Sinclair

This was an interesting dramatic reenactment of some terrible and gruesome crimes. Angus Sinclair is an evil and sick man who has done so many deplorable acts in his life. Starting from childhood he has hurt many people without remorse. This book gives you a glimpse into the world of Angus Sinclair and his victims. The author weaves a very disturbing story giving us a look at a true evil man. We learn at the end that there are no true accounts of these crimes or even confessions Much of this book is imagined and we have no true narrative of most of the crimes detailed in this book. Yet what Angus Sinclair admitted to and the crimes he was found guilty of are more than enough to show the world what kind of man he is. Narrator Steve White does a good job of keeping the narrative going at a nice pace and kept me engaged in the story. I received this audiobook at my request and I voluntarily wrote a review.

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fascinating story of a serial killer

My goodness, what a fascinating story. There's so much here to think about. What makes a person a psychopathic killer. How to tell the difference between a person who has made dumb decisions versus a youth who is going to be an Angus Sinclair. Whether the brother-in-law was any worse than Angus (since the end-result was the same for the victims). The extent to which family and friends may be wilfully blind or genuinely ignorant of the activities of a killer in their midst. How family reacts when they discover that one of their own is a killer. The role of prisons in society, as training grounds to fine-tune criminal techniques or as a place to keep criminals away from the rest of society. And so on. Lots of ideas to play with in this particular sandbox.

The only reason why I deducted a star was because the rape scenes were a little too graphic for my personal taste. Sometimes when I read graphic rape scenes like the ones in this story, I wonder if socio/psychopathic readers (I'm sure those kinds of people would read literature such as this) are motivated by the descriptions. It's an interesting ethical issue and I suspect (hope) that entire college/university courses in creative writing and journalism are devoted to this topic. I'm not about to pronounce moral judgements on the author or any reader, but the 4-stars (rather than 5) is my opinion that the graphic descriptions of the rape scenes didn't add value to the narrative for me personally.

I thought the narration was excellent. The narrator's emphasis was effective without moving into the realm of exaggeration, and he's a great choice for this style of story.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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3 people found this helpful

Twisted True Crime. Well Told Dark Story

Sinclair was a very disturbed man. The story was very difficult for me to get into because of the ages of his fist victims. I have a small daughter at home and actually had to take a break from the book. That was something personal for me and should not detract. The story was a well researched and detailed account of one man’s reign of terror. The amount of victims and the heinous nature of the crimes proves that this guy was a beast. I would highly recommend it to anyone into true crime or just studying abnormal psychology.

The narration was top notch and not done in a “just the facts” kind of way. He embodied the characters through the narration and brought the story to life.

I requested a free preview copy of this audiobook and I am leaving a voluntary and honest review.

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1 person found this helpful

What a psychopath thinks about his victims

I love true crime, and I love the approach this author took in writing. The author has a way of describing the absolute depravity of a man who killed for his own pleasure and satisfaction. The mark of a psychopath is a lack of empathy and compassion - Angus Sinclair is a dangerous man. Because this is about real murders the descriptions are disturbing.

The narrator is an American who uses a slight Southern drawl. Some phrases the author uses would sound more natural if read with a Scottish accent.

Disclosure - I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

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I want to start a Ryan Green Fanclub!!!

Ryan Green has such an interesting way of telling a story.
I just checked my library and I have almost every single thing that Audible offers!

His research is thorough and the way he tells the story it's like the main character is doing
the talking. This is very different from most true crime writers. I find it fascinating!

Narrator is good. I think he narrates most, if not all of Green's books.
The reason I knocked one star off is because he sometimes gets melodramatic in the wrong places.
He's good though.

Another 5 star listen!

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Speechless

You can honestly know this book really left me unable to make a review for a while because I had to honestly collect my thoughts, gather my feelings, and think about what I felt this book deserved. Ryan Green left me feeling like the monsters from bedtime stories could be real and Sinclair was one of those bedtime stories that people tell when trying to scare their friends or could be a Urban Legend one day because you just wanna talk about him that way because you don't wanna believe a person could actually do what he did. Believe me when I say I as a woman will be more cautious after hearing this book when I am not around people I know but as always Ryan Green brought me a book I knew nothing of and left me feeling like I was there and changed my life and I will look no further than his book because it answers any question I would have and more so I feel confident no other author could have done better to make me feel like I know more than what I do because I already am left without unanswered questions. ABSOLUTELY worth the read but it does have material that could trigger people who have been effected by certain things so PLEASE read this book with caution if you are easily triggered by those things otherwise ENJOY!!!

BOOK FAN,
CHRISSY

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TRUE CRIME AND TRULY HORRIFIC

Sinclair is one messed up, evil dude. Wow. I don't like my true crime sugar-coated, I've literally heard and seen it all as a lifelong true crime/horror movie fan, so this was right up my alley. It's soo hard to imagine this being REAL, and people out there being this sick and twisted, but I'm sure we don't know the half of it. THAT'S what's truly scary to me. Great book, great narration, excellent.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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1 person found this helpful

Through the eyes...

This is a great book. The author takes the information and presents it in story fashion, instead of putting it down like a police report. This book was easy to follow and the narrator did great was well.
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

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Another unsettling winner for Green and White

This true crime book is another home run for author Ryan Green and Steve White. They take you on a haunting journey documenting and understanding the monster Angus Sinclair who died a few months ago.

This is not for the faint of heart. While the author does keep the graphic scenes from getting exploitative, the details of these crimes are still brutal and graphic. Know yourself and your own tolerance for such before getting this book.

While I do think that the narrator did a great job, hearing the American accent with Scottish slang was odd and I would have enjoyed hearing the characters' spoken parts read by a Scot. But I'm thankful he didn't try to affect a bad accent. Everything else about the performance is exemplary. He reads this author very well in this book as well as in all previous books I've heard from them.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

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Interesting Approach to a True Serial Killer Story

I've read (and listened to) a lot of true crime, including many of Ryan Green's other books. But I've never come across a true crime story told in quite the same way Green tells this one, and I found it fascinating. Green not only investigates and reports on the acts of this truly horrific serial killer and seriously bad dude, but he actually INHABITS the killer, telling the story from that unique, disturbing and very interesting perspective. Viewing these events through the killer's eyes also allows the author to fill in a lot of the informational and motivational gaps that -- by its very nature -- limit 3rd person reporting. And that subjective detail added a lot to the narrative. Lots of fiction writers use this kind of 1st person perspective in their storytelling, in part because it deepens and personalizes the narrative. I felt it had the same effect on this true story about a series of terrible rapes and murders in England in the late 70's.

How could the author possibly know what the killer might have been thinking? I don't know. Frankly, while I was listening to this story I really didn't care. Because it is a compelling narrative, horrifying in the most interesting, compulsively readable way, and the 1st person style was a big part of that. I hope more true crime writers use this narrative technique in the future, but only if they can pull it off as seamlessly as this author did in "Sinclair." This audio book was given to me for free at my request, and I provided this voluntary review.

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2 people found this helpful