The Killer of Little Shepherds
A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Killer of Little Shepherds
Buy for $18.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Erik Davies
-
By:
-
Douglas Starr
About this listen
A riveting true crime story that vividly recounts the birth of modern forensics.
At the end of the 19th century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher, known and feared as “The Killer of Little Shepherds”, terrorized the French countryside. He eluded authorities for years - until he ran up against prosecutor Emile Fourquet and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the era’s most renowned criminologist. The two men - intelligent and bold - typified the Belle Époque, a period of immense scientific achievement and fascination with science’s promise to reveal the secrets of the human condition. With high drama and stunning detail, Douglas Starr revisits Vacher’s infamous crime wave, interweaving the story of how Lacassagne and his colleagues were developing forensic science as we know it. We see one of the earliest uses of criminal profiling, as Fourquet painstakingly collects eyewitness accounts and constructs a map of Vacher’s crimes. We follow the tense and exciting events leading to the murderer’s arrest. And we witness the twists and turns of the trial, celebrated in its day. In an attempt to disprove Vacher’s defense by reason of insanity, Fourquet recruits Lacassagne, who in the previous decades had revolutionized criminal science by refining the use of blood-spatter evidence, systematizing the autopsy, and doing groundbreaking research in psychology. Lacassagne’s efforts lead to a gripping courtroom denouement. The Killer of Little Shepherds is an important contribution to the history of criminal justice, impressively researched and thrillingly told.
©2010 Douglas Starr (P)2010 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Evil That Men Do
- FBI Profiler Roy Hazelwood's Journey into the Minds of Sexual Predators
- By: Stephen G. Michaud, Roy Hazelwood
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 411
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 358
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 358
Twenty-two years in the FBI, 16 of them as a member of the Bureau's Behavioral Science Unit. Roy Hazelwood, like many investigators, has seen it all. But unlike most, he's gone further into the dark and twisted psyches of serial killers and sadistic sexual offenders and has emerged as one of the world's foremost experts on the sexual criminal. Acclaimed true-crime writer Stephen G. Michaud takes you into the heart of Hazelwood's work through dozens of startling cases, including those of the Lonely Heart Killer, the "Ken and Barbie" killings, and the Atlanta Child Murders.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Always learning!
- By T. Barrett on 09-10-19
By: Stephen G. Michaud, and others
-
Butcher's Work
- True Crime Tales of American Murder and Madness
- By: Harold Schechter
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 139
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 121
A Civil War veteran who perpetrated one of the most ghastly mass slaughters in the annals of U.S. crime. A nineteenth-century female serial killer whose victims included three husbands and six of her own children. A Gilded Age “Bluebeard” who did away with as many as fifty wives throughout the country. A decorated World War I hero who orchestrated a murder that stunned Jazz Age America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Another necessary work by Schector
- By Brandon on 12-27-22
By: Harold Schechter
-
The Man from the Train
- The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery
- By: Bill James, Rachel McCarthy James
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,648
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,492
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,488
Using unprecedented, dramatically compelling sleuthing techniques, legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applies his analytical acumen to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Repetitive and Frustrating
- By Heather L. on 02-22-18
By: Bill James, and others
-
Fiend
- The Shocking True Story of America's Youngest Serial Killer
- By: Harold Schechter
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 256
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 225
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 225
When 14-year-old Jesse Pomeroy was arrested in 1874, a nightmarish reign of terror over an unsuspecting city came to an end. "The Boston Boy Fiend" was imprisoned at last. But the complex questions sparked by his ghastly crime spree - the hows and whys of vicious juvenile crime - were as relevant in the so-called Age of Innocence as they are today.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Graphic descriptions of child torture
- By mobius_spider on 11-13-20
By: Harold Schechter
-
The Anatomy of Motive
- The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals
- By: John Douglas, Mark Olshaker
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,151
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,015
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,006
The Anatomy of Motive offers a dramatic, insightful look at the development and evolution of the criminal mind. The famed former chief of the FBI's Investigative Support Unit, John Douglas was the pioneer of modern behavioral profiling of serial criminals. Working again with acclaimed novelist, journalist, and filmmaker Mark Olshaker, and using cases from his own fabled career as examples, Douglas takes us further than ever before into the dark corners of the minds of arsonists, hijackers, bombers, poisoners, serial killers, and mass murderers.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Smuckers jelly narration. Still good.
- By Thad Ames on 11-07-17
By: John Douglas, and others
-
All That Is Wicked
- A Gilded-Age Story of Murder and the Race to Decode the Criminal Mind
- By: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Narrated by: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 226
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 204
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 204
Edward Rulloff was a brilliant yet utterly amoral murderer—some have called him a “Victorian-era Hannibal Lecter”—whose crimes spanned decades and whose victims were chosen out of revenge, out of envy, and sometimes out of necessity.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
PLEASE STOP The Politicizing of Everything
- By Anonymous on 10-15-22
-
The Evil That Men Do
- FBI Profiler Roy Hazelwood's Journey into the Minds of Sexual Predators
- By: Stephen G. Michaud, Roy Hazelwood
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 411
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 358
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 358
Twenty-two years in the FBI, 16 of them as a member of the Bureau's Behavioral Science Unit. Roy Hazelwood, like many investigators, has seen it all. But unlike most, he's gone further into the dark and twisted psyches of serial killers and sadistic sexual offenders and has emerged as one of the world's foremost experts on the sexual criminal. Acclaimed true-crime writer Stephen G. Michaud takes you into the heart of Hazelwood's work through dozens of startling cases, including those of the Lonely Heart Killer, the "Ken and Barbie" killings, and the Atlanta Child Murders.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Always learning!
- By T. Barrett on 09-10-19
By: Stephen G. Michaud, and others
-
Butcher's Work
- True Crime Tales of American Murder and Madness
- By: Harold Schechter
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 139
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 121
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 121
A Civil War veteran who perpetrated one of the most ghastly mass slaughters in the annals of U.S. crime. A nineteenth-century female serial killer whose victims included three husbands and six of her own children. A Gilded Age “Bluebeard” who did away with as many as fifty wives throughout the country. A decorated World War I hero who orchestrated a murder that stunned Jazz Age America.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Another necessary work by Schector
- By Brandon on 12-27-22
By: Harold Schechter
-
The Man from the Train
- The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery
- By: Bill James, Rachel McCarthy James
- Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,648
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,492
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,488
Using unprecedented, dramatically compelling sleuthing techniques, legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applies his analytical acumen to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Repetitive and Frustrating
- By Heather L. on 02-22-18
By: Bill James, and others
-
Fiend
- The Shocking True Story of America's Youngest Serial Killer
- By: Harold Schechter
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 256
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 225
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 225
When 14-year-old Jesse Pomeroy was arrested in 1874, a nightmarish reign of terror over an unsuspecting city came to an end. "The Boston Boy Fiend" was imprisoned at last. But the complex questions sparked by his ghastly crime spree - the hows and whys of vicious juvenile crime - were as relevant in the so-called Age of Innocence as they are today.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Graphic descriptions of child torture
- By mobius_spider on 11-13-20
By: Harold Schechter
-
The Anatomy of Motive
- The FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Explores the Key to Understanding and Catching Violent Criminals
- By: John Douglas, Mark Olshaker
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,151
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,015
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,006
The Anatomy of Motive offers a dramatic, insightful look at the development and evolution of the criminal mind. The famed former chief of the FBI's Investigative Support Unit, John Douglas was the pioneer of modern behavioral profiling of serial criminals. Working again with acclaimed novelist, journalist, and filmmaker Mark Olshaker, and using cases from his own fabled career as examples, Douglas takes us further than ever before into the dark corners of the minds of arsonists, hijackers, bombers, poisoners, serial killers, and mass murderers.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Smuckers jelly narration. Still good.
- By Thad Ames on 11-07-17
By: John Douglas, and others
-
All That Is Wicked
- A Gilded-Age Story of Murder and the Race to Decode the Criminal Mind
- By: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Narrated by: Kate Winkler Dawson
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 226
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 204
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 204
Edward Rulloff was a brilliant yet utterly amoral murderer—some have called him a “Victorian-era Hannibal Lecter”—whose crimes spanned decades and whose victims were chosen out of revenge, out of envy, and sometimes out of necessity.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
PLEASE STOP The Politicizing of Everything
- By Anonymous on 10-15-22
-
Silent Witnesses
- By: Nigel McCrery
- Narrated by: William Gaminara
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 55
A crime scene. A murder. A mystery. The most important person on the scene? The forensic scientist. And yet the intricate details of their work remains a mystery to most of us. Silent Witnesses looks at the history of forensic science over the last two centuries, during which time a combination of remarkable intuition, painstaking observation, and leaps in scientific knowledge have developed this fascinating branch of detection.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Homage to those dedicated to science
- By Patricia Ferrer on 07-25-17
By: Nigel McCrery
-
Son
- By: Jack Olsen
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 21 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,675
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,386
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,379
Recounts the tragic events that followed the arrest of Fred Coe, a conservative, clean-cut young man, for a series of rapes committed in the city of Spokane and led to revenge and murder.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Psychopathy Born or Made?
- By Michael on 04-29-15
By: Jack Olsen
-
Monster
- By: Steve Jackson
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 19 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,112
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,866
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,859
On a snowy winter evening in 1982, 21-year-old Mary Brown accepted a ride from a handsome stranger in the resort town of Breckenridge, Colorado. The trip ended with her brutally beaten and raped. Mary survived, but her predator's violence had only just begun. After 10 years in prison, Tom Luther was released a far more vicious criminal. Soon, from the Rockies to West Virginia, like Ted Bundy, Luther enticed a chain of women into his murderous trap.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Riveting....harrowingly so.
- By Klh23 on 07-24-20
By: Steve Jackson
-
Whoever Fights Monsters
- My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI
- By: Robert K. Ressler, Tom Shachtman
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,968
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,568
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,555
Face-to-face with some of America's most terrifying killers, FBI veteran and ex-Army CID colonel Robert Ressler learned from them how to identify the unknown monsters who walk among us - and put them behind bars. Now the man who coined the phrase "serial killer" and advised Thomas Harris on The Silence of the Lambs shows how he has tracked down some of the nation's most brutal murderers. Join Ressler as he takes you on the hunt for America's most dangerous psychopaths. It is a terrifying journey you will not forget.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Murderino checking in
- By Sarah R Bongiovanni on 06-16-17
By: Robert K. Ressler, and others
-
A Killer by Design
- Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind
- By: Ann Wolbert Burgess, Steven Matthew Constantine
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 9 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 560
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 501
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 501
Lurking beneath the progressive activism and sex positivity in the 1970 to '80s, a dark undercurrent of violence rippled across the American landscape. With reported cases of sexual assault and homicide on the rise, the FBI created a specialized team - the “Mindhunters”, better known as the Behavioral Science Unit - to track down the country's most dangerous criminals. And yet narrowing down a seemingly infinite list of potential suspects seemed daunting at best and impossible at worst - until Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess stepped on the scene.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best insider info of killers thought process
- By Rachael R Brown on 12-27-21
By: Ann Wolbert Burgess, and others
-
Journey into Darkness
- By: John E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 991
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 865
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 859
In the number-one New York Times best seller Mindhunter, John Douglas, who headed the FBI's elite Investigative Support Unit, told the story of his brilliant and terrifying career tracking down some of the most heinous criminals in history. Now, in Journey into Darkness, Douglas profiles vicious serial killers, rapists, and child molesters. He is straightforward, blunt, often irreverent, and outspoken, but takes pains not to glorify any of these murderers.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
I returned this book because it disturbed me
- By Adam on 10-21-19
By: John E. Douglas, and others
-
Terror Town USA
- The Untold Story of Joliet's Notorious Serial Killer
- By: John Ferak
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 138
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 124
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 123
The summer of 1983 was like no other in Joliet, Ill., a hard-working, rough-and-tough blue-collar industrial city an hour’s drive southwest of Chicago. During one of the hottest summers on record, the citizens of Joliet, were terrorized by an elusive serial-killing madman.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Finally...it's been a minute ...
- By Colleen T. Mizeres on 01-24-22
By: John Ferak
-
Forensics
- What Bugs, Burns, Prints, DNA, and More Tell Us About Crime
- By: Val McDermid
- Narrated by: Sarah Barron
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,804
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,528
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,510
The dead talk - to the right listener. They can tell us all about themselves: where they came from, how they lived, how they died, and, of course, who killed them. Forensic scientists can unlock the mysteries of the past and help serve justice using the messages left by a corpse, a crime scene, or the faintest of human traces.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Crime Seen
- By Mark on 09-02-16
By: Val McDermid
-
All That Remains
- A Renowned Forensic Scientist on Death, Mortality, and Solving Crimes
- By: Sue Black
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 610
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 525
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 525
Dame Sue Black is an internationally renowned forensic anthropologist and human anatomist. She has lived her life eye to eye with the Grim Reaper, and she writes vividly about it in this book, which is part primer on the basics of identifying human remains, part frank memoir of a woman whose first paying job as a schoolgirl was to apprentice in a butcher shop, and part no-nonsense but deeply humane introduction to the reality of death in our lives. It is a treat for CSI junkies, murder mystery and thriller fans, and anyone seeking a clear-eyed guide to a subject that touches us all.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
I wanted a science book about forensics. I got a mostly-memoir instead.
- By A Customer on 11-29-19
By: Sue Black
-
In Cold Blood
- By: Truman Capote
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 15,276
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 12,552
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,536
On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Still the Best
- By Lisa on 01-10-06
By: Truman Capote
-
Eyes of a Monster
- A Detective's Relentless Pursuit of a Serial Killer
- By: Ron Peterson Jr.
- Narrated by: Kyle Tait
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
Schoolteacher Olivia Dare Christian was murdered in her Hampton, Virginia, apartment in 1981. Her killer left few clues and the murder went unsolved. Three decades later, in 2011, next-generation detective Randy Mayer re-opened Olivia's dusty cold case file and began unraveling the mystery. Mayer located a reluctant witness who was a teenager back in 1981. She recalled a suspicious man lurking outside Olivia's apartment the morning of the murder and provided a detailed description of the man.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A riveting, well paced true crime story
- By Brenda646 on 04-03-22
By: Ron Peterson Jr.
-
Psycho USA
- Famous American Killers You Never Heard Of
- By: Harold Schechter
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 223
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 206
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 204
In the horrifying annals of American crime, the infamous names of brutal killers such as Bundy, Dahmer, Gacy, and Berkowitz are writ large in the imaginations of a public both horrified and hypnotized by their monstrous, murderous acts. But for every celebrity psychopath who's gotten ink for spilling blood, there's a bevy of all-but-forgotten homicidal fiends studding the bloody margins of US history.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
True crime enthusiast's dream
- By Athelsten on 08-24-17
By: Harold Schechter
Critic reviews
What listeners say about The Killer of Little Shepherds
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Roberta
- 10-02-13
poor narration detracts from good history
The narrator speaks in a voice which I describe as a loud whisper. The writing is in English, but the speaker uses French more often than necessary. For example, he calls Paris, "Paree". The French accent is so heavy it sounds like he needs to clear his nasal passages. I finally regretted buying this book and will return it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Enrique
- 05-21-13
Great reading!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Sure, I have forensic friends , I have recommended this book to them
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
Mr Lacassagne way of thinking is a very interesting aspect of the story, he's very Smart and simple at the same time. I cannot remember anything non-interesting
What about Erik Davies’s performance did you like?
Not really too much, sometimes his voice is very relaxing
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
not really, but it made me think on the early forensic science and thinking on that time
Any additional comments?
The book talks on the Dreyfuss affair but it never deepens on it, I would like to have that extra background in the early chapters
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
Master Story Teller
Would you consider the audio edition of The Killer of Little Shepherds to be better than the print version?
Did not read print
What did you like best about this story?
The valuable information he was able to convey.
Which character – as performed by Erik Davies – was your favorite?
My favorite character in the book was the man who defended his wife from the attack of the serial killer, and bought the criminal to justice.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes.
Any additional comments?
A great book filled with valuable history and information.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amy
- 01-28-13
Impressively Researched and Thrillingly Told
A riveting true crime story that vividly recounts the birth of modern forensics.
At the end of the nineteenth century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher, known and feared as “The Killer of Little Shepherds,” terrorized the French countryside. He eluded authorities for years—until he ran up against prosecutor Emile Fourquet and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the era’s most renowned criminologist. The two men—intelligent and bold—typified the Belle Époque, a period of immense scientific achievement and fascination with science’s promise to reveal the secrets of the human condition.
With high drama and stunning detail, Douglas Starr revisits Vacher’s infamous crime wave, interweaving the story of how Lacassagne and his colleagues were developing forensic science as we know it. We see one of the earliest uses of criminal profiling, as Fourquet painstakingly collects eyewitness accounts and constructs a map of Vacher’s crimes. We follow the tense and exciting events leading to the murderer’s arrest. And we witness the twists and turns of the trial, celebrated in its day. In an attempt to disprove Vacher’s defense by reason of insanity, Fourquet recruits Lacassagne, who in the previous decades had revolutionized criminal science by refining the use of blood-spatter evidence, systematizing the autopsy, and doing groundbreaking research in psychology. Lacassagne’s efforts lead to a gripping courtroom denouement.
The Killer of Little Shepherds is an important contribution to the history of criminal justice, impressively researched and thrillingly told.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jessica Pierson
- 01-02-17
Not Ann Rand!
I've read a few true crime novels before and this heavy tome was no supermarket paperback true crime rag. This book was a very thorough examination of the cultural and scientific "stew" in which a serial killer murdered nearly a dozen people in France over a three years period in the late 1890's. The author switches between the killer's story and the lead investigator's story every chapter. It isn't confusing, though. The break between the vicious and sickening crimes of the killer is needed. Overall I thought it was very interesting and extremely well researched. The author did a good job of couching the development of forensic science within the killer's crime spree. My one caveat is that unless you speak French, I wouldn't really recommend the audiobook version of this book. The narrator uses French pronunciations and speaks French words throughout the audiobook. I don't speak any French and I thought about quitting the book a bunch of times because of the heaviness of the use of French. I couldn't even tell you the killer's name! (It sounds like "Vache). For example, the narrator would say "Pair-ee" when referring to Paris. The good news is that I did finish the book and have a lot better understanding of the development of forensic science.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Irene
- 11-27-11
Truly the best true crime/forensic science
This is my pick for my audible book of the year. Mesmerizing. A perfect listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Rogelio
- 12-20-13
UNEXPECTED
Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
The book is suitable for those who expect this type of book. I was expecting a novel about a single criminal act.
Has The Killer of Little Shepherds turned you off from other books in this genre?
No, but it does turn me off books by this author,
What about Erik Davies’s performance did you like?
The performance was fine.
Did The Killer of Little Shepherds inspire you to do anything?
I was not inspired to commit a crime.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 05-10-19
Outstanding
This is one of my favorite books in the true crime genre. Brilliantly written, full of vivid descriptions, and extremely educational...and a great story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jaimie
- 08-26-15
Fascinating and well read!
If you are interested in the history of forensic science and crime this is the book for you.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Praetor
- 03-30-12
Masterly introduction to modern forensic science
In this book, Starr expertly weaves the story of turn-of-the-century serial killer Joseph Vacher, with the early heroes of forensic science. The book is simply fascinating, both the tales of Vacher's crimes and the hunt for him, and the various people developing methods in forensics (like how to perform an autopsy, determine a person's height from a few bones, or finding out how long ago a person died). The book is well paced, and the performance of the narrator, Erik Davies, is wonderful.
I truly have nothing negative to say about it - it's great.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
11 people found this helpful