I rated this 3 stars, not because it wasn't a well-written and fascinating, if disturbing, book; but because it was written too much like a novel. At several points I found myself wondering how Mr. Schechter could have possibly known certain things. I don't doubt that perhaps these things are written down somewhere, but I would like to know where the information came from.

That being said, I found this book to be well-written and extremely disturbing. Do not read this anywhere near mealtime unless you have a strong stomach. ( )

I rated this 3 stars, not because it wasn't a well-written and fascinating, if disturbing, book; but because it was written too much like a novel. At several points I found myself wondering how Mr. Schechter could have possibly known certain things. I don't doubt that perhaps these things are written down somewhere, but I would like to know where the information came from.

That being said, I found this book to be well-written and extremely disturbing. Do not read this anywhere near mealtime unless you have a strong stomach. ( )

It is written pretty well, but it is written rather like fiction and I can't overlook that. I find it hard to believe that the author could have known some of the (meaningless) details in this book. On top of that, there are no sources. For all I know this could be entirely made up.
It focuses solely on the crimes, and hardly mentions Mr. Fish's past at all. That is not why I read true crime. I want to know everything about the person, which means a complete biography, not just the bits and pieces that pertain to their crimes. ( )

On Sunday, November 13, 2005 I wrote about this book:

My first book by Harold Schechter and still one of his best.
My copy is much older and 1th print

This was another really shocking story. I love the way this author writes.

( )

I was hooked on Harold Schechter after reading "Deviant," which is an account of the crimes of Ed Gein. I followed that up with "Bestial," which was also well-written. But, for some reason, "Deranged" just doesn't have the same quality as "Deviant" and "Bestial."

For one thing, Schechter bounces around a little too much, making it difficult for me to keep track of the victims and their families. He seesaws back and forth from Fish's first crime to Fish's most notorious crime (and the one that, ultimately, got him caught). I got the names confused a few times. Schechter has also seemingly run out of adjectives, because he certainly describes Fish as a harmless old man more than enough times.

I think another thing that threw me off is Schechter's attempts to portray Fish's thoughts. There are a few chapters written in Fish's point of view, which gives the book the feel of a novel rather than non-fiction. I didn't like it, and I wish that he hadn't deviated into that territory.

And although Fish's crimes are certainly horrific, I must be becoming jaded or something. I just didn't get sucked into this book like I did the first two Schechter books I read. ( )