Disturbing even for a true crime regular

I am surprised this story hasn't been one that I knew very much about being fro the UK. I first heard about Picton on a Crime Junkie podcast and did some further research from there.
This book goes into amazing detail about Picton and his family and farm. It covers the failures of the Vancouver Police and the RCMP and it examines how their internal politics and bias led to criminal incompetence and the total denial of a serial killer picking off women of the East Side.
This is an astonishing story and one which charts and reflects our society's lack of interest in marginalised drug addicted women.
Picton"s crimes are horribly brazen, hideously brutal and, if he werent so methodical, he would be considered crazed. He is clearly a sociopath without a conscious, a type of mission orientated serial killer targeting specific women either because he felt, correctly, that they were easy prey or that society would not miss them.
As another reviewer mentions there are parts of this book that are too long, too in-depth, and yes it's goes off into tangents perhaps unnecessarily but overall this can be forgiven for the important parts that are also covered in depth.
I loved how the author told in detail how the foresics were recovered and archeological dig was carried out and the lengths the police went to, to gather all the evidence. it's just a shame the money wasn't spent on saving these women from drugs before hand rather than convicting their killer (over £100 Millon was spent on the trial and collection of evidence).
A fascinating but truly gruesome read. And yes it is strongly suspected that Picton sold ground human flesh as meat to local people for several years before he was caught.
Also I loved the narrator, great voice and pitch.

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3 people found this helpful

Encapsulating.

Enjoyed the story and the narrator’s voice. Everything was so detailed that it didn’t take much to imagine yourself being in the victims shoes. 25+ hours of listening. Well worth it

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Incredible book

Absolutely amazing, so interesting and so incredibly heartbreaking. The book delves into the lives of the women who tragically disappeared in a way that shows respect for them, something I find is a rarity in true crime. I cannot recommend this book enough and the narrator was utterly captivating.

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the detail is astonishing

I've never heard such a massive true crime story in such meticulous detail. excellent

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Very respectful account

It was exhaustive and repetitive ad nauseam but at the same time informative and fair. I liked the most how respectful the author was to both the victims and their families and the killer himself. if you are after sensational, gory details this is not a book for you as there are only the necessary details of the murders and the circumstances.

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A great listen

Overall, this was a great listen. The story was jaw dropping and fascinating at times and it kept me hooked.
However, it was very long and could have been shortened considerably as the author went into detail about literally everything.
Not only the lives of the victims ( quite rightly) but also going back 2 or 3 generations in their families. Not necessary for the listener. I can see it was an attempt to give a fully rounded human face to the victims. It was a bit overdone though.
In the trial section, full biographies were provided for the defence and prosecution counsel, which again, was unnecessary. It really began to grate when I had to listen to the colour and style of all the outfits worn in court!
However, all that being said, the strength of the story overcame this, and it will remain with me for a long time.
Patience needed, but worth it I think.

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2 people found this helpful

everyone should be aware of this story

an enormous amount of research and work was put in to this crucial work.
not only in to the history of each 'missing' woman but their friends and family and co-workers too.
mention too of the many 'unsung' people who worked to support the reporting, investigating, charging, and legal processes, such as the people who staffed the canteen at the courts etc. many, many people working together to try and bring justice to and for these 'missing' women.
the narrator was amazing. a long story to narrate with some very, very difficult incidents, thoughts, feelings, and descriptions to speak of. very gently handled and professionally done which, i feel, shows great respect to the 'missing' women.
the story, and the way it was narrated, had me thinking of and visualizing the 'missing' women - saying out loud how sorry i am for their experiences; seeing and hearing their pain, hurt, and sadness, and the pain, hurt, and sadness that their loved ones and the people that knew them experience.
stories like this need to be told (sensitively, with permissions) so that people can see what can happen to the people around them, and so enable them to show and/or offer love, comfort, and support to those that need it; and, if not stop incidents like this happening, then, at a bare minimum, reduce the amount of incidents that happen and the horrendous amount of hurt, pain, anger, anguish, sadness, and grief that surrounds each and every one.

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1 person found this helpful

Very Interesting but almost impossible to engage in

Good book was very informative equal measures heartbreaking, angering and hopeful. The dialogue is great and i love how the barrator uses accents to identify all the main characters speech. HOWEVER i really really struggled to get into the book due to the constantly shifting timelines. One minute we’re in 1998 the next we’re in 2000 then back to 1997 then suddenly whoops its 2001 again! Very difficult to keep track of names and people and events because theres no cohesive timeline to the story makes its slightly un engaging its impossible to really immerse yourself in one storyline if they keep flipping backwards and forwards. Additionally although i love the detail the book goes into when talking about the lives of the missing women and those who knew willy i feel as though there is a large chunk of information surrounding the parentage and history of aunts and uncles of each one that could be left out as it just makes the story feel weighty and stops it from flowing properly.

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Pointless drivel

Even though I believe this is an interesting and enthralling story, I can't really rate it because, 7 hours in, I forgot what/who the book is about. A lot of unnecessary details, unnecessary detours and unrelated facts make it very hard to focus and leave the reader/listener frustrated, lost and confused. Definitely not finishing this listen. Kudos to the narrator, must have been a real feat to read this!

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Useless details.

This book has about 40% superfluous details that make the entire experience jarring to listen to. who wants a 20 minute section about the prosecution asking about the drug use of a witness. It's boring and tiring to listen to.

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