NO MERCY

Rating:
Summary: Respectful of John Walsh
Review: Apart from the traditional American emotional hype that John Walsh brings to this book, it is a good read.
it is good to see he used his anger in a positive way and he definately serves the community in a special way. We need more like him.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Be advised that the first story will haunt you for days. It is very disturbing. John Walsh is a modern day hero who sets out to put lowlifes where they belong....behind bars!! God Bless Mr. Walsh, and long may he reign!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Writing Job
Review: I grew up in Westfield, New Jersey where John List murdered his family. I remember clearly how these murders created fear in our town. He hid from authorities for nearly 20-years before America's Most Wanted aired a profile that led to his capture. This is just one of the stories in this book that would get 10-stars if ...(this website) gave out that many. John Walsh deserves a lot of credit for his great work, and this is a book everyone should read.

Rating:
Summary: Chilling But Empowering
Review: I started reading No Mercy as soon as it arrived from Amazon.com, and I found that I couldn't put it down.

John Walsh, whose own son was abducted and murdered in the early 1980s, has turned his anger into a powerful force for good. He and co-author Philip Lerman are the inspiration behind America's Most Wanted, the Fox television show that has helped capture over five hundred dangerous criminals.

No Mercy tells several of the most famous stories from America's Most Wanted, all of which are emotionally wrenching. The most intriguing is "The Strange Case of the Green Parrot," an incredibly improbable set of circumstances that sound like a Hollywood script. I'm not going to give away the ending, but I will say that this tale alone is worth the price of admission.

The stories in this book are chilling, and they may give you nightmares. It's difficult to believe that we share the same planet with monsters who can do the things that Walsh and Lerner describe. But at the same time, the authors show that caring people can and should and do fight back.

I confess that I have never watched America's Most Wanted--I prefer books over television. But I may begin to watch the program after reading this book, out of a sense of responsibility if nothing else. Walsh's efforts have probably already spared countless hundreds of people from the pain that he himself had to endure. The more people who watch his show or read this book, the more criminals will be caught before they can hurt or kill again.

The book includes information about children who are still missing, as well as about several fugitives who are still at large--perhaps some reader will send in the tip that brings these cases to a close. The one omission that surprised me was this: as far as I could tell, the book did not give a web site for America's Most Wanted. (I looked it up, and it can be found at amw.com or americasmostwanted.com). It semes to me that the Net is the ideal place to post bulletins and updates between airings of the show, and it would have been useful to put this bit of information in the book or on the jacket.

Rating:
Summary: Respectful of John Walsh
Review: I thought this was a good book, and I do think John Walsh does great things for the missing. I prefer him in person, than reading his book. It was a little too intense for me.

Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful, Dramatic, Gripping!
Review: I've never come across a book like this before. It was so well-written I couldn't put it down! Every element that makes a good read is there - suspense, drama, poignant scenes that pull at one's heartstrings and the enormous feelings of triumph and relief you share with the victims and the writer, at the end of the story when the fugitive is caught.

No Mercy is a true gem. It documents several real-life crime cases that John Walsh and his team at the America's Most Wanted (AMW) TV programme helped the Police and FBI to solve, thanks to the tips received from the over 14 million TV viewers throughout the United States.

The book also tells us the ups-and-downs of the AMW programme, from how/why it was developed right up to the time it was pulled off the air by the Fox Studio, before a huge public outcry and rally pressured Fox Studio into reinstating the programme, about 7 weeks after it went off the air.

There're some B&W photographs inserted between the pages of the book - mostly of the victims and the fugitives. An excellent idea because they make the cases seem even more real to the readers.

AMW must certainly be one heck-of-a-programme. In my opinion, John Walsh is one of the best models of perseverance and true grit. His crusade and relentless pursuit of justice for the victims and the victims' family are truly admirable deeds. This guy is a hero!

Years ago, I read the heart-breaking story of how his young son, Adam was abducted and then murdered. His world was torn apart (his first book, Tears of Rage documents the story). But Walsh fought back by fighting in his own way to ensure that no parent has to go through the same agony he went through when his child was taken away from him. Our local television used to air the programme, Manhunter also hosted by Walsh which is about crime cases solved by AMW. I never miss the show.

Buy this book - you won't be dissapointed.

Rating:
Summary: Feeling it for the first time
Review: I've never experienced emotional reactions before when reading true crime novels. Their usually clinical approach to the case or cases, and focusing on the criminal and his crime(s), while downplaying the experience of the victims and their family, usually isn't able to produce much of an emotional response.

Then came `No Mercy', John Walsh's book about some of the most notable cases that the Fox show `America's Most Wanted' has helped along. Being a regular viewer of the show, as well as having read Walsh's first novel about his son's murder case, I decided to check out his second go-round. I read about the Polly Klaas kidnapping and murder, the John Emil List family murders, the horrible acts of child-killer Eddie James, the spree killings of Andrew Cunanan, and many more sub-human deeds of evil. As I read each case, I was exposed to the burdens of the crime victims. I felt, to a small degree, the very things that they did. Anger that the persons responsible had performed such heinous and senseless acts. The desperation and uncertainty when they were on the lam. The elation when they were finally captured. It was a real gut-wrenching ride, and at times I got misty over what I was perusing. But in the end, I was glad to have experienced it. Even though my own emotional responses could never come close to what the victims experienced, I had a better understanding of what it's like to be a victim. This was what John Walsh had set out to do when he co-authored `No Mercy', and it worked beyond belief with me.

Another unique quality about `No Mercy': it was the first true-crime novel that I've read from cover to cover more than once. The most amazing thing is that the impact of each case has not diminished with repeat viewings. I find each one to be as powerful as it was when I first read it.

Also told in the novel is a brief history of `America's Most Wanted'. I read about Walsh's uncertainty toward his hosting the show. Then there was AMW's cancellation and resurrection in 1996, thanks to the letter-writing campaign of state & federal legislators, law enforcement officials, and citizens. As of the book's release, `America's Most Wanted' has been credited with over 500 captures thanks to tips from viewers.

Finally, there's also the story of how two AMW cases coincidentally came together at a place called The Green Parrot Café. I wouldn't have believed it if I'd not read it myself. And you'll have to read it for yourself, `cause I don't want to spoil it for you.

`Late

Rating:
Summary: No Mercy:The Host of America's Most Wanted Hunts....
Review: In the past, I have never cared much about crime and what goes on in the world. But finally, a friend recomended that I read No Mercy. At first I wasn't sure about it, but when I picked it up, I couldn't put it down! I was touched incredibly by every one of the cases. Especially the one about Terry Hart. I don't know why that moved me so much, but it did. Also the ones about the murder of young Polly Klaas and Eddie James. This is a truly excellent book. Walsh takes you behind the scenes of America's Most Wanted and it's crimes. It's very detailed and it will make you want to get involved and join the fight. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Please join the fight. You can make a diference!

Rating:
Summary: A thrilling look behind the scenes of "America's Most Wanted
Review: When I've read John Walsh's books, there are small moments where I see in him the kind of arrogance the reader sees when reading a book by John Douglas. But it's only a small moment, because I then remember that John Walsh's adorable, sweet five-year-old was returned to him, when his little body was found, as just a head. That Walsh has turned his endless pain into a battle like no other for crime victims assures him a big place in Heaven.

This book is wonderful. It gives an intensely gripping background look at the making of the Fox show, "America's Most Wanted." It tells from beginning to end the taking on of a case to the capture of the criminal. But to review this book as such insults it, because Walsh is passionate about protecting victims' rights, and particularly passionate about the murder of children. From his autobiography concerning the murder of his little son, I know that he and his wife, Reve', have gone on to have other children. The sheer courage of this man makes this book one of intensity. There isn't, apparently, a case on this television show that Walsh does not take entirely to heart. When does this man eat? Perhaps he doesn't have to; perhaps he is an angel here on earth.

I finished this book more quickly than I'd have wanted to, because Walsh's voice is so impassioned that he just carried me along.

I wouldn't recommend this book particularly to those interested in the media, but rather to those who are invested in the rights of victims, and of the rights of victims' loved ones.

This is a wonderful read, and when criminals are captured, you want to put the book down and cry out, "HOORAY!" along with the author.