Scream at the Sky (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

Rating:
Summary: You won't want to put it down
Review: "Scream at the Sky" is the perfect book for true crime buffs. You have 5 young victims brutally murdered and remaining unsolved for years until a dedicated Investigator finds the killer. While I do believe giving the reader more insight into what made Faryion Wardrip tick, the book was nonetheless a page turner from start to finish. I don't believe however, that Wardrip just went off on these women. I believe he stalked them, knew their habits and when he could catch them off guard. It's a shame that the mousey faced Wardrip caused so much pain for so many people and was able to escape justice for so long. The world needs more people like Investigator Little. Read the book, you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Xcellent Book,Could Not Put Down!!
Review: Carlton Stowers does it once again. This book is facinating from start to finish. Frankly I think this book is one of the best books i've read in quite awhile. My hubby is now reading. Daughter will read it after him. Why would someone say he commited crimes when he did'nt is beyond my comprehension. He is as sick as the real killer is.This is A MUST READ BOOK.. YOU WONT BE DISSAPPOINTED!!

Rating:
Summary: Justice Delayed and almost Denied
Review: Carlton Stowers is one of the best writers in the "True Crime" genre. This is his spellbinding tale of "the mountain of misery created by one misguided and darkly evil person" and how "Texas Justice" (some might nominate that phrase as a definitive oxymoron) almost got the wrong guy. It is very important here to obey the Ann Rule rule of True Crime reading: Do Not Look At the Pictures Until Law Enforcement has Got Their Guy - or Gal (in the case of Carla Faye Tucker and some other notorious ladies) - unless you are the kind of reader who always reads the last chapter of a murder mystery first!

Rating:
Summary: Finally out in paperback!
Review: Carlton Stowers, you are a treasure to American writing, and Scream at the Sky is one of the best books you've written. I'm glad it's finally out in paperback, the wait was a long one for your fans. This book, as you know, Carlton, describes a series of murders that took place almost a generation ago, and how they had to wait for vengeance and justice for many years, and how it took all the skills of a curious and righteous investigator to bring these murders to justice.

Sometimes the legal system has a triumph or two. And sometimes, as the Spanish say, revenge is a dish best served cold. They say the dead don't care how long it takes to have their pain acknowledged. In this harrowing case, filled with suspense and the anguish of the victims' families, we see a tale of American frontier pain and healing that encompassing a range of emotions as wide as the Midwestern sky. The graves of five women who shouldn't have died, yet did, have a peaceful easy feeling about them today. Thanks for writing this book, which will not allow their killer to get off scot free.

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat incomplete
Review: I've read a few of Carlton Stower's previous books and found them in general to be well-researched and well-written. Scream at the Sky felt somewhat incomplete because I don't think that the life and motives of Faryion Waldrip was explored enough. I just didn't get a good understanding of what pushed him to commit these murders. The sections dealing with the victims and the criminal investigation were first-rate, however. I noticed several typos in the book and , while these things happen, it shows that the editing should have been a bit tighter.

Rating:
Summary: Leave it to the bricklayer
Review: There's not a whole lot of suspense in SCREAM AT THE SKY. If you're like me, you'll look at the pictures first and the first person you'll see is the murderer. This doesn't really ruin the story however because the people involved in these serial killings are so stimulating. Stowers takes us through each of the four Wichita Falls murders, introduces us to the suspects and the police officers involved, and occasionally lets us in on the killer's thoughts. We get to know Terry Sims, Toni Gibbs, Ellen Blau, and finally college student, Tina Kimbrew, whose murder is totally incomprehensible, since she treated the murderer better than any other woman had in his entire lifetime. Apparently he realized this, too, as he gave himself up after her murder (But never confessed to the other murders). Incredibly he only spends eleven years in jail due to good behavior.
This is where former bricklayer, John Little, enters the fray. He's an investigator for the Wichita County DA. It has been fourteen years since the murders and Little has been given the cold case by his boss, Barry Machak. Incredibly, he finds a telling clue immediately. This isn't so hard to believe since it was right there all along, and the other detectives just never followed up on it. And, of course, they didn't have DNA analysis.
Another riveting part of the book was when the Kimbrews agree to try to come to terms with the murderer of their daughter. They go to the prison to talk to him. He's become a Born Again Christian and he assures them that he never really meant to hurt their daughter, that he's never harmed anyone else before or since. The wife forgives him and the husband is about to until John Little begins to make connections between the four murders.
I was a little upset at first that Stowers spilled the beans so early but once I got to know the victims, their families and various law officers I was totally into this book.

Rating:
Summary: Master Manipulator in Texas
Review: This is an impressive, well researched tale of horrific events which took place in north Texas in 1984 and 1985. Five young women were brutally murdered over a time period of 17 months. The killer, Faryion Wardrip, who now resides on Texas' Death Row, was not brought to justice until 1999. The book expertly chronicles the investigative process which finally resulted in Wardrip's conviction. Even more importantly, the author offers poignant insights into the lives of the victims' families. Wardrip is most definitely a master manipulator who, on multiple occasions, has claimed not only to take full responsibility for his actions, but also to be a changed man. Instead, he relies on half-truths and deception, always finding excuses for his unjustifiable actions.

There are a few minor editorial problems, but they do not detract from the strength of the narrative.