Rating: 
Summary: insightful, but slow-going
Review: I read this book with my own suspicions in mind, but without having followed the case much in the tabloids. Schiller does a very good job, I think, of being totally unbiased, presenting the facts as they are, and letting the chips fall where they may. However, I found it somewhat difficult reading as oftentimes things were repeated, you thought the book was going in chronological order, but then something was thrown in out of order. The reader really feels the frustration of the Boulder police force as they try to contend with a DA who wants to ensure a "winnable case". The book left me feeling that my original thoughts on who killed Jon Benet were correct, but sadly that justice would not be done, and several people's careers were lost in the process. You also feel that had this family not been wealthy, the case would definitely been handled differently.
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating
Review: Intelligent and complete, this book leaves no stone unturned in the investigation of Ramsey's death. Schiller is an expert at taking an unbiased approach in reporting the facts of the case. Extremely interesting, there's no good places in the story to stop reading, so I just kept going!
Rating: 
Summary: Very close to the answer
Review: This book presents as much evidence as could be found to show the truth, not totrash anyone. The reader is left to determine the truth.Although the book is somewhat repetitious and disorganized(Much like the investigation) in spots it is chilling as it leads the reader to the horrific conclusion. I was completely shaken when I finished it - in the middle of the night. What happened to that child was montrous. Allowing the perpetrator(s) to get away with it is unbelievable.
Rating:
Summary: Monsters or monstrously unlucky?
Review: This is a book about three distinct, yet intimately interrelated stories, told as one. First, there is the story of the murder of JonBenét Ramsey; second, the story of the investigation of that murder and the antagonism between the Boulder Police Department and the District Attorney's office; and third, the media coverage of these events. I think Schiller does a workman-like job on all three, but for readers primarily interested in the story of the murder of JonBenét, this book, at about 800 pages, is a bit too much. For those interested in the politics and pecking order of the judicial system as practiced in Boulder, Colorado, this is probably a fascinating read from cover to cover. The story of the media is also interesting, but too narrowly focused on the tabloid coverage, especially the material about Jeff Shaprio, then working for the Globe. Stories from the local (Colorado) media are quoted liberally throughout the text, but the day-to-day inner workings of the local press is not detailed. Some of this material seems pasted in as though Schiller began to weary of his subject. The detail about the Colorado judicial system, often presented in footnotes at the bottom of pages, was legalistic and not really illuminating. Additionally the text is marred by typos of the kind not caught by spell checkers, including the wrong "their" near the bottom of page 385, an extraneous article on line 11, page 501, and most significantly, an "isn't" for an "is" on page 227. (Actually the sentence in that footnote doesn't make sense with either an "isn't" as written, or an "is" as seems indicated.) On the plus side Schiller does an excellent job of making some of the players come to life including the very tricky Jeff Shapiro, the tabloid reporter who insinuated himself into the district attorney's offices, made friends with the Boulder police, joined Ramsey's church and even talked at length with John Ramsey on the phone (something Schiller was not able to do). The portrait of the sincere and tremendously dedicated Det. Steve Thomas was also good, as was that of retired detective Lou Smit, who befriended the Ramseys. Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter comes across primarily as a politician. I also appreciated the floor plan of the Ramsey house in Appendix A and the character list at the back of the book. The name index was also valuable, although I think there should have been a subject index as well. Because I didn't know the details of the case before reading this book, for me, the most important parts are pages 497-499, where the FBI profilers present their extremely powerful arguments against the intruder theory, and pages 660-670 where there is a summation of the evidence gathered by the Boulder police. Reading between the lines we can see that John Ramsey himself is a slightly "superior," somewhat cold and calculating man with some prejudice against the relatively liberal culture of Boulder, Colorado and against the poor (see page 690 where he argues that Bill McReynolds, who played "Santa Claus," should be a suspect partly because "he doesn't have two nickels to rub together"). Nonetheless one imagines that John Ramsey loved his daughter (and she loved him) so that it is untenable to think that he could have deliberately murdered her. Furthermore he has too much control of himself to have accidentally struck and killed her. On the other hand Patsy Ramsey comes across as someone with particularly shallow values predicated almost entirely on appearance who has a temper that she could very well lose. Her love for her daughter is less clear than her husband's, although her need for JonBenét to succeed and thereby reflect favorably upon herself is very strong. One imagines that she could punish her daughter very severely but outside of public scrutiny. One further imagines she would seek to cover up anything that would make her look bad. One very telling observation in the book (p. 13) is that the ransom note was the "War and Peace of ransom notes." The Patsy Ramsey seen in this book is a person who does everything in a flamboyant and overdone manner. I don't think, however, that the evidence as presented here is strong enough to draw a definite conclusion about who killed JonBenét. One thing is clear: John and Patsy Ramsey are either monstrously unlucky, or they are monsters.
Rating:
Summary: best so far
Review: more factual than the other books on this topic
Rating: 
Summary: Schiller knows no shame
Review: Lawrence Schiller is a lowlife who can sniff out a buck like a bloodhound. So like Gary Gilmor, and like OJ Simpson, JonBenet Ramsey is yet another person he can profit off of. Schiller proves again and again that he is a bottomfeeder, and this 10 million page fiasco gets us no closer to the truth than before. Avoid this and Lawrence Schiller at all costs.
Rating:
Summary: So detailed that ends up boring
Review: At the beginning,the book is quite interesting, but towards the middle it gets so detailed- it provides a day to day progress of the investigation- that ends up quite boring. Others of course might be fascinated by these details, but personally I stopped reading the book in the middle.
Rating:
Summary: Presents the Evidence But Raises Questions
Review: Lawrence Schiller's "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" dispassionately presents the evidence in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case and lets the reader decide. Most of the criticism of this voluminous book are that Schiller does not tell us who killed JonBenet-it does not end like some great detective novel with the killer finally revealed on the last page. Schiller, rightly I think, takes us through the contradictions and twists and turns of the case without imposing his point of view. He also shows us why it is so difficult to solve this complicated case. The author also reveals, sadly, how an indictment of the killer will probably never occur. This is illustrated by the conclusions of two different detectives-both with access to the same evidence. One firmly believes that the Ramseys are the culprits while the other passionately argues not only that the murderer was an intruder but that the Ramseys are innocent. While certainly there is a cloud of suspicion over the Ramseys, because some compelling evidence points to them, there is equally compelling evidence that points away from them. I gave this book four stars because, while the book is exhaustive in its presentation of the evidence, I believe that too much time was spent on the politics of the investigation and the disputes between the District Attorney and the police-this part of the story is just not that interesting. Schiller would have had a tighter and more engrossing book if he had just focused on the evidence. Nonetheless, even at 814 pages, this is a compelling read. [Note: Schiller does the reader a great service by providing a "Character List" with the name and a brief description of each participant in the case. Consequently, if one person shows up several times, but separated by several hundred pages, you can immediately jog your memory as to who that person is.]
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: The uncensored Story
Review: This is by far the worst book I have almost read. When I say almost it is because I cannot turn another page. It is so boring and drags on and on for hours!
Rating:
Summary: Horrible Murder, Horrible Town
Review: Schiller has opened the path to help us all understand just how politics and egos have kept this horrible murderer free to strike again! I was appalled by the actions of the press, police, and the DA's office. FBI help refused even when the parents requested and begged for help ffrom those experienced in SOLVING crimes. What I was "spoon fed" by the media had me believe that the parents were possibly guilty, but nothing fit the typical murder of a child by a parent. After reading this book, I wonder: 1)If the parents "staged" the crime scene - why did they disturb it themselves? 2)Having a psychology degree, I've never heard of/nor read about a parent to plan out a murder, use such items as a stun gun or a garrote and keep the dead child in their home instead of getting rid of the evidence (dead child)to keep their role as perpetrator secret. 3)Having done the "deed", how could a man who has already suffered the loss of one child, and a woman who fought a battle against STAGE IV cancer so she could raise her children to adults, calmly sit down and write a two and a half page "ransom" note (police think this was done to cover up the accidental blow to the child's head after a rage of anger by a parent)? Sorry, but I don't buy into the police theories. You either act out in a fit of rage or you plan out your deed, not mixing both.... The crazy actions of the tabloids and the police really got to me. I just can't imagine what makes people act in such self-centered ways. A child is MURDERED, and all it was for some was "fodder" for the media... Listen people, this could happen to any of us who have children. All we can do is pray to God that this never happens to us or our family! As a society, we want to belive ourselves exempt from this type of tragedy. The town of Boulder is a perfect example of this - blame the outsiders (Ramseys) so we don't have to worry that this could happen to us. Save us from ourselves. Thanks to this book, I realize I should walk a mile in someone's shoes before I judge. I only pray that this type of tragedy never happens to me and my beloved children.
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