HUNTING A PSYCHOPATH: The East Area Rapist / Original Night Stalker Investigation - The Original Investigator Speaks Out Paperback – March 27, 2015

This was a rapist/serial killer in California far worse than the Zodiac but not as famous. He started out in the state capital area, or maybe Visalia, no one knows for sure, but he became known as the East Area Rapist, or EAR. It's a terrible name and probably the main reason he isn't more well known.To make matters worse, his move to southern California and serial murder earned him the 'Original Night Stalker' nick, or 'ONS' (not to be confused with just plain 'Night Stalker' Richard Rameriz). Subsequent DNA testing confirmed that EAR and ONS were one and the same, which resulted in the unfortunate EARONS portmanteau. Well, it's just confusing and not catchy, so writer Michelle McNamara came up with 'Golden State Killer' for her upcoming book: "I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer".She died suddenly, (a woman in her forties..just sayin') but publication will go on, set for Feb. 2018.In the meantime I found this book written by Det. Shelby who was on the Sacramento EAR task force. It's self-published without even the benefit of an editor, that's how little interest there is. Shelby admits upfront that he didn't write it to entertain. He sticks to the facts and only to the facts of the case, which are chilling enough, but I can't help but wonder what Ann Rule would've done with it.What I learned only adds to the mystery of how this creep has managed to evade capture. He would target a neighborhood first, at least two weeks before the rape. Residents would report prowling, burglarizing, and crank calling several homes leading up to the assault. He risked being caught exponentially with all his creepy activity. One person did report pictures missing, and a police search found a length of rope under her couch cushions. He was laying in supplies and she was on his to-do list for that night.His list of crimes are textbook in escalation, from prowling, peeping, ransacking, burglary, rape, and homicide. It's doubtful he's been in prison, and his DNA has never surfaced elsewhere.Although Shelby refuses to name who he thinks it might be, his chapter on Carlos was interesting. The fact that Carlos moved to a boat off the California coast and *still lives here* is creepy as hell. It's a real murder mystery.

I became interested in this case when the FBI sought the public's help in 2016 and when I read a news article about that request. This book by a Sacramento Sheriff's Dept. detective will be fascinating to anyone who is already interested in the case and who wants to learn more. The author writes that he is seeking to correct the record since so many armchair detectives discuss the case online and sometimes have bad information, and this addition to the record by a participant is its primary value. The author recognizes that he is no writer and that the book will read like a series of police reports, and he is right -- the kindle edition, at least, is in very bad need of editing. There are many missing words, random periods and commas, etc. A detective named Bevins is called "Bevin's" or "Blevins" dozens of times for no apparent reason, sometimes in the same paragraph (for instance, "At the top of the departmental food chain was a personal friend of Sgt. Blevins. He offered Sgt. Bevin’s an all expense paid trip . . ."). Even so, the meaning is always apparent and Det Shelby doesn't pretend to be anything other than someone adding his insider's knowledge to the record. Shelby really does not articulate his own conclusions very much. A possible suspect named Carlos is discussed in tantalizing detail near the end, but then the whole thing is just dropped with no indication of what investigators concluded about Carlos or what Shelby thinks. Numerous hints are made that a case could be made for two perpetrators working together, but that idea is never examined in any depth either. So, if you are interested in this case, you will enjoy Det. Shelby's contribution, but will probably wish for more analysis (and an editor).

Having gone to high school during the time of EAR + living in an area that was hit and knowing a couple of people who's homes were broken into by this creep its good to get a breakdown on EAR from a detective who lived it. It amazes me at how much crime was going on in Sacramento at the time. The different prowlers, suspicious persons seen around neighbourhoods that were hit..home owners not reporting activity until after the fact..it didn't make law enforcement's job any eaiser. Hopefully the sicko will be caught and thanks to Detective Shelby for a comprehensive look into this case.

This gentleman is a seasoned law enforcement professional and gives an interesting perspective as a result. And the details surrounding this story are fascinating. However, this author's writing is unfortunately marred by continuous errors of spelling and grammar. If edited properly, this book would be much more readable, and the content would be easier to enjoy.

This is a pretty dry accounting of the facts of the cases. There are some minor typos and things, but the information is detailed.The a-hole who did these crimes is a real monster, and I needed to take a break several times because the litany of awfulness would get overwhelming. It helps highlight how hard cops have it, because while there was a consistent pattern to the guy's M.O. and his physical description, it's obvious that witness accounts can vary widely.I bought this right before they caught the guy, so it's interesting to read with the benefit of hindsight to see how close the cops were to the truth or not.

The book is written by one of the lead investigators on the case.It's more a case file, very detailed and oh boy are there a lot of details in here. So many that you'll soon get lost in them. From the green car, to lifting prints off skin and the author wondering if ear was law enforcement as he was always one step ahead.A little less accessible than I'll be gone in the dark and more detailed, from someone on the front line. Until the court case is over and another book is written this is one of the best covering EAR/ONS

Written like a police report and truly fascinating. The East Area Rapist , Original night stalker will go down as one of the most intriguing cases in history. With DNA now gleaned its only a matter of time before we will unearth this masked psychopath.

This is a fascinating case but I'm afraid the writing in this book is awful. Shelby isn't a trained writer or journalist and it shows in his sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, phraseology and unnecessary puns. The fault isn't his though - his job was to catch baddies - the fault lies purely with the proofers and editors of this book. They need to sit down and think very hard about their career choices.

An older book relevnt to a crime that is in the news today - interesting read if you are familiar with the case