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The Last Victim
Dear Mr. Manson...
It started with a college course assignment, then escalated into a dangerous obsession. Eighteen-year-old honor student Jason Moss wrote to men whose body counts had made criminal history: men named Dahmer, Manson, Ramirez, and Gacy.
Dear Mr. Dahmer...
Posing as their ideal victim, Jason seduced them with his words. One by one they wrote him back, showering him with their madness and violent fantasies. Then the game spun out of control. John Wayne Gacy revealed all to Jason -- and invited his pen pal to visit him in prison...
Dear Mr. Gacy...
It was an offer Jason couldn't turn down. Even if it made him...
The book that has riveted the attention of the national media, this may be the most revealing look at serial killers ever recorded and the most illuminating study of the dark places of the human mind ever attempted.
It started with a college course assignment, then escalated into a dangerous obsession. Eighteen-year-old honor student Jason Moss wrote to men whose body counts had made criminal history: men named Dahmer, Manson, Ramirez, and Gacy.
Dear Mr. Dahmer...
Posing as their ideal victim, Jason seduced them with his words. One by one they wrote him back, showering him with their madness and violent fantasies. Then the game spun out of control. John Wayne Gacy revealed all to Jason -- and invited his pen pal to visit him in prison...
Dear Mr. Gacy...
It was an offer Jason couldn't turn down. Even if it made him...
The book that has riveted the attention of the national media, this may be the most revealing look at serial killers ever recorded and the most illuminating study of the dark places of the human mind ever attempted.
330 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1999
371 people are currently reading
9743 people want to read
About the author
Jason M. Moss
1 book24 followersAmerican attorney and author of a book about serial killers.
While studying for his honors thesis Moss established relationships with John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez, Henry Lee Lucas, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Charles Manson.
He did so by researching what would appeal to his subjects the most and then casting himself in the role of disciple, admirer, surrogate, or potential victim, as necessary.
Jason Moss died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in his Henderson, Nevada home on the morning of June 6, 2006
While studying for his honors thesis Moss established relationships with John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez, Henry Lee Lucas, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Charles Manson.
He did so by researching what would appeal to his subjects the most and then casting himself in the role of disciple, admirer, surrogate, or potential victim, as necessary.
Jason Moss died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in his Henderson, Nevada home on the morning of June 6, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 523 reviews
March 25, 2024
This is one of the darkest books I’ve read. Certainly, the most unethical. The author, Jason Moss, perhaps best summed up my thoughts:
“The more I read, the queasier I started to feel, and yet I couldn’t put the book down.”
Eighteen-year-old student, Jason, began to write letters to serial killers in hope of better understanding their psychology. At the time, he was keen for a career in law enforcement and thought it might look good to the FBI - he would later intern for the Secret Service.
Jason’s new pen-pals were the worst of the worst: John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez, Jeffrey Dahmer, Charles Manson and others. He specifically tailored the letters to each killer – effectively using himself (and later, his brother) as bait.
“It was strange to read Gacy’s words - to think that this man, who’d taken the lives of so many young men just like me, was now turning his attention my way.”
The Last Victim is a book that makes you need to come up for air. While hard to put down, it’s essential that you do. The minds of serial killers aren’t a healthy place to be - even the prologue says it requires a strong stomach.
It was interesting to read the effect this “project” had on Jason. As his relationship with Gacy progressed, he experienced disrupted sleep, declining schoolwork and feelings of isolation and loneliness. It was equally disturbing to read of his withdrawal from friends and society, and beginning to identify with these killers. I felt a strong sense of impending doom, with various passages giving me chills.
“The cumulative months of receiving letters describing Manson’s insane views on the world, Dahmer’s attempts at seduction, Ramirez’s satanic visions of murder, and Gacy’s sadistic sexual fantasies pressed down on me like a coffin lid.”
The author was hard to like, displaying narcissistic traits similar to those he wrote. Ego featured heavily. I felt the author was an unreliable narrator at times too. This was most evident during his visit to Gacy on death row, which descended into something that resembled poorly written fiction.
The Last Victim is a tragic journey into the world of serial killers and the lost souls who are drawn to them. It’s both a cautionary tale, and exploration of how culture glorifies violence and turns killers into celebrities. It’s nightmare fuel that’s impossible to look away from. For Jason Moss, those nightmares were all too real. He would sadly take his own life on 06/06/06.
Recommend for true crime buffs seeking a unique read.
“My body may not have been buried beneath Gacy’s house, but part of my soul would rest in his trophy case. I was his last victim.”
“The more I read, the queasier I started to feel, and yet I couldn’t put the book down.”
Eighteen-year-old student, Jason, began to write letters to serial killers in hope of better understanding their psychology. At the time, he was keen for a career in law enforcement and thought it might look good to the FBI - he would later intern for the Secret Service.
Jason’s new pen-pals were the worst of the worst: John Wayne Gacy, Richard Ramirez, Jeffrey Dahmer, Charles Manson and others. He specifically tailored the letters to each killer – effectively using himself (and later, his brother) as bait.
“It was strange to read Gacy’s words - to think that this man, who’d taken the lives of so many young men just like me, was now turning his attention my way.”
The Last Victim is a book that makes you need to come up for air. While hard to put down, it’s essential that you do. The minds of serial killers aren’t a healthy place to be - even the prologue says it requires a strong stomach.
It was interesting to read the effect this “project” had on Jason. As his relationship with Gacy progressed, he experienced disrupted sleep, declining schoolwork and feelings of isolation and loneliness. It was equally disturbing to read of his withdrawal from friends and society, and beginning to identify with these killers. I felt a strong sense of impending doom, with various passages giving me chills.
“The cumulative months of receiving letters describing Manson’s insane views on the world, Dahmer’s attempts at seduction, Ramirez’s satanic visions of murder, and Gacy’s sadistic sexual fantasies pressed down on me like a coffin lid.”
The author was hard to like, displaying narcissistic traits similar to those he wrote. Ego featured heavily. I felt the author was an unreliable narrator at times too. This was most evident during his visit to Gacy on death row, which descended into something that resembled poorly written fiction.
The Last Victim is a tragic journey into the world of serial killers and the lost souls who are drawn to them. It’s both a cautionary tale, and exploration of how culture glorifies violence and turns killers into celebrities. It’s nightmare fuel that’s impossible to look away from. For Jason Moss, those nightmares were all too real. He would sadly take his own life on 06/06/06.
Recommend for true crime buffs seeking a unique read.
“My body may not have been buried beneath Gacy’s house, but part of my soul would rest in his trophy case. I was his last victim.”
September 17, 2011
The first person POV and YA-esque prose was kind of annoying, but this book offers some fantastic insight into the minds and behaviour of some of the sickest assholes America has ever produced. I'd put this book on your shelf to keep as resource material once you're done reading it.
The book is also very telling about the mind of the writer himself, as you begin to see the walls break down as Moss is assaulted time and again by guys like John Wayne Gacy. You can see for yourself how effective an emotional attack on one's psyche can cause people to break down. As the relationships continue to grow and take over Moss' life, you can see his real life suffering under the stress of so many psychos...eventually turning Moss into an isolated and depressed loner, exactly the right form to make him susceptible to these kind of people in the first place.
Moss killed himself in 2006, on 6/6/06. As heavy satanic studies were part of his strategy to get into the mind of Richard Ramirez, it makes me wonder if he ever really recovered from his relationships with these men. Maybe these people are like slime on rotting meat, and long after you scrub your hands clean from touching it the vague, uneasy feeling of corruption persists on the edge of your nerves, just tickling enough to let you know they are still there.
The book is also very telling about the mind of the writer himself, as you begin to see the walls break down as Moss is assaulted time and again by guys like John Wayne Gacy. You can see for yourself how effective an emotional attack on one's psyche can cause people to break down. As the relationships continue to grow and take over Moss' life, you can see his real life suffering under the stress of so many psychos...eventually turning Moss into an isolated and depressed loner, exactly the right form to make him susceptible to these kind of people in the first place.
Moss killed himself in 2006, on 6/6/06. As heavy satanic studies were part of his strategy to get into the mind of Richard Ramirez, it makes me wonder if he ever really recovered from his relationships with these men. Maybe these people are like slime on rotting meat, and long after you scrub your hands clean from touching it the vague, uneasy feeling of corruption persists on the edge of your nerves, just tickling enough to let you know they are still there.
April 29, 2010
I read this book about a year ago and thought it was really interesting. I think that Jason was a really disturbed guy, not just young and naive. Seeing as how he became a defense attorney who mainly represented murderers, and then killed himself because he couldnt live with the life he had led makes me think there may have been more to the conversations (at least) than he let on in the book. I think he was already a disturbed person prior to his contact with Gacy and the others though. I love reading about and watching shows about murder and serial killers, but I would be extremely uncomfortable speaking to one, or being around one. He really crossed the line (especially using his younger brother as bait), and the fact that it didn't bother him that he was placing himself and his family in potential danger just leads me to believe that he had some of those sociopathic traits as well.
They are also making a movie about the book called 'Dear Mr. Gacy', although it has been in the works for quite a while now and never seems to find a release date.
The guy seemed to have a lot of potential, and I think the whole story is really sad. But I have to wonder what he expected to get out of the whole thing. And why did his parents go along with it?
They are also making a movie about the book called 'Dear Mr. Gacy', although it has been in the works for quite a while now and never seems to find a release date.
The guy seemed to have a lot of potential, and I think the whole story is really sad. But I have to wonder what he expected to get out of the whole thing. And why did his parents go along with it?
June 26, 2009
A harmless time-passer, I guess. While the premise, as trashy true crime books go, was good--eighteen-year-old boy befriends John Wayne Gacy and other serial killers, visits Gacy in prison, where he is terrorized--the story was severely hampered by how much I couldn't stand Jason Moss himself. He is simultaneously arrogant and insecure, and most of the book is little more than a resume of his accomplishments, related in such a way that you KNOW you'd hate the guy if you ever met him. Still, the parts that didn't focus on the author and his mommy issues were pretty interesting. I'd only recommend this if you think you can put up with every stereotypically annoying, smug overachiever you've ever known for the duration of two hundred some-odd pages.
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October 12, 2014Disturbing, and not in an educational way. Factually questionable (hard to believe FBI would ask some random kid to try and get access to the notebook of an incarcerated prisoner - it's prison, the authorities have access to prisoner's possessions at will). Terribly written by someone who can't maintain narrative consistency. The text raises some serious questions about the mental capabilities of the author (and the professional ethics of the ostensible co-author), and it doesn't help the author committed suicide seven years after the book was published. Some of the 'I could do anything and you couldn't stop me' vibe in the Gacy interview sounded a heck of a lot like Richard Ressler's uncomfy encounter with serial killer Edmund Kemper in Whoever Fights Monsters (which is way better written, and by a grown up). Just...yeah I can't give this a star because I feel icky and can't advocate others also feel icky.
August 24, 2014
This book is a quick easy read, and an interesting one.
The only thing that really bothered me about the story was the way the author knowingly used his family, especially his younger brother, to achieve his goal in getting to know, personally, the likes of John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson and Richard Ramirez.
There's an old saying, be careful what you wish for, that's mentioned in this book.
Jason Moss's wish was to get up close and personal with some of the country's most violent killers...and at the age of 31 he was dead by his own hand.
Worth a read.
May 4, 2015
Someone should write a book about the poor kid who wrote this book.
****Spoilers****
At the tender age of eighteen, Jason Moss decided to get chummy with a handful of notorious, a.k.a. "celebrity" killers, including Charles Manson, Richard Rameriz, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy, although mostly Gacy since to the author's chagrin, Dahmer was killed by another inmate in prison before the two of them could get really chummy, and Manson struck the author as more of an overzealous and incoherent nut job than a bondafide serial killer whom he could "study" for the sake of his honor's thesis.
Bascially, Moss contacted all these guys posing in various guises designed to appeal to each killer. To Manson he wrote about his desire to overthrow the system and set the world right. To Gacy, he confessed he was sexually confused and thinking of selling himself on the streets. To Rameriz he claimed he was the leader of a Satanic cult who worshiped Rameriz about as much as they worshiped Satan, and by the way, "my girlfriend wants you to beat the shit out of her." To Dahmer, the author described feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Each of these killers took the bait. Hook, line, and sinker.
Moss feels powerful and clever and in control. He's going to write one hell of a thesis, right?
Within a few months, Moss was corresponding regularly with all these human manifestations of evil, each of whom wanted something different from him. Manson wanted Moss to read books and poems and hook up with his followers on the outside. Rameriz wanted Moss to become "lieutenant" of his Satanic cult, in addition to pornographic magazines subscriptions and nude pictures of Moss's female friends . . . which Moss provided, although they weren't his "friends," per say. Dahmer wanted pictures of Moss. Moreover, he wanted Moss to become his "boyfriend." Gacy wanted a whole shitload of shitty things, and lets just say his requests became shittier and more disgusting as the relationship developed until Moss agreed to visit Gacy in prison.
This two-day, person-to-person visit was equal parts gross and terrifying. Mainly, readers experience a psychopathic predator in action, how someone like Gacy literally cowed his victims with mental hopscotch. This poor kid (remember, only eighteen) finally realizes he's not in control of the situation and breaks down sobbing with Gacy standing over him, foaming at the mouth and wagging his dick around. Meanwhile, the prison guards have been conveniently "dispatched" because Gacy managed to manipulate and bribe them.
Safe to say, Moss was never in control to begin with. Yes, he was a smart kid, an overachieving straight A student who believed he could out manipulate these master manipulators for the sake of an honor's thesis, and he does keep up the guise for an impressive amount of time. But the guises take their toll as Moss begins to feel confused and conflicted about these "relationships." Likewise, Moss was a perfectionist who refused to fail, therefore he let the games go too far until he finally cried "Uncle" with Gacy and made it home in one piece. Scary. In fact, Moss concludes his book by admitting he suffers recurring nightmares about the killers he corresponded with and is afraid all the time and finds it hard to trust anyone. In 2006, six years after the publication of his book, Moss committed suicide. Eerily enough, Gacy predicted as much.
The Last Victim is an intriguing and frightening book about a young man who is equal parts naive and narcissistic and maybe too determined to prove himself a David among Goliaths. Nietzsche once said if you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back. We spend a lot of time rubber necking serial killers.
There's a consequence.
XO.
****Spoilers****
At the tender age of eighteen, Jason Moss decided to get chummy with a handful of notorious, a.k.a. "celebrity" killers, including Charles Manson, Richard Rameriz, Jeffrey Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy, although mostly Gacy since to the author's chagrin, Dahmer was killed by another inmate in prison before the two of them could get really chummy, and Manson struck the author as more of an overzealous and incoherent nut job than a bondafide serial killer whom he could "study" for the sake of his honor's thesis.
Bascially, Moss contacted all these guys posing in various guises designed to appeal to each killer. To Manson he wrote about his desire to overthrow the system and set the world right. To Gacy, he confessed he was sexually confused and thinking of selling himself on the streets. To Rameriz he claimed he was the leader of a Satanic cult who worshiped Rameriz about as much as they worshiped Satan, and by the way, "my girlfriend wants you to beat the shit out of her." To Dahmer, the author described feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Each of these killers took the bait. Hook, line, and sinker.
Moss feels powerful and clever and in control. He's going to write one hell of a thesis, right?
Within a few months, Moss was corresponding regularly with all these human manifestations of evil, each of whom wanted something different from him. Manson wanted Moss to read books and poems and hook up with his followers on the outside. Rameriz wanted Moss to become "lieutenant" of his Satanic cult, in addition to pornographic magazines subscriptions and nude pictures of Moss's female friends . . . which Moss provided, although they weren't his "friends," per say. Dahmer wanted pictures of Moss. Moreover, he wanted Moss to become his "boyfriend." Gacy wanted a whole shitload of shitty things, and lets just say his requests became shittier and more disgusting as the relationship developed until Moss agreed to visit Gacy in prison.
This two-day, person-to-person visit was equal parts gross and terrifying. Mainly, readers experience a psychopathic predator in action, how someone like Gacy literally cowed his victims with mental hopscotch. This poor kid (remember, only eighteen) finally realizes he's not in control of the situation and breaks down sobbing with Gacy standing over him, foaming at the mouth and wagging his dick around. Meanwhile, the prison guards have been conveniently "dispatched" because Gacy managed to manipulate and bribe them.
Safe to say, Moss was never in control to begin with. Yes, he was a smart kid, an overachieving straight A student who believed he could out manipulate these master manipulators for the sake of an honor's thesis, and he does keep up the guise for an impressive amount of time. But the guises take their toll as Moss begins to feel confused and conflicted about these "relationships." Likewise, Moss was a perfectionist who refused to fail, therefore he let the games go too far until he finally cried "Uncle" with Gacy and made it home in one piece. Scary. In fact, Moss concludes his book by admitting he suffers recurring nightmares about the killers he corresponded with and is afraid all the time and finds it hard to trust anyone. In 2006, six years after the publication of his book, Moss committed suicide. Eerily enough, Gacy predicted as much.
The Last Victim is an intriguing and frightening book about a young man who is equal parts naive and narcissistic and maybe too determined to prove himself a David among Goliaths. Nietzsche once said if you look into the abyss, the abyss looks back. We spend a lot of time rubber necking serial killers.
There's a consequence.
XO.
March 31, 2012
Finished reading this book this morning. While I was reading some of the other reviews I learned the author had killed himself.I did not expect that and the weird thing he killed himself on June 6 2006 so 666?
When you read this book Jason moss is writing how many stupid mistakes he made but later you learn he thinks he is all that. I did not like how he used his brother. He told his brother to write a letter to John Wayne Gacy even though he knew by then how Gacy could not stop talking about sex and preferably incest. It was a quick read and I was not surprised to learn that Gacy had the people that work in that prison in the palm of his hands. I also think that Moss did not tell us all. What I know of Gacy I cannot help but wonder that more had to have happened in that jail.
of course he would not write that down. Did they later punish the jailers? Change the rules? I guess not for otherwise Jason would have told us how thanks to him the rules of death row were changed. I do feel sorry for his family.
When you read this book Jason moss is writing how many stupid mistakes he made but later you learn he thinks he is all that. I did not like how he used his brother. He told his brother to write a letter to John Wayne Gacy even though he knew by then how Gacy could not stop talking about sex and preferably incest. It was a quick read and I was not surprised to learn that Gacy had the people that work in that prison in the palm of his hands. I also think that Moss did not tell us all. What I know of Gacy I cannot help but wonder that more had to have happened in that jail.
of course he would not write that down. Did they later punish the jailers? Change the rules? I guess not for otherwise Jason would have told us how thanks to him the rules of death row were changed. I do feel sorry for his family.
December 8, 2013
Okay. I am going to try to be very delicate about my wording. With every ounce of my being I want to cry out "Bull***t!". I went along with the writing to the serial killers, the relationships that resulted, and the effect that it had on Mr. Moss. Even though he said he did extensive research on each killer before writing to them, I found a pretty large error in his bio of Manson.But I was willing to let that slide. However...once he gets to the prison with Gacy, I believed absolutely no part of what transpired. Call it a hunch, but the fact that no one else was around to confirm any part of his story strikes me as false. The impression I get? He got himself in over his head, with his exalted ideas of being able to get inside the heads of serial killers, and then when he actually visited one..nothing happened. The entire prison visit seems to me completely fabricated. The tone of the writing is jarring. Granted, so is the subject matter. But the entire encounter with Gacy seems contrived as does the school assembly ending. Blah.
January 13, 2012
jason moss is totally full of himself. but this is a damn good book.
i couldn't stop reading it, though it's hardly well-written. it's intriguing. terrifying. and disturbing. in many, many ways.
but who hasn't wanted to know what these people are really like? he just had the guts to actually do it.
i'm glad he did. i freakin' loved it.
i couldn't stop reading it, though it's hardly well-written. it's intriguing. terrifying. and disturbing. in many, many ways.
but who hasn't wanted to know what these people are really like? he just had the guts to actually do it.
i'm glad he did. i freakin' loved it.
August 16, 2021
Have you ever read a book that made you feel like you need a beer AND a shower!? Right after I made note of this thought the author said a letter he received made him feel like he needed a shower.
⚠️ ALL THE WARNINGS! ~ FEW CAN HANDLE THIS BOOK! ⚠️
Self inflected madness and so heartbreaking as Jason Moss committed suicide in 2006. (Not a spoiler it is on goodreads)
If you ever considered what it would be like to write a serial killer or even meet one, this book will certainly show you all the reasons NOT TO.
⚠️ ALL THE WARNINGS! ~ FEW CAN HANDLE THIS BOOK! ⚠️
Self inflected madness and so heartbreaking as Jason Moss committed suicide in 2006. (Not a spoiler it is on goodreads)
If you ever considered what it would be like to write a serial killer or even meet one, this book will certainly show you all the reasons NOT TO.
May 11, 2013
Holy Freaking Smokes!! This is my new favorite book! Probably the most interesting things I have ever read! I will be recommending this to every person I talk to! The way Jason was able to gain all these men's trust is so amazing and the things he has read and experienced are unbelievable!! I could not stop reading this and read it in one day so it's a pretty quick read but worth it! To briefly summarize the book: Jason is a college kid who finds some true crime books in a bookstore one day and it sparks somewhat of a fascination on the subject. He decides to write John Wayne Gacy to see if he can start a correspondence between the two. To do this successfully, he must think like the kind of person Gacy would find interesting enough to write back to. When he receives a letter back, he is elated! He begins to build somewhat of a friendship with the "Clown Killer" and decides to write some other famous serial killers as well. He builds small friendships with some, but none as deep and twisted as the one he develops with Gacy. Their relationship builds to involve gifts from the murderer, phone calls, and even a visit with the man which does not go the way it was planned! The psychological toll on Jason is great and he will live with it the rest of his life. Thankfully, he has shared his story and given an insight that not many people have experienced. This is such an amazing and unique book and I am so glad that I found it! Definitely a book that I'm going to read multiple times and recommend to friends!
May 5, 2013
So, it was pretty ham fisted writing....the guy was majoring in psychology rather than literature I guess. It also provoked genuine eye rolling at times - as in, I literally found myself tssking and sending my eyes heavenwards in exasperation.
Jason's attempts at foreshadowing were clunky and awkward and actually at times made me want to NOT read on to the next chapter, which kinda defeats the purpose of the convention.
In the prologue I found this sentence about the author that really rang true later:
"The one discordant note was they his very existence depended so much on being seen as special and unique."
And this one:
"Jason wanted so badly to be recognised and validated. He wanted to feel powerful. And what better way to do so than to deceive and control the world's most famous human predators?"
Perhaps, knowing now that the author committed suicide at the age of 31, we can use this book as a cautionary tale. That no matter how in control you think you are, it's wisest not to get caught up in the attention of psychotic killers. Everyone has a varying degree of fascination with serial killers - why they did it, how, what made them such moral vacuums in the first place - but don't believe that you can control them. There's a reason they were successful in the first place!
Jason's attempts at foreshadowing were clunky and awkward and actually at times made me want to NOT read on to the next chapter, which kinda defeats the purpose of the convention.
In the prologue I found this sentence about the author that really rang true later:
"The one discordant note was they his very existence depended so much on being seen as special and unique."
And this one:
"Jason wanted so badly to be recognised and validated. He wanted to feel powerful. And what better way to do so than to deceive and control the world's most famous human predators?"
Perhaps, knowing now that the author committed suicide at the age of 31, we can use this book as a cautionary tale. That no matter how in control you think you are, it's wisest not to get caught up in the attention of psychotic killers. Everyone has a varying degree of fascination with serial killers - why they did it, how, what made them such moral vacuums in the first place - but don't believe that you can control them. There's a reason they were successful in the first place!
October 21, 2010
This is an incredibly disturbing book, published in 1999. Jason Moss, at age 18, as a high school senior, decided to write a bunch of serial killers. He formulated his letters around what he thought the killers would be attracted to so that they would write back. It worked.
He corresponded with many killers including Richard Ramirez, Henry Lee Lucas, Jeffrey Dahmer, and most of all - John Wayne Gacy. Gacy's letters and eventual phone calls lead to a prison visit, which does not go at ALL how the author envisions - he barely escapes with his life by the sound of it.
The most disturbing part of this book however, is how haunted the author ended up from these visits - early on in the book (page 111) Gacy tells him that this life will hit rock bottom some day, and it is important that he recognize when the time comes for him to end his own life.
Tragically, many years later, that is exactly what happened to Jason Moss. To add to the creep factor - the date of his suicide was June 6, 2006 - 666. Just awful.
A sad, sad story.
He corresponded with many killers including Richard Ramirez, Henry Lee Lucas, Jeffrey Dahmer, and most of all - John Wayne Gacy. Gacy's letters and eventual phone calls lead to a prison visit, which does not go at ALL how the author envisions - he barely escapes with his life by the sound of it.
The most disturbing part of this book however, is how haunted the author ended up from these visits - early on in the book (page 111) Gacy tells him that this life will hit rock bottom some day, and it is important that he recognize when the time comes for him to end his own life.
Tragically, many years later, that is exactly what happened to Jason Moss. To add to the creep factor - the date of his suicide was June 6, 2006 - 666. Just awful.
A sad, sad story.
May 6, 2019
All my reviews can be found at: http://jessicasreadingroom.com
~~~~
When you decide to begin a ‘hobby’ there are not many people who would do what Jason Moss did: write to prison inmates. And not just prison inmates, but infamous serial killers! Even more shocking is that Jason did this at 18 years old and his parents knew about it.
The Last Victim is Moss’ first-hand account of his writing to infamous killers and ‘getting in their head’ by posing as what would be their ‘ideal’ victim. Moss writes it as if he is talking to you. The Last Victim was released while I was in college and I read it twice. I was a psychology major and took as many criminal justice type classes as I could. I was going through my reading only true crime books phase, so this book was perfect for me at that time of my life. Also, Moss was just a few years older than me!
Now, Kim and I both chose to listen to the audible version she bought and bring you a double review. I did not have much memory of this memoir as it has been at least 15 years since I read it. The Last Victim is candid, shocking, and extremely disturbing. I don’t know if there is a difference between reading the book and having it narrated to you, but I found myself turning the volume down as I was driving when the book got to the graphic contents. I guess I did not want people to possibly hear what I was listening to! I don’t know what Gacy sounded like, but the narrator’s portrayal of him is just frightening!
Moss writes not just one, but multiple killers in the same time frame. He wrote John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, Richard Ramirez, and Jeffrey Dahmer among others. Moss shares his letters with candor and this book is not for the faint hearted. Gacy was extremely and heavily sexually graphic in his letters. Gacy’s writings are really things you do not want to know. Moss’ communications with Dahmer were short lived as he was murdered in prison. Dahmer was also sexually graphic in his writings. Moss was upset at Dahmer’s death as he felt he did not get to cover more with Dahmer.
It’s hard to comprehend someone writing to these killers, especially someone at Moss’ young age AND his parents also knowing! Granted, Moss kept the extent of the communication between him and the killers a secret. Even harder to believe is that Moss used his younger brother in his communications with Gacy. Writing these killers is disturbing enough, but Moss even talked on the phone and visited Gacy several times shortly before his execution. Moss naively thought he could ‘handle Gacy’ due to Gacy’s age and physicality, forgetting the fact that he killed more than 30 boys that were Moss’ age. The fact the people actually write these killers and look up to them is incomprehensible.
This experience obviously affected Moss as I saw an interview with him saying that if he could go back in time then he would not have written the first letter. Also, Moss also committed suicide on 6/6/06 and there is much speculation about the date of his suicide. The research he did to communicate with Ramirez must have stayed with him, as Ramirez was a Satanist.
This is a dark and disturbing true life account that has a sad ending. Even the title has a double meaning as Moss truly was Gacy’s last victim. This memoir will not be for everyone and I urge very high reader discretion before picking up The Last Victim.
Despite the content, The Last Victim is recommended.
~~~~
When you decide to begin a ‘hobby’ there are not many people who would do what Jason Moss did: write to prison inmates. And not just prison inmates, but infamous serial killers! Even more shocking is that Jason did this at 18 years old and his parents knew about it.
The Last Victim is Moss’ first-hand account of his writing to infamous killers and ‘getting in their head’ by posing as what would be their ‘ideal’ victim. Moss writes it as if he is talking to you. The Last Victim was released while I was in college and I read it twice. I was a psychology major and took as many criminal justice type classes as I could. I was going through my reading only true crime books phase, so this book was perfect for me at that time of my life. Also, Moss was just a few years older than me!
Now, Kim and I both chose to listen to the audible version she bought and bring you a double review. I did not have much memory of this memoir as it has been at least 15 years since I read it. The Last Victim is candid, shocking, and extremely disturbing. I don’t know if there is a difference between reading the book and having it narrated to you, but I found myself turning the volume down as I was driving when the book got to the graphic contents. I guess I did not want people to possibly hear what I was listening to! I don’t know what Gacy sounded like, but the narrator’s portrayal of him is just frightening!
Moss writes not just one, but multiple killers in the same time frame. He wrote John Wayne Gacy, Charles Manson, Richard Ramirez, and Jeffrey Dahmer among others. Moss shares his letters with candor and this book is not for the faint hearted. Gacy was extremely and heavily sexually graphic in his letters. Gacy’s writings are really things you do not want to know. Moss’ communications with Dahmer were short lived as he was murdered in prison. Dahmer was also sexually graphic in his writings. Moss was upset at Dahmer’s death as he felt he did not get to cover more with Dahmer.
It’s hard to comprehend someone writing to these killers, especially someone at Moss’ young age AND his parents also knowing! Granted, Moss kept the extent of the communication between him and the killers a secret. Even harder to believe is that Moss used his younger brother in his communications with Gacy. Writing these killers is disturbing enough, but Moss even talked on the phone and visited Gacy several times shortly before his execution. Moss naively thought he could ‘handle Gacy’ due to Gacy’s age and physicality, forgetting the fact that he killed more than 30 boys that were Moss’ age. The fact the people actually write these killers and look up to them is incomprehensible.
This experience obviously affected Moss as I saw an interview with him saying that if he could go back in time then he would not have written the first letter. Also, Moss also committed suicide on 6/6/06 and there is much speculation about the date of his suicide. The research he did to communicate with Ramirez must have stayed with him, as Ramirez was a Satanist.
This is a dark and disturbing true life account that has a sad ending. Even the title has a double meaning as Moss truly was Gacy’s last victim. This memoir will not be for everyone and I urge very high reader discretion before picking up The Last Victim.
Despite the content, The Last Victim is recommended.
January 23, 2015
I would probably be remiss if I didn't note that the author of this book went on to graduate from law school, become a defense attorney and then commit suicide on the unlikely date of June 6th, 2006 (6/6/6.) For those looking for some sort of psychological damage or mental problem that the author might have had which would motivate him to engage so dramatically with serial killers, there are a lot of implications possible with that information. I don't know if either becoming a defense lawyer or killing himself are relevant to this fairly brief period in the author's life, but they are strange factoids, particularly with the title of this book in mind, and worth noting so that folks can draw their own conclusions.
When this book came out I heard the author interviewed on a radio station. He has a fascinating and morbid story to tell, and it ties into the sensational and lurid details of those who murder in the most dramatic, disturbing and depraved way. But I was on a road trip, and didn't bother the note his name or the title of his book, so I promptly forgot about it.
Years later, I was discussing the death penalty with some folks and this book came up again as an example of how the state winds up preserving the lives (in relative comfort) of those who have preyed on it citizenry. This time, I wound up hunting up the book. The verdict:
Guilty.
That is, you probably shouldn't bother.
It's not really a terrible book, but also not a particularly good read either. The author spends an awful lot of time giving us his conversations with his mother, which is about as interesting as you'd imagine--especially if you picked up the book to specifically read about his correspondence and sometimes even meetings with serial killers, particularly John Wayne Gacy. There are some interesting bits in the book, and the author's experience corresponding with Gacy and other imprisoned killers is itself also very interesting, but his writing about it isn't. His prose might have appealed to his psycho pen pals, but probably won't to other readers. For instance, who cares about his relationship with his girlfriend? His relationship with his mom makes some sense in that it relates to the fact that the killers he deals with had troubled families, but the comparison is strained at best, and breaks down into a kind of whiny narcissism more than anything insightful.
Essentially, there are few details or insights in the book that can't be gleaned from fuller, more in-depth books written by professional criminologists, doctors or forensic scientists, despite the access the author had to his subject. I'll grant that he was very young and inexperienced, but that youth and inexperience show throughout the text, and make it little more than the memoir of a creepy kid with a few IQ points above the norm. For that kind of thing we can turn to any number of goths at a local high school.
The book does, in my opinion, validate a lot of the opinions of those who support the death penalty, particularly as it relates to the relative loss of freedom of prisoners. After all, if Mr. Moss's account is to be believed--and I don't have any serious reason to doubt it--Gacy managed to arrange a 3-day visit, pretty much unsupervised, with a teenage boy just a few weeks before being put to death. During that visit he repeatedly threatened to rape, torture and murder his "guest." He clearly reveled in memories of his past horrific crimes daily in his imagination and with his fellow serial killer inmates. Was a last assault and murder his plan for the third day--which the author wisely cancelled? It certainly reads that way. Of course, we can't really know, but it seems Gacy was actually attempting to arrange for a victim to be brought to him like a delivery service--which seems to run counter to the idea that a lot of folks will suggest: that he should be kept alive in prison "to suffer" for his crimes behind bars.
Personally, I think it's of value to society to take that kind of person off the planet, rather than have him around like some recurring cancer in our media. However, I don't think reading the book will necessarily convince others of the same thing, because it lacks the moral suasion that either a pro-death penalty or anti-death penalty stand needs in order to be persuasive. So, I don't think it's worth bothering with no matter which side of the death penalty debate one falls on, or as a study of those who may deserve it. Overall, I wouldn't recommend it for anything other than a few lurid stories.
When this book came out I heard the author interviewed on a radio station. He has a fascinating and morbid story to tell, and it ties into the sensational and lurid details of those who murder in the most dramatic, disturbing and depraved way. But I was on a road trip, and didn't bother the note his name or the title of his book, so I promptly forgot about it.
Years later, I was discussing the death penalty with some folks and this book came up again as an example of how the state winds up preserving the lives (in relative comfort) of those who have preyed on it citizenry. This time, I wound up hunting up the book. The verdict:
Guilty.
That is, you probably shouldn't bother.
It's not really a terrible book, but also not a particularly good read either. The author spends an awful lot of time giving us his conversations with his mother, which is about as interesting as you'd imagine--especially if you picked up the book to specifically read about his correspondence and sometimes even meetings with serial killers, particularly John Wayne Gacy. There are some interesting bits in the book, and the author's experience corresponding with Gacy and other imprisoned killers is itself also very interesting, but his writing about it isn't. His prose might have appealed to his psycho pen pals, but probably won't to other readers. For instance, who cares about his relationship with his girlfriend? His relationship with his mom makes some sense in that it relates to the fact that the killers he deals with had troubled families, but the comparison is strained at best, and breaks down into a kind of whiny narcissism more than anything insightful.
Essentially, there are few details or insights in the book that can't be gleaned from fuller, more in-depth books written by professional criminologists, doctors or forensic scientists, despite the access the author had to his subject. I'll grant that he was very young and inexperienced, but that youth and inexperience show throughout the text, and make it little more than the memoir of a creepy kid with a few IQ points above the norm. For that kind of thing we can turn to any number of goths at a local high school.
The book does, in my opinion, validate a lot of the opinions of those who support the death penalty, particularly as it relates to the relative loss of freedom of prisoners. After all, if Mr. Moss's account is to be believed--and I don't have any serious reason to doubt it--Gacy managed to arrange a 3-day visit, pretty much unsupervised, with a teenage boy just a few weeks before being put to death. During that visit he repeatedly threatened to rape, torture and murder his "guest." He clearly reveled in memories of his past horrific crimes daily in his imagination and with his fellow serial killer inmates. Was a last assault and murder his plan for the third day--which the author wisely cancelled? It certainly reads that way. Of course, we can't really know, but it seems Gacy was actually attempting to arrange for a victim to be brought to him like a delivery service--which seems to run counter to the idea that a lot of folks will suggest: that he should be kept alive in prison "to suffer" for his crimes behind bars.
Personally, I think it's of value to society to take that kind of person off the planet, rather than have him around like some recurring cancer in our media. However, I don't think reading the book will necessarily convince others of the same thing, because it lacks the moral suasion that either a pro-death penalty or anti-death penalty stand needs in order to be persuasive. So, I don't think it's worth bothering with no matter which side of the death penalty debate one falls on, or as a study of those who may deserve it. Overall, I wouldn't recommend it for anything other than a few lurid stories.
May 18, 2019
This book is one of the creepiest I have ever read. The writing might not be great, but the author manages to put across the feel of his undertaking, which includes corresponding with serial killers on Death Row and playing mind games with them.
Moss appears to have been a loner with 'different' interests in life than a normal teenager. His need to be at the top takes him into dangerous territory, when he conceives an idea to research on the psychological aspects of serial killers. He wanted to know how victims feel when they are confronted with a killer, and guess what, he gets to know that in intimate detail! I personally feel that the author was already fighting demons before he took on this crazed project. No normal person would put their younger brother in danger in such a manner. It shows signs of a troubled spirit, and especially so, since the author shot himself in 2006. His problem was lack of guidance and youth. An older person might have been able to handle the repercussions of being on an intimate basis with manipulative killers ... or maybe not! At the very least, Moss should have taken a psychologist in his confidence, so that the damage could be limited. Instead, he was doing all of this secretly and putting his life, and that of his family, at serious risk.
One thing the book really brings out is how these killers operate and how they think about their victims. It is very interesting to observe the charm they can exude to disarm people to let their guard down. It does no one any good to label them as monsters and execute them because there are a hundred others waiting on the wings. Preventing child sexual abuse and child abuse in general will go a long way in preventing such monsters from being made. It also helps to take your children away from a home where there is domestic violence. These are the main factors that makes a killer.
The book describes his friendship with Gacy in utmost detail, while the others are not so detailed. He indulges in a game of manipulation with a master, and manages to remain alive. He even visits Gacy in prison and gets sexually assaulted, within the prison premises! It is incredible that the guards would leave someone alone in a room with a guy who has killed and tortured multiple times. It's simply inconceivable and something that needs to be looked into. Do rich prisoners really get away with everything?
The moral of the story: Don't get close to serial killers.
Moss appears to have been a loner with 'different' interests in life than a normal teenager. His need to be at the top takes him into dangerous territory, when he conceives an idea to research on the psychological aspects of serial killers. He wanted to know how victims feel when they are confronted with a killer, and guess what, he gets to know that in intimate detail! I personally feel that the author was already fighting demons before he took on this crazed project. No normal person would put their younger brother in danger in such a manner. It shows signs of a troubled spirit, and especially so, since the author shot himself in 2006. His problem was lack of guidance and youth. An older person might have been able to handle the repercussions of being on an intimate basis with manipulative killers ... or maybe not! At the very least, Moss should have taken a psychologist in his confidence, so that the damage could be limited. Instead, he was doing all of this secretly and putting his life, and that of his family, at serious risk.
One thing the book really brings out is how these killers operate and how they think about their victims. It is very interesting to observe the charm they can exude to disarm people to let their guard down. It does no one any good to label them as monsters and execute them because there are a hundred others waiting on the wings. Preventing child sexual abuse and child abuse in general will go a long way in preventing such monsters from being made. It also helps to take your children away from a home where there is domestic violence. These are the main factors that makes a killer.
The book describes his friendship with Gacy in utmost detail, while the others are not so detailed. He indulges in a game of manipulation with a master, and manages to remain alive. He even visits Gacy in prison and gets sexually assaulted, within the prison premises! It is incredible that the guards would leave someone alone in a room with a guy who has killed and tortured multiple times. It's simply inconceivable and something that needs to be looked into. Do rich prisoners really get away with everything?
The moral of the story: Don't get close to serial killers.
May 15, 2020
I'm not sure what's up with all the one star reviews. This book was written when he was 24. Of course he sounds immature and all over the place... Because he was! He clearly has issues with his mother with his constant up and down relationship. Did I care to have the first 50 or so pages all about him and his childhood? Not really but it was interesting to see the build up to an 18 year old obsessed with meeting serial killers. Insane the manipulation and mind games Gacy put him through. I thought this was a fascinating read. Look up pictures of Jason with Gacy and Ramirez. You can also see art Gacy drew for him.
**** Not sure if this is a spoiler or not ****
I was hoping the afterword would touch on his suicide. Jason shot himself on 6/6/06 😳. There's no way all of the mind games didn't play into that. I also would have liked for afterword to touch on how his brother felt about those letters 🤢
**** Not sure if this is a spoiler or not ****
I was hoping the afterword would touch on his suicide. Jason shot himself on 6/6/06 😳. There's no way all of the mind games didn't play into that. I also would have liked for afterword to touch on how his brother felt about those letters 🤢
March 20, 2017
Listened to in audio format.
I recommend this book to fans of true life crime or anyone interested in psychology.
18 year old. Jason Moss was a high achiever at school and college. He was one of these 'golden children', who excelled both in school work and sports. At school you wanted to dislike them but they were nice.
Jason has been brought up on true life crime and decided to study serial killers for a college thesis. At the time Jason had the over confidence or naivety of youth. He decided to write to John Wayne Gacy posing like his ideal victim. Slowly but surely Jason was taken into his confidence. Initially John wrote to Jason twice a week which eventually led to telephone calls every night.
Because Jason had befriended Gacy easily he decided to write to Charles Manson, Richard Ramirez AKA The Night Stalker and Jeffrey Dahmer.
Gacy was a master manipulator, and Jason became more and more withdrawn. When Gacy offered to fly Jason to Illinois to visit him in prison, Jason was reluctant to go. Ever the perfectionist however he felt he had to continue. As an athlete and kick boxer he thought he could 'handle a fat old man like Gacy. Instead he suffered a terrible ordeal of threats, sexual humiliation and assault.
This story was truly terrifying and will stay with me for a long time. The sad thing about this story is Jason never fully recovered mentally from his experience with Gacy. He became a successful criminal attorney but killed himself on 6th June 2006 (666).
I recommend this book to fans of true life crime or anyone interested in psychology.
18 year old. Jason Moss was a high achiever at school and college. He was one of these 'golden children', who excelled both in school work and sports. At school you wanted to dislike them but they were nice.
Jason has been brought up on true life crime and decided to study serial killers for a college thesis. At the time Jason had the over confidence or naivety of youth. He decided to write to John Wayne Gacy posing like his ideal victim. Slowly but surely Jason was taken into his confidence. Initially John wrote to Jason twice a week which eventually led to telephone calls every night.
Because Jason had befriended Gacy easily he decided to write to Charles Manson, Richard Ramirez AKA The Night Stalker and Jeffrey Dahmer.
Gacy was a master manipulator, and Jason became more and more withdrawn. When Gacy offered to fly Jason to Illinois to visit him in prison, Jason was reluctant to go. Ever the perfectionist however he felt he had to continue. As an athlete and kick boxer he thought he could 'handle a fat old man like Gacy. Instead he suffered a terrible ordeal of threats, sexual humiliation and assault.
This story was truly terrifying and will stay with me for a long time. The sad thing about this story is Jason never fully recovered mentally from his experience with Gacy. He became a successful criminal attorney but killed himself on 6th June 2006 (666).
May 3, 2025
It gets a bit weirdd but ig that's expected
October 4, 2015
This was a fast but very difficult read. Jason Moss was an 18 year old college student when he got the idea that he wanted to study serial killers in preparation for a career in profiling/law enforcement/ criminal law. However, instead of just reading or collecting information in a traditional way, he decided to use himself (and later his brother as well) as bait for some of the most notorious serial killers, including Richard Ramirez (Night Stalker), Charles, Manson, and John Wayne Gacy. It was Gacy, however, who seemed to get the best of Moss. He used him to advance his own sick agenda. It is clear that Gacy was a master manipulator - he was able to persuade Jason to speak with him on a regular basis and even went so far as to bring him to Illinois (from Nevada) for 2 meetings at the prison. Those meetings were horrific and broke down Moss. Moss did become his final victim. While Gacy did not kill him, he psychologically terrorized him.
As a sad conclusion to this story (not included since this was published in 1999), Jason Moss did go on to become a criminal attorney. He committed suicide on 6-6-06. Much has been made of the significance of the date (666) - was this a coincidence or a Satanic reference? Moss had studied Satanism while he was in contact with Richard Ramirez and there are at least some who think that his contact with these disturbed minds - essentially becoming a victim - may have propelled his suicide.
As a sad conclusion to this story (not included since this was published in 1999), Jason Moss did go on to become a criminal attorney. He committed suicide on 6-6-06. Much has been made of the significance of the date (666) - was this a coincidence or a Satanic reference? Moss had studied Satanism while he was in contact with Richard Ramirez and there are at least some who think that his contact with these disturbed minds - essentially becoming a victim - may have propelled his suicide.
January 13, 2018
I really did not enjoy this book.
I feel bad saying it because of what happened to the author but I felt as though it was really exploitative and degrading. Not only did he exploit these killers but he also degraded his family. Pretending he was sexually into his brother just to get a reply and sending pictures of his girlfriend to killers to get a reply.
I kind of got the impression most was fabricated too. An example: Richard Ramirez always denied he killed those people yet he apparently confesses to this guy? And what prison would allow a man to be completely alone with a death row inmate?
I feel bad saying it because of what happened to the author but I felt as though it was really exploitative and degrading. Not only did he exploit these killers but he also degraded his family. Pretending he was sexually into his brother just to get a reply and sending pictures of his girlfriend to killers to get a reply.
I kind of got the impression most was fabricated too. An example: Richard Ramirez always denied he killed those people yet he apparently confesses to this guy? And what prison would allow a man to be completely alone with a death row inmate?
April 4, 2021
This book is so disturbing and I wish I never read it. Gacy should have been killed immediately after his conviction and this kid was just another sociopath looking for control. The book is in the trash.
August 26, 2018
2/3 of this book was the author talking about how ~*misunderstood*~ and ~*different*~ he is. YOU JUST WOUDLNT UNDERSTAND, MOM!!!!!!!
January 11, 2024
The author sounds like a douche. Pretty sure that the guy was lying a lot in the book.
November 17, 2022
I'm conflicted about this book because it's both an easy and difficult read. It's written in an almost YA style by an unlikable narrator, but the back and forth between the serial killers (mostly Gacy) and the narrator are tough to swallow. There's so much manipulation and ill-intent, and you see how a precocious kid breaks down while trying to outwit adult killers. The author later took his life as an adult, and it just makes the whole situation more tragic. This is a great read if you want to see a blow-by-blow of Gacy trying to work on a new victim, but it will hurt your heart.
September 21, 2019
3 Stars—Oh. My. Gosh. Ok so y’all know I’m a weirdo who loves horror and with books and movies, the scarier the better. I can watch episode after episode of Criminal Minds without blinking twice. I listened to Helter Skelter, all the in depth info on the Manson murders and his trial, and loved every second. I have a creepy ass doll collection that weirds everybody out except the other horror freaks who geek out in their pants over them. But Jason Moss threw me for a loop! I haughtily went into this audiobook all excited about the things I would learn and all the insides of the brains of serial killers and how fascinating it all would be. Scared the living crap out of me and not in the fun kinda way!! I had to stop listening so many times because I was freaked out. John Wayne Gacy is easily the most terrifying person I have ever read about. And I’ve read about some sick people, I’m a historian, it’s what I do. It was so bad that when Jason decided to write to Charlie Manson and he received letter after letter of Charlie’s crazy rambling, I found it comforting and familiar. I was back in territory I understood, however limited my understanding. Even Dahmer and Ramirez didn’t affect me the way Gacy did. And you have to understand, when the book started and Jason started talking about his idea to write to killers, my reaction was “what a great idea! Why didn’t I think of that? I wonder if there are any serial killer still alive? Can I try something like that?” My inner nerd jumped up and down in excitement and I couldn’t wait to see where this went. And here’s where I’ll explain my rating. I gave it 3 stars because I was a little disappointed with the scattered way Jason went about his project. After reading Helter Skelter, which was laid out in minute detail, guided by logic and rationality, all the legalities presented to the letter, I was looking for something a little more professional from Jason. I’m holding him to this higher standard because it’s very clear that he was a genius kid who had a very clear idea of what he wanted to accomplish with his project. His execution was immature and unscholarly, however fascinating and edgy. I was also just plain traumatized. Getting into the minds of sick, twisted men like Gacy is not a pleasant experience and frankly, I hope I never have to do it again. I keep going back to Helter Skelter because it is the perfect true crime book to me. And if I’m going to analyze why I like one over the other, then I’ll say that I think it was the legal system vs. criminal psychology. I think that in another parallel universe, I’m a badass criminal prosecutor who knows every little facet of the law and can break a witness down with no effort. Helter Skelter focused on what it took to convict Manson and the family members and the problems and difficulties from crime to conviction. It was relatively clean, logical, and detached. The Last Victim was none of those things! It was messy, dirty, and alarmingly personal. What made it even worse was that I learned that Jason Moss committed suicide less than 15 years after his correspondence with the killers. He was only 18 when he embarked on his project and he saw and experienced things that even an 31 year old horror freak and cynic like me would have broken down from. He was just a kid and that’s the center of this tragedy. It was easy to forget Jason’s age, as I said, he was a genius and incredibly mature. Saying that he was Gacy’s last victim is so sadly true and I hate to even admit it because I don’t want to give Gacy the satisfaction. Thank goodness he was executed long before Jason killed himself. This is not a book that I would recommend to just anyone. It’ll take a strong stomach and a steely mind to get thru The Last Victim. I’m glad I read it and I absolutely appreciate the things I learned, but I don’t think I’ll be reading it again.
August 13, 2024
As a true crime enjoyer and highly anxious/OCD person, I could relate to Jason's interests and neuroses, almost to the point of agreement with his brilliant plan. But boy did it turn dark real fast. Very interesting and fascinating in a voyeuristic way. You can learn a lot by interviewing a killer but you learn more if you're a victim.
Anyway, R. I. P Jason
Anyway, R. I. P Jason
October 22, 2011
After finishing the book I am surprised that the authorities would allow these types of killers to have any contact with the outside world. Moss's contacts with Gacy were entirely out-of-bounds, and any sane prison official should never have allowed them to happen. I was shocked had how much influence and power that Gacy exerted over his environment. I was also unaware at what a wealthy individual he was, and he obviously still had some control over his finances even while on Death Row for fifteen years.
This is one of the most disturbing books that I have read in a long time.
"Amazon.com Review
Jason Moss was a very strange boy: an overachiever, always looking for some challenge, some new way to excel. In his studies, in sports, and, for some reason that he can never explain comprehensibly, seducing serial killers into telling him their secrets. His first "project" was John Wayne Gacy. Moss sent carefully crafted letters to Gacy in which he portrayed himself as a young, naive, insecure gay man who could be easily manipulated. Gacy was suspicious and put Moss through harrowing emotional tests before surrendering his trust, but Moss came out ahead. Gacy fell head over heels for Moss, replying with graphic and disturbing letters instructing him to commit depraved acts for Gacy's vicarious thrills. Moss led him on, convincing Gacy that he was doing these things, but somehow this victory wasn't sufficient. So he extended his efforts to include other jailed killers. Although he experienced some success, amassing a disturbing collection of documents--including detailed sexual prose from Jeffrey Dahmer, disjointed ramblings from Charles Manson, and awkward, violent illustrations from "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez--his closest relationship was always with Gacy, whom he eventually visited in prison, where even the unflappable Moss learned fear."
This is one of the most disturbing books that I have read in a long time.
"Amazon.com Review
Jason Moss was a very strange boy: an overachiever, always looking for some challenge, some new way to excel. In his studies, in sports, and, for some reason that he can never explain comprehensibly, seducing serial killers into telling him their secrets. His first "project" was John Wayne Gacy. Moss sent carefully crafted letters to Gacy in which he portrayed himself as a young, naive, insecure gay man who could be easily manipulated. Gacy was suspicious and put Moss through harrowing emotional tests before surrendering his trust, but Moss came out ahead. Gacy fell head over heels for Moss, replying with graphic and disturbing letters instructing him to commit depraved acts for Gacy's vicarious thrills. Moss led him on, convincing Gacy that he was doing these things, but somehow this victory wasn't sufficient. So he extended his efforts to include other jailed killers. Although he experienced some success, amassing a disturbing collection of documents--including detailed sexual prose from Jeffrey Dahmer, disjointed ramblings from Charles Manson, and awkward, violent illustrations from "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez--his closest relationship was always with Gacy, whom he eventually visited in prison, where even the unflappable Moss learned fear."
February 8, 2017
Borderline two stars. Maybe just one. I found it kind of hard to get a copy of this book and upon completion I think that's because it's quasi "out of print". The copy I received has a big publishing house on the spine but looks like a xeroxed copy made in someone's basement. The explanation that this guy corresponded with all these myriad serial killers is a bit of a stretch in the context of the book. 97% of the narrative and said correspondence is with John Wayne Gacy. Which is fine. But the books alludes to a half dozen different killers. Moreover, there's really only about 2 chapters worth of interesting material (where he visits Gacy in prison) sandwiched between tons of boredom. The writer's life is a complete fabrication in respect to the killer's which leaves the question of how much useful information was to come out of this experience. The writer himself summed it up most succinctly before meeting Gacy when he stated he'd most probably learn nothing from the experience. Bingo. It comes out looking like a publicity stunt and it's all wrapped up in a narrative that sounds like it was written by a fifth grader. I'd skip it.
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