr. Ramsland. Hope you will join us.

 

[Lynle0219]

5 more hours to listen to this book on Audible. I am really trying to get through this.

 

[Spmama]

Just finished chapter 2, which detailed his childhood. It made me wonder how many of his childhood friends noticed something different about him, even in hindsight.

I was wondering the same thing. I’ve known some wacko’s in my life and had met quite a few people who did turn out to be unhinged. I doubt he could have kept his oddities hidden no matter how secretive he was.

 

[OneLove]

Has anything been said about his extended family in s. Missouri? I believe I may have known a relative of his generation from there.

 

[Bounceycat]

Has anything been said about his extended family in s. Missouri? I believe I may have known a relative of his generation from there.

The furthest back his recollections in the book went were to his 4 grandparents, who stilk lived in the same general area of Kansas.

 

[cujenn81]

I finished the book a week or two ago but it wasn’t easy. Here are a few of my thoughts. (Apologies for my wordiness.)

Firstly, and most importantly, Dennis Rader has got to be the luckiest serial killer of all time. He left a knife at one scene and a gun at another. Both times he returned to the scene to retrieve the item (once in his own car). He left a living victim in Kevin Bright, who saw his face and was able to describe him to police. He entered a house he hadn’t studied when his original target didn’t pan out. Her children were home and also saw his face. He targeted a neighbor. He forgot to remove a cord he used to bind a victim before disposing of her body in a ditch and then returned the next day to retrieve it. He believed every woman when she said someone was expected home soon (which was nearly all of them) and rushed things. He disposed of a body in the bushes, retrieved it later in his own car, and then DROVE AROUND with the body in his PASSENGER SEAT. He returned to that same body a second time to take photographs. This doesn’t even begin to cover the total number of times he could’ve been caught.

Secondly, there are many things about Dennis Rader that are just cringe (and by that, I mean embarrassing). Like the way he uses “sexually” instead of sexual and his obsession with the number three and multiples of three.

He always bought three pairs of slacks, he had three childhood girlfriends, three grade school friends, three college sweethearts, he was born on the ninth day of the third month of 1945 and graduated high school in 1963. He entered the Air Force in 1966.

*Of course, if someone wants to find certain connections, they will find them — no matter how tangential.

Look how easily I can connect the same ridiculous dots. I was born during the sixth month of 1981. 8+1 = 9. I graduated high school on the third day of the sixth month in 1999. Nine is a multiple of three… and by God, nine appears three times! After a lengthy hiatus, I ultimately obtained a college degree in (yep, you guessed it!) 2009. Ooh, let’s see what else. An old phone number started with 995. My mom was one of three children. I had three serious relationships before I got married. Two of my nearest and dearest friends have the EXACT SAME birthday as my husband (1/29). My mom’s birthday (1/30) is the day after my husband’s birthday and my mother-in-law died on my mother’s birthday (1/30).

Side note: I actually do find it fascinating that two of my best friends growing up have the same birthday as my husband. I must really connect with people born on that day.

Lastly, I find it very strange how much Dennis Rader wants the world to believe that he’s really not a bad guy. Despite his heinous crimes, this seems important to him for some reason. I mean, he let one lady smoke a cigarette and another keep her sweater on before he killed them. Would he really do such a thing if he were a true psychopath?

And his justifications for being a serial killer are as ridiculous as they are endless. His mom fell off a horse when she was pregnant. He was dropped on his head as a baby. He inhaled secondhand smoke and was forced to exist on a WWII diet. The indentions on his head.

 

[OneLove]

I finished the book a week or two ago but it wasn’t easy. Here are a few of my thoughts. (Apologies for my wordiness.)

Firstly, and most importantly, Dennis Rader has got to be the luckiest serial killer of all time. He left a knife at one scene and a gun at another. Both times he returned to the scene to retrieve the item (once in his own car). He left a living victim in Kevin Bright, who saw his face and was able to describe him to police. He entered a house he hadn’t studied when his original target didn’t pan out. Her children were home and also saw his face. He targeted a neighbor. He forgot to remove a cord he used to bind a victim before disposing of her body in a ditch and then returned the next day to retrieve it. He believed every woman when she said someone was expected home soon (which was nearly all of them) and rushed things. He disposed of a body in the bushes, retrieved it later in his own car, and then DROVE AROUND with the body in his PASSENGER SEAT. He returned to that same body a second time to take photographs. This doesn’t even begin to cover the total number of times he could’ve been caught.

Secondly, there are many things about Dennis Rader that are just cringe (and by that, I mean embarrassing). Like the way he uses “sexually” instead of sexual and his obsession with the number three and multiples of three.

He always bought three pairs of slacks, he had three childhood girlfriends, three grade school friends, three college sweethearts, he was born on the ninth day of the third month of 1945 and graduated high school in 1963. He entered the Air Force in 1966.

*Of course, if someone wants to find certain connections, they will find them — no matter how tangential.

Look how easily I can connect the same ridiculous dots. I was born during the sixth month of 1981. 8+1 = 9. I graduated high school on the third day of the sixth month in 1999. Nine is a multiple of three… and by God, nine appears three times! After a lengthy hiatus, I ultimately obtained a college degree in (yep, you guessed it!) 2009. Ooh, let’s see what else. An old phone number started with 995. My mom was one of three children. I had three serious relationships before I got married. Two of my nearest and dearest friends have the EXACT SAME birthday as my husband (1/29). My mom’s birthday (1/30) is the day after my husband’s birthday and my mother-in-law died on my mother’s birthday (1/30).

Side note: I actually do find it fascinating that two of my best friends growing up have the same birthday as my husband. I must really connect with people born on that day.

Lastly, I find it very strange how much Dennis Rader wants the world to believe that he’s really not a bad guy. Despite his heinous crimes, this seems important to him for some reason. I mean, he let one lady smoke a cigarette and another keep her sweater on before he killed them. Would he really do such a thing if he were a true psychopath?

And his justifications for being a serial killer are as ridiculous as they are endless. His mom fell off a horse when she was pregnant. He was dropped on his head as a baby. He inhaled secondhand smoke and was forced to exist on a WWII diet. The indentions on his head.

Thank you for this very informative review. ~♡~