Book Review: Skyjack - The Hunt for D. B. Cooper

I have been a closet D. B. Cooper aficionado for some time. With the recent news story that the identify of the hijacker might finally be known, I was even more jazzed that the book Skyjack was being released. The story of the identity of the hijacker fizzled after a week or so. Sadly, so did my enthusiasm for this book.

I thought that Skyjack was about the D. B. Cooper Case. It uses that as a basis for the book, but really does not offer too much in the way of new information. Instead the author uses this platform to tell the story of his fringe involvement in the case and how he came to write the book. I was hoping that someone that had access to the FBI files would have produced new information, new leads, interesting tips, etc.. What we get instead is the story of the author tracking down several wannabe Coopers, never giving us closure on anything. All of this is put in with a sprinkling about the actual hijacking and the investigation.

As a true crime author myself, you have to put a little bit of what drew you to the case into the book. This is a significant portion of this book however.  More than once in the book the author fanaticizes about his getting the Pulitzer for this very book. Frankly, I don't see that happening.

The tracking down of the Lyle (Kenny) Christenson as a suspect, for example, has been covered in TV documentaries already…to no avail. The FBI ruled him out in 2007 yet the author doggedly follows this lead, adding no new information or details.  
 
It is difficult to write a book about a crime that hasn't been solved - I myself have been working through that in recent months. Having said that you need to offer the reader new information or this is just a rehashing of things they may have been exposed to. The author fails here, if not in new details, in their weight and validity.

I came away knowing nothing new about the crime or the investigation. A disappointment? Unfortunately yes. Should you pick it up? Only if you know nothing about D. B. Cooper or the crime, even then you'd be better off going to the internet and reading from some of the postings there.  This book is heavy on fluff, light on entertainment or new information. 

Sadly, I recommend passing on this book.  I say "sadly" because I am still waiting for a very good Cooper book to be written. 

True Crime Book Review: Bind, Torture, Kill - The Inside Story of BTK

The beauty of true crime books is that they are timeless; so I hope this relatively late review of Bind, Torture, Kill is well received.  I got the e-book for my Kindle because, like many people, I remembered the news snippets about this serial killer.  The BTK killer struck in the 1970’s then disappeared, only to resurface a few years ago.  The apprehension of Dennis Rader and his icy confessions to the crimes were incredible – but like most people I didn’t know the whole story. 

This book did not disappoint.  There are a few BTK books out there but this one was penned by Roy Wenzl, Tim Potter, L. Kelly, and Hurst Laviana, journalists that covered the story (some from the beginning).  These folks are writers, which makes this book complelling to read.  So many folks jumping into true crime in the last few years lack the ability to paint a compelling story.  These authors do a very good job.  With so many authors I was worried that it would be choppy, as if each section or chapter were penned by someone else.  That is NOT the case.  This book is a smooth and eerily addicting read. 

The authors really told the story from both sides of the investigation.  You got to know the authorities that were going after this killer – faults and all. The many years that these crimes covered were consuming for many of them and they come across as sympathetic real people – not cardboard characters from central casting.

They provided a good picture of the murderer, Dennis Rader – though there still seemed to be a gap here – why?  Like most serial killers, we are left with that open question.  I think, out of the other BTK books out there, this book does the best job of giving us insights into the killer’s mind.   

HarperCollins did a great job with this as an e-book.  There were a lot of photographs included and they did it right, putting the images throughout the book rather than a section in the middle or the end. 

Is it worth reading?  Hell yes!  Download this book now!  It is captivating summer reading for true crime fans.