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Rating:  Summary: A great read ... It truly is 'terrifying' ! Review: 'Die For Me' is one of the more memorable true crime books I've read. The writing style is more journalistic than most, but that does not diminish from the story. The crimes in this case were so heinous that merely reporting what happened is enough to convey the point of how disturbed Lake and Ng were (and are, in Ng's case.) And there is an excellent 'twist' near the end of the book, during Ng's court case. Actually, I wasn't even sure if he would be convicted but then ... well, I'll leave it up to you to find out. 'Die For Me' doesn't have the long lasting impact of 'Helter Skelter' or 'In Cold Blood' but it makes for an quick, engrossing read that leaves you thinking, "Are there MORE people out there like this?" Leave the lights on for this one.
Rating:  Summary: Great story Review: Die For Me is the true story of Leonard Lake, his apparent inferiority complex, his psychopathic sidekick Charles Ng and their horrible crimes. The book begins with excerpts from Leonard Lake's "philosophy tape" a homemade video Lake made so that one day the world would know of his feelings, plans, ambitions and lack of success. In this tape Lake confesses of his sickening sexual desires including his attraction to girls as young as twelve. He tells those who may one day see the video that he likes to "use" and "dominate" women. Sadly for him, he explains is that he doesn't have the tradional allures of money and power that women require. So as a self described realist Lake's plan is to build a bunker with a secret compartment to hold his "slaves". He called it "project miranda", named after a girl in the book "The Collector". In "The Collector" a butterfly collector and loser of the same enormous purportions Lake saw in himself capured a girl (named Miranda) and made her his slave. Lake talks humorously of how his plan is "highly illegal" and "violates human rights" and continues to say blah,blah,blah... clearly showing that these things mean nothing to him. As fate would have it Lake would meet a man who shared many of his interest. The mans name was Charles Ng. He too liked guns, the military, survivalism and most of all- murder and sexual torture. With this mans help Lake's depraved dreams would come to fruition. I will leave it to the reader to find out the whole story but Lake and Ng did indeed build their bunker and capture women to be, as Lake had documented "mostly sexual slaves, but physical slaves as well". In this book you will hear the story of two psychopaths. Classic in their complete disregard for human life and the feelings of others. You will also learn a little about the dynamics of what many psychologist call a "folie a deux"- a whole greater than the sum of its parts. These men's desires fed off of each other and got stronger as they spent time together. They cooperated not only in enslaving women but in murdering men as a means to collect their social security checks or some other trivial gain. God only knows the true extent of these crimes and I would prefer that he keep it to himself. This book however does an excellent job of covering what is known, which is sufficient to scare the daylights out of most. I suggest that you read this book, learn a little about something and pray along with the rest of us who have read this book that two monsters like these will never cross each others path again.
Rating:  Summary: Die For Me.....True Crime at its best! Review: I have been reading True Crime for 30 years and this one is truly a winner.Not since Norman Mailer's "The Executioners Song" has an author so totally captured the essence of "the evil next door". Leonard Lake was the real "mind" behind these heinous murders...it is always amazing when two such psyches collaberate as Lake's and Ng's do in this case. Although this is the story of Charles Ng....it is the saga of Lake's pathetic life that really captured my interest. Mr. Lasseter ( as he did previously in "Property of the Folsom Wolf" ) mesmerizes the reader with his descriptions of the minutiae of this madman's every day life leading up to the murders....you hear the sounds...smell the smells....and taste the tastes....heartwrenchingly so.Everyone has known a Leonard Lake, the wierd guy you went to highschool with...the creep down the street...your "quiet" cousin...after this read, Lake and the pokerfaced and dark spirited Ng will live on in the back of your mind for a discomforting long while.Fascinating!!!
Rating:  Summary: Die For Me.....True Crime at its best! Review: I have been reading True Crime for 30 years and this one is truly a winner.Not since Norman Mailer's "The Executioners Song" has an author so totally captured the essence of "the evil next door". Leonard Lake was the real "mind" behind these heinous murders...it is always amazing when two such psyches collaberate as Lake's and Ng's do in this case. Although this is the story of Charles Ng....it is the saga of Lake's pathetic life that really captured my interest. Mr. Lasseter ( as he did previously in "Property of the Folsom Wolf" ) mesmerizes the reader with his descriptions of the minutiae of this madman's every day life leading up to the murders....you hear the sounds...smell the smells....and taste the tastes....heartwrenchingly so.Everyone has known a Leonard Lake, the wierd guy you went to highschool with...the creep down the street...your "quiet" cousin...after this read, Lake and the pokerfaced and dark spirited Ng will live on in the back of your mind for a discomforting long while.Fascinating!!!
Rating:  Summary: Shockingly Detailed Review: I read through this one in about a week. I really enjoy the True Crime stories on A&E and thought I'd try reading some. This book is a little graphic and I wonder about the author who so thoroughly researched for it. The guy even attended the trial. Talk about dedication! Some of the gorror haunts me even now. Be careful.
Rating:  Summary: Badly organized, chaotic, and not all that terrifying! Review: Let me clarify - the crimes detailed here are horrifying, but the author's way of relating the tale is almost boring. I found myself skimming large portions of the book, and no, I wasn't looking for the "gross parts." Unless I'm totally missing something, it seems that the stories of multiple victims of this monster are left completely untold. The author seems to mention only a few in any more than passing. I just think this book is sort of a big mess, as if different people wrote each chapter.
Rating:  Summary: Pretty good Review: Overall, a well-written book. I agree with one of the reviewers that it is too long--there is a fair amount of unnecessary detail here and there. I was pleased that the author included the sickening discussions Ng had with his cellmate in Canada. These discussions really bring to light the mind-numbing horror of the murders. The photographs in the book really hit you in the gut. Worth reading.
Rating:  Summary: EXCELLENT - THE BEST I HAVE READ Review: This book is a travesty, a total, mind numbingly boring, intellegence insulting travesty. The plain fact of the matter is that the perpetrators, Lake and Ng, were very careful in commiting their horrific crimes, and there is, therefore, very little to discuss about the case. Certainly not 400+ pages. I read every word of this bloated mess, I'm sorry to say. The bloating is accomplished by the inclusion of tons of irrelevant information. Much of it is unnecessary incidental information, but one of the largest, and most irritating sources of bloat, is the inclusion of irrelevant biographical information. To add insult to injury, the material relating to the families of the victims is handled in a very clumsy and insincere way. The insult to the victims is further established by the silly title of this book, this phrase is supposed to be heard whispered on the wind by the ghost of the victims and is directed towards Charles Ng with respect to receiving the death penalty. There's some interesting material in this book, but it's completely overwhelmed by shameless filler material.
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