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438th out of 764 books
—
203 voters
Portrait of a Monster: Joran van der Sloot, a Murder in Peru, and the Natalee Holloway Mystery
From a pair ofNew York Timesbestselling authors with unparalleled access comes an in-depth account of the manhunt forJoran van der Sloot, one of the most reviled accused criminals in the world
In May 2005, Natalee Holloway disappeared from a high school trip toAruba. Five years to the day later, twenty-one-year-oldStephanyFloreswas reported missing inLima,Peru. Implicated i...more
In May 2005, Natalee Holloway disappeared from a high school trip toAruba. Five years to the day later, twenty-one-year-oldStephanyFloreswas reported missing inLima,Peru. Implicated i...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
July 5th 2011
by St. Martin's Press
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From a pair of New York Times bestselling authors with unparalleled access comes an in-depth account of the manhunt for Joran van der Sloot, one of the most reviled accused criminals in the world
In May 2005, Natalee Holloway disappeared from a high school trip to Aruba. Five years to the day later, twenty-one-year-old Stephany Flores was reported missing in Lima, Peru. Implicated in both crimes was one young man: Joran van der Sloot.
A twenty-three-year-old Dutchman, Van der Sloot has become the...more
In May 2005, Natalee Holloway disappeared from a high school trip to Aruba. Five years to the day later, twenty-one-year-old Stephany Flores was reported missing in Lima, Peru. Implicated in both crimes was one young man: Joran van der Sloot.
A twenty-three-year-old Dutchman, Van der Sloot has become the...more
Some Americans may have a “where did I hear that name before” reaction to Joran Van Der Sloot. Most Americans and a considerable part of the rest of the world recognize the name Natalee Holloway. Natalee Holloway was the eighteen year-old from Alabama who went to Aruba with members of her senior class to celebrate their graduation. One night, a group of girls went to a very popular bar, Carlos’ n Charlie’s, on their last night in Aruba. The students and their chaperones had agreed that there was...more
“Portrait of a Monster” by Lisa Pulitzer and Cole Thompson, published by St. Martin’s Press.
Category – True Crime
In May 2005 the people of the United States was captivated with the story of a young Alabama girl who disappeared on a senior class trip to Aruba. Natalee Holloway became the top story of the year until Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans.
In their book Pulitzer and Thompson do an excellent job of following the story from Natalee’s disappearance to the incarceration of Joran Van...more
Category – True Crime
In May 2005 the people of the United States was captivated with the story of a young Alabama girl who disappeared on a senior class trip to Aruba. Natalee Holloway became the top story of the year until Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans.
In their book Pulitzer and Thompson do an excellent job of following the story from Natalee’s disappearance to the incarceration of Joran Van...more
Author: Lisa Pulitzer and Cole Thompson
Plot: He’s been called a “monster,” “sociopath,” and “serial killer,” suspected of robbery, extortion, sex trafficking, and murder. He’s been implicated in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba, and accused of the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores in a Peruvian hotel room. He’s made headlines, allegations, and confessions he later denied. But after years of intense scrutiny, the question remains: Who is Joran van der Sloot? From two New York Time...more
Plot: He’s been called a “monster,” “sociopath,” and “serial killer,” suspected of robbery, extortion, sex trafficking, and murder. He’s been implicated in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba, and accused of the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores in a Peruvian hotel room. He’s made headlines, allegations, and confessions he later denied. But after years of intense scrutiny, the question remains: Who is Joran van der Sloot? From two New York Time...more
Really well done. The authors (as Cole Thompson is also credited on the cover of the advance uncorrected proof I received) do an excellent job of reconstructing the events that surrounded the death of Stephany Flores and the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, without making their own conjectures or innuendoes. The facts themselves are damning enough without editorialization, and the sober way in which these are presented create a far more chilling and believable portrait of Joran van der Sloot t...more
Van der Sloot is by all means a monster and this is a fair rendition of the events surrounding Stephany Flores' murder and Natalee Holloway's disappearance. My thoughts are with their families.
That said, the authors could have done a better job. Let me explain: for example, they wrongly declare over and over again in the book that Joran is 6ft4inch tall. My hubby, who by all means is a very tall man, is 6ft4inch which is 1.93 meters or 193 centimeters. If you look at the many pictures, in the b...more
That said, the authors could have done a better job. Let me explain: for example, they wrongly declare over and over again in the book that Joran is 6ft4inch tall. My hubby, who by all means is a very tall man, is 6ft4inch which is 1.93 meters or 193 centimeters. If you look at the many pictures, in the b...more
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Apr 02, 2012
Daisy*•.♥.•*
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
true-crime,
my-favorites
I bought this book off ebay sometime last year and like I do with most of the books I buy, I put it on one on my bookshelves hoping to read it someday. When I finally picked it up to read it I discovered that it was an Advance Media Copy so it was un-edited version and there were no pictures inside….. UGH! One of the things that I like about reading True Crime books is looking at the pictures and being able to put a face to some of the names. Let this be a lesson learned. READ THE FINE PRINT bef...more
Readers of true crime will appreciate the meticulous research that provided the information presented in this book. In May 2005, American student Natalee Holloway vanished while vacationing on the island of Aruba. The prime suspect in her disappearance was a young resident of Aruba, Joran van der Sloot. Although an exhaustive search was conducted, Natalee was never found. Five years to the day, another young woman, Stephany Flores, was found brutally murdered in Peru. Her body was discovered in...more
It's hard to get enthused trying to get into the mind of a sociopath: the charm and lies, the defensive parents "He's a good boy!"
He killed two young women and is awaiting trial for the one in Peru, where they did find her body. The sad young Natalee Holloway's body is still missing in Aruba. The killer has never been formally charged and tried for her murder. His father may or may not have had something to do with aiding in the disposing of the body, but he died on the tennis court.
Probably th...more
He killed two young women and is awaiting trial for the one in Peru, where they did find her body. The sad young Natalee Holloway's body is still missing in Aruba. The killer has never been formally charged and tried for her murder. His father may or may not have had something to do with aiding in the disposing of the body, but he died on the tennis court.
Probably th...more
First of all let me tell you that I am Dutch so the same country where his parents came from and where Joran lived for a few years. I finished reading this book this morning and I liked it a lot. I know Lisa Pulitzer is a good writer.
I learned a few things I did not know. Most shocked was I when I read about him trying to extort Natalie's mum. That was so low. I do not like her a lot but that was so nasty.
To be honest I thought he was framed cause he is pretty smart and it was weird that the m...more
I learned a few things I did not know. Most shocked was I when I read about him trying to extort Natalie's mum. That was so low. I do not like her a lot but that was so nasty.
To be honest I thought he was framed cause he is pretty smart and it was weird that the m...more
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It's an okay book, very slow reading. It makes you think why someone would do these things; he had so much potential. Some ways it makes you wonder that maybe he didn't have a role in the Halloway disappearance. By being portrayed as the "killer" it ruined his future. How could a body not be found, he didn't have access to a boat. More than likely there were a lot more people involved in her disappearance than we would like to think. I'm glad he is locked up and hopefully eventually the truth wi...more
Fast reading, good research, but I hate to rate it other than a 3 because of the topic. It seems a crime in itself that Joran Van der Sloot was allowed to get off on Natalee Holloway's murder in Aruba, only to be released, and then go on to murder the next young lady, Stephany Flores in Peru. I feel terrible for all of their family, friends and parents. What sorrow and frustration they must feel every day.
This was a pretty good true-crime narration and the authors device for switching back and forth between two crimes separated by five years was effective (the only nit to pick is that they got the date glaringly wrong on one of the chapters, something a good editor or proofreader should have caught).
Joran van der Sloot is the epitome of evil; one pities his greiving mother almost as much as his victims.
Joran van der Sloot is the epitome of evil; one pities his greiving mother almost as much as his victims.
Well-written, very detailed and yet sad. I thought I knew a lot about the Natalee Holloway case, but this book had more details. Plus I didn't know much about the Stephany Flores case at all - the book alternates chapters between the Peru murder and the Aruba disappearance ... very compelling, very interesting, I was up until 3 a.m. reading it - could not put it down!
I don't think that much was brought to light in comparison to what is already out about both cases. I genuinely hope van der sloot rots. The pain and torment he has brought to these families with absolutely no sense of remorse is horrendous.
How it was written confused me. There was a part where I thought I was already reading Stephany's murder, but then it was actually a murder that had transpired back in 2005. The story kept on going back and forth form the current to the past crime, it's really confusing. Anyway, it's still a great read.
It's hard to pick "I really liked it" for a book about a slimeball that you want fried like a Peruvian cockroach, but the book is thorough and interesting and I couldn't put it down. Dutch law absolutely blows.
picked it up wanting to learn more about this creep. I am still fascinated by the Holloway case and this book helped shed some light on this appropriately titled "monster". A book for all true crime lovers.
Extremely well-researched. Good writing. I like how this story takes place in many different locations around the globe (Aruba, Peru, Thailand, Netherlands).
I found this book to be hard to put down ; knowing that this really happened and is an ongoing horror story!
What an asshole this Joran van der Sloot! And he's dutch as I am... what a shame!!
Scary to read how much of a psychopath this guy is, however the book doesn't really provide much closure, as he keeps making up stories as to what he says really happened.
Mar 15, 2012
Silent Partner
added it
DNF --boring
What a jerk!
I feel for the parents of Natalee Holloway as they are dealing with a psychopath and pathological liar. He should be going on trial soon for the murder he committed in So. America and hopefully justice will be served in that case.
Aug 01, 2011
Joni
added it
Really good!
This book is remarkable for its amazing in-depth reporting. So much of what I read in the book was never reported in the media. The only reason I could not give it 5 stars is that the book is in need of an editor. The writing is mostly quite good, but in spots it is faulty and even ungrammatical.
good
This is another one that I couldn't decide between three and four stars. If you like true crime books, I would definitely recommend this.
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