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Green River, Running Red
May 2017: 2004
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Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule
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I read a couple of Ann Rule books way back in high school, but it's been years! Maybe I'll read more at some point.
If you liked this you'll love A Stranger Beside Me
Green River, Running Red is the non-fiction story of the Green River Killer. Long story short- During the mid 1980's mainly in Washington, the Green River Killer was known for seeking out prostitutes, taking them home, strangling them, then leaving their bodies in clusters. ie he killed SO many woman that he dumped them in clusters.
The book flows mainly chronologically with the investigation- so the first LARGE chunk of the book is the findings of the dead bodies. There are over 40 woman and girls described- some of their life, some of their personality- but mostly their death, where they were buried, how they were found, and how the police was confounded by it. Ann Rule does a good job of taking care, and recognizing it's not just a body count- they are real girls with real stories- and Rule tries to do them justice in the book. The faulty part of that was this got pretty repetitive.
It isn't until 250 or so pages in do we even see the Green River Killer's name- Gary Ridgway. We learn about his childhood, what aspects of his upbringing may have brought him to be a murderer. We also see the police and detective activity of the case. Why is it so hard to figure out who the Green River Killer is? Flash forward to 2001 when Gary is convicted, we see inside the case- why he wasn't pushiness with the death sentence, and get a true insider's look at the case itself.