Blood Highway

by Sheila Johnson

Recounts the true story of the arrest of Hayward Bissell, a four-hundred-pound man who went on a murderous rampage down an Alabama highway, leaving a trail of carnage that included the mutilated body of his pregnant girlfriend. Reissue.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

303 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

Reviews

[Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not finish this book. I gritted my way through maybe 33% of it before I gave up. The people involved were colorless, one-dimensional. It just read as a bunch of newspaper clippings strung together with disclaimers by the reporter. Granted I've been spoiled by years of reading Ann Rule and other excellent true crime writers, so perhaps I am being a little harsh. But this book stinks.

[Lorie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly good

writing. Good story, horror that it was. A little too much repetition of information and a lot of statistical information at the end. But, good for this reporter to get the scoop and move to writing non-fiction novels.

[Mollee Lemons · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me absolutely forever to get into reading this book and to be honest I'm not sure that I ever did. This book was sad and crazy, but it also makes you realize how mentally unstable some people are out there in this world.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is written like a 5th grader giving a Science report. So repetitive that if you took out the repeats it would be half the length. I struggled to finish but did because I wanted to know what happened.

[♥ Marlene♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 I wrote about this book:

Just finished this book and now I am wondering what did go wrong?

Well wrong is maybe not the right word but why was I wishing that I could quickly finish this book at the end? The beginning was shocking. I did not know what to expect so I was very surprised. The writing was good, but overall this book did bore me a bit and I cannot explain why. Maybe it was just me. 7.5

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. It tells the story of a true crime. Hayward Bissel killed his girlfriend while on a road trip from Ohio to Florida. The question ... is he insane or just mean as hell. Personally I think anyone who can take the life of another for no good reason, is insane. But you shold be your own judge on this one.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A horrible crime, completely incomprehensible. How love went so terribly wrong. Horrifying. I feel so very sorry for the poor rookie cop that finally got this monster to pull over...what the cop saw...

[Kathleen Riggs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing & Repetitive,
It's frustrating to read the same scenario over and over again. That really takes away from the book.
I hate reading books which go over and over what you just read and jump around.
Do not waste your time reading Blood Highway

[Jeannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a sicko creep this guy was. The book drug along at a fairly slow pace for me which prompted my 2 star rating.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 1 out of 5]

About one hundred pages of information stretched out to 227 through the use of repetition and padding. Might have been a so-so entry in a compilation but there's not enough here for a whole book.

[Pam Koenig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true crime story, that shows you not only the crime, but the effect on all. The last two chapters give a good deal of information on abuse, and the signs to look for and help available.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much and the only negative point I feel I have to make is that the author does have the tendency to repeat the same information several times over. Some true crime books start out with a bang and then slow down significantly once it gets to the trial part. This one did not. It was a good, quick read.