Rating: 
Summary: Too close to home!
Review: Red Bluff is our neighboring town and I shutter to think that this happened so close to home. This book is extremely well written and a definite must for anyone who likes true crime stories.
Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing
Review: Stay on the author's good side. Otherwise all of your good qualities will be disregarded and everything else will be revealed. It amazes me that some psycho could treat someone the way the defendant did, let her go jogging and get a job, and still keep her under his control so she'd return. I would have thought she'd take ANY chance to try to escape. If this wasn't a true story I'd never have thought it was believeable.
Rating: 
Summary: A Young Woman's Journey to Hell and Back
Review: The journey begins when young Colleen Stan is hitchhiking in California and passes up several offers by people she felt uncomfortable accepting rides from. Then along comes a nice American family and she accepts. So begins a 7-year ordeal presumably unmatched by anyone else. I find the book filled with details not only of the horror Cameron Hooker inflicted on Colleen, but also of the earlier horror he inflicted on a young Janice in the days before their marriage. As difficult as it was to believe how Hooker could have Stan so under control he would allow her to hold down a job, it becomes crystal clear when trial testimony describes hostages undergoing the same experience. My only problem is the book is not wholely written in chronological order but jumps back and forth between the current investigation and the years prior when Stan is held captive by a cold, calculating, very intelligent but depraved individual. If you can handle descriptions of immense pain, torture and terror get your hands on this book immediately.
Rating:
Summary: Intense!
Review: The Perfect Victim was the most intense book I'd ever read due mostly to the fact that it was based on a true story. It's incomprehensible to me that such a horrible thing like this could happen in our country and that there are a lot of sick people out there. The story was so well written. I've read a few other novels by Christine McGuire. She's a wonderfully, gifted writer.
Rating:
Summary: awesome read !
Review: This book has been around for a few years now. I first read it about six years ago and have since read it again. It's just as good the second time round. A very shocking story of sex,brainwashing and sick perversions. Not for the easily disturbed. Very graphic details and very shocking in places. On reading the back of the book I almost laughed at the idea of someone being held captive for seven years and being brainwashed into staying. On reading the book however,you come to realise just how this can happen and how frighteningly real it was for the poor victim, Colleen Stan. All the way through I couldn't help but wonder why on earth Colleen's family didn't suss out that something was going on. I mean, hey, your daughter suddenly goes missing and when she finally turns up she is like a different person and totally controlled by two individuals that she normally wouldn't associate with. Surely someone must have thought that something was up? Really excellent read. Buy it,don't borrow it as you'll definitely want to read it again.Comes with quite a few photos too. Powerfull and compelling.
Rating:
Summary: Graphic, Disturbing Story -- Read at your own risk!
Review: This book is a real page-turner; I could not put it down. The trouble is, I regretted having picked it up! The experience this victim went through is so horrifying that I was deeply affected as I read. Reading about such cruelty, imagining myself in the victim's place, I became quite depressed for the few days it took me to finish the book. At first, I thought perhaps I should just close the book and not finish it. But once you start, you really need to see this through to the conclusion. (So did the jurors, apparently. It is remarked in the book that 7 jurors attended the sentencing, although that is rare in most court cases.) So beware -- this is a very intense read.
Rating:
Summary: Not so great - Let down for true crime
Review: This book is deccent but at times is boring. Almost half of the book is like reading a transcript from the trial. The book lacks detail for being a true crime and is poorly exectuted. The story itself is interesting but may have been better if written by someone other than the prosecutor.
Rating:
Summary: Truly harrowing even for the most jaded reader and exellentl
Review: This book tells the story of Coleen Stan, the woman who was kidnapped and kept prisoner, most of the time in a coffin size wooden box, by a couple in California. Written by the woman who prosecuted this case the book spares none of the shocking details of the case while still not appearing sensationalistic. It's a riveting and mesmerizing look into the true depths of human evil as well as a testament to the power of the human psyche to survive. One of the best books of its kind I have read!
Rating:
Summary: Stunning, Horryfing, Shocking
Review: This is a true crime book about a woman named Colleen Stan who was a sex slave to a mad man for seven years! It is the most freaking crazy book I've ever read, but also the most fascinating. Although I think Colleen should have run away when she had the chance this book really delves into her mind and is an amazing story. If you are a true crime freak like me, buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: Hated putting it down
Review: This is an incredible story and it is very well written. When we were reading about Coleen's time in the house, we were in that house; when reading about the court proceedings, we were in that courtroom. I hated putting the book down because it drew me in so well, and I was sad to see it end as I had enjoyed it so.
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