
The Man in the Monster
An Intimate Portrait of a Serial Killer
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Narrated by:
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Kyra Miller
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By:
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Martha Elliott
About this listen
Michael Ross was a serial killer who raped and murdered eight young women between 1981 and 1984, and several years ago the state of Connecticut put him to death. His crimes were horrific, and he paid the ultimate price for them. When journalist Martha Elliott first heard of Ross, she learned what the world knew of him - that he had been a master at hiding in plain sight.
Elliott, a staunch critic of the death penalty, was drawn to the case when the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned Ross' six death sentences. Rather than fight for his life, Ross requested that he be executed because he didn't want the families of his victims to suffer through a new trial. Elliott was intrigued and sought an interview.
The two began a weekly conversation - that developed into an odd form of friendship - that lasted over a decade, until Ross' last moments on Earth. Over the course of his 20 years in prison, Ross had come to embrace faith for the first time in his life. He had also undergone extensive medical treatment. The Michael Ross whom Elliott knew seemed to be a different man from the monster who was capable of such heinous crimes. This Michael Ross made it his mission to share his story with Elliott in the hopes that it would save lives.
In The Man in the Monster, Martha Elliott gives us a groundbreaking look into the life and motivation of a serial killer. Drawing on a decade of conversations and letters between Ross and the author, listeners are given an in-depth view of a killer's innermost thoughts and secrets, revealing the human face of a monster - without ignoring the horrors of his crimes. Elliott takes us deep into a world of court hearings, tomblike prisons, lawyers hell-bent to kill or to save, and families ravaged by love and hate. This is the personal story of a journalist who came to know herself in ways she could never have imagined when she opened the notebook for that first interview.
©2015 Martha Elliott (P)2015 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Good listen.
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Martha's original mission is a fact finding mission consisting of research including a few conversations with serial killer Michael Ross. Little does she know where it will take her and us as we walk with her vicariously on this agonizing journey.
This book is descriptive. Very descriptive so be warned that it is not for the faint of heart. I found myself hating Ross but then I started to feel deep compassion for him as we learn so much about him as a man and his humanity. However was it really his humanity or yet an illusion? Someone so corrupt, so evil, so apparently without a soul. Was he even human?
The ultimate punishment that is not reversible under any circumstances. Ross wanted to die. We allowed it. Why? Shouldn't we have made him suffer for the rest of his life in a prison cell?
Prior to reading this most thought provoking book I had pretty well made up my mind on the death penalty issue but now I am conflicted. Personally I really enjoy books that make you question yourself.
An excellent book well research and a brilliant performance by Kyra Miller
Thought provoking story of good and evil
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Perfectly told...
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Thought provoking
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Good insight!
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Give me a break
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The writer fell in love
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What a gullible author
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