Serial Killers of the '80s: Stories Behind a Decadent Decade of Death

by Jane Fritsch

The 1980s were a time of notorious serial killers—Jeffrey Dahmer, Aileen Wuornos, Samuel Little—but also of advances in forensics that helped lead to their capture.
The serial killer became part of our common cultural consciousness in the 1970s and, in the decade that followed, the FBI confronted even more incomprehensible crimes and their perpetrators. This engrossing collection of illustrated true-crime profiles details the unthinkable exploits of a rogue’s gallery that includes—in addition to Jeffrey Dahmer, Aileen Wuornos, and Gary Ridgway—Samuel Little and Joseph James DeAngelo, serial murderers whose criminal legacies are still making headlines today.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

304 pages, Paperback

Published August 2, 2022

Reviews

[Kasey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Straight and to the point. I only wish there was more information provided on the victims, their lives, and their families.

[✨Nikki✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I think it has about a 3.5 stars for me.
The details and factual stuff are very well written, and overall it was a brief read that didn't really delve into too much of the gruesome details but rather focused more on how they were convicted, and the legal battles that led to their final prosecutions-which were not entirely what I was looking for.
I thought I was gonna get like a detailed psychological analysis of the killers and their backgrounds, and how each case is unique and distinct because of that. But I just got a brief overview that, in my opinion, focused a little too much on the legal process. I understand that is a part of the story and inherently a part of how they are known now, but it was just not what I expected.
Also, I think the epilogue was entirely useless. I didn't know why the author categorized them and still gave them all a brief description like how I read about them 50 pages ago. The author even added other killers that were not listed in the book. It was to a point that I could just read the epilogue and not read anything else in the book because the epilogue was just repeating everything that was written in the chapters. It almost felt like I could just skip to the epilogue and still get the same thing out of the book, so I really don't understand the inclusion of this redundant segment of the book.
But props for the Appendix for two of the cases involved. It was really stunning to read the transcript interview between the killer and the FBI. Truly mind-boggling. That segment itself added another 1.5 stars back on the rating for me, or else I would have rated this book 2 stars because of the waste of time reading the epilogue.
Still, I had a good time reading it, although it felt like it took me forever to finish it, even though I read this book every day. Good for people that just want a peak into the cases, but not so useful if you already know these cases and are looking for a deeper dive.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent but very superficial look at some of the worst and most prolific murderers in history. Obviously I did not expect great detail, and it was the repetitiveness of the epilogue that bumped it down for me from three stars to two. A great jumping off point if you don’t know anything about these monsters, but you can skip it if you’ve already read books about any of them.

[Celeste Langley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rapid Fire Thoughts

- This is a good read for someone who does not have a lot of prior knowledge of well-known serial killers and wants the basics.
- I knew a decent amount about a couple of the serial killers included and was less than impressed by the information given.
- In the past, I have listened to true crime podcasts and watched documentaries. This was my first book about true crime and I do feel like I learned a decent amount about the killers, but there is a lot more information out there that I think is more victim-forward. It is obvious Fritsch is very enthralled with serial killers. She does not give the victims the respect they deserve in my opinion.
- The way some of the profiles are set up makes the storyline confusing. I think Fritsch was trying to "do something different" with a subject that has been covered a million times. Unfortunately, changing up the timeline in the profile was the best she could come up with.
- Calling this book "Stories Behind a Decadent Decade of Death" is the thing that bugs me the most. I bought this in a bookstore, I was paroozing and didn't pay that much attention to the details of the cover I just saw profiles of '80s serial killers. Had I seen that blurb it would have stayed on the shelf. This book tells us the stories of serial killers who together have taken hundreds of lives. THAT IS NOT DECADENT. That is despicable, deplorable, and downright disturbing.
- The epilogue was dumb.
- The appendixes were interesting, but nothing new.

Overall this book meets the bare minimum of 3 stars. I'm sure there are much better books you can find on this subject.

View my full review at https://lesbooknook.blogspot.com/

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gave a good overview of the serial killers from the 80s including factual information and the legal process involved in each case. It didn’t discuss the murders themselves, but how each killer was caught and their convictions. The introduction focuses on killers with briefer overviews, but also mentions serial killers who were not mentioned later. The epilogue basically covered everything the book does, but was a shorter version. I learned new information about a few cases, but none of the others were new information for me. I think overall it was well written and can definitely provide new information for those who don’t know much about the 80s and the serial killers.

[Haley Newlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really interesting read. I feel that through my own novels and my love of 60s and 70s music, I tend to know more about true crime in those eras.

I never knew how truly awful the Btk killer was, along side the green river killer, and so many others. What I found lacking in this book was a closer look at the killers psychology. This is more like an overall retelling of the crimes they committed, without going too deep into any particular victims.

Still, this was interesting and I will pick up the 70s edition

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book added very little to what has been presented in Netflix shows and movies. It really lacked depth. The presented order of the criminals is odd with repetitive info between sections (chapters and epilogue).

The Dahmer dossier at the end is interesting to read.

Over all, I was a bit disappointed. I think trying to capture such complex murderers in 10-30 page chapters is impossible.

[Stephanie VanBesien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good book if you are interested in serial killers. Has the most recognizable ones and some other ones. Fairly short chapters highlighting their murders and trials. Enough details to get you interested into learning more. Few extras at the end, including Jeffrey Dahmer’s FBI dossier. I skipped past that.

[Debra · Rating 1 out of 5]

No new information - all the info of these killers is simply a re-formatting of the various police and FBI reports put into one volume. And the victims lists at the end of each chapter. Made me think of a high schoolers report....

[Desiree Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like his other book serial killers of the 7 days it is a great read to learn about a certain Killers during the time age just enough to get you hooked and look into the killers that they wrote about, definitely a good book for someone who is just starting out with the true crime.

[Jazmin Grimaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good. It gives a solid overview of different serial killers from the 80s straight facts, easy to follow. But it felt like something was missing. Like, it just skimmed the surface. No deep dives or storytelling, just info. Still interesting, just wish it had a bit more substance.

[Adrienne Naibauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serial Killers of the '80's is well written and very interesting. The stories of some of the worst killers in American history, from when the started to their eventual capture and whete they are now.

[Carmen Agustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book, I learned about a few serial killers that I've never heard about.

[Tabi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short descriptions, some overlap and reiterating. Heavily sourced appendices.

[John Wooliscroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick glance into the crimes of many of American history's greatest monsters!

[Dakota Betts · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting

[Sofia Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I already knew most of the serial killers so it wasn’t my favorite but it was very informative and if you’re curious about serial killers this is the book for you!!

[Fullmoon Poet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informational but a little hard to follow some of the timelines. Could've used more information on the victims and straightened out events better.

[Clay Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.

[Sidney Dyles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. Writing was confusing at times as it wasn’t told in the most streamlined way and caught a typo on a date. Wish it went more in depth for the victims.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book if you just want a quick little blurb into the various serial killers of the 80s.

[Loghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

beach read