Review: Lesser Known 1980's Serial Rapist/Killer -- Formerly Published as Blind Rage
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 13, 2012
Someone suggested that Mr. King was "taking over" from Ann Rule.  I think that might have been a misreading of a statement in the author's biography that he took over Ann Rule's job as northwestern stringer for some true crime magazines that actually ceased publication in the mid 1990's.  While I don't know if Ann Rule is even still publishing, King has not taken over from her.Anyway, this is the story of one of the lesser known serial rapist/killers, who was active in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980's, Darren Dee O'Neall.  This book was previously published asBlind Rageby Onyx in 1995.The digitization is not too bad.  Occasionally there are multiple line feeds between sections, but the text doesn't seem to have a lot of problems in terms of scan artifacts or homonym errors. I would have liked a table of contents, particularly to the photo section where there is some interesting pictures of the killer.The photograph section is good although I skipped over a few of the blood stained items.  The inclusion of color photographs is a good change from most true crime books where you only get black and white-- I know you have to be on a tablet or computer to see these in color.  There's also a tap to enlarge feature.I can't tell if Darren Dee O'Neall is not a very interesting character or if King was not able to get a good grip on this story.  Certainly, after making the FBI's top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive List, O'Neall's capture involving suspicious behavior, a minor criminal and a stolen car is anticlimactic. The best true crime books tend to get under the skin of the killer and offer some insight into the human condition.  This story is superficial.The author failed to explain why some of what seemed like cold hearted behavior by law enforcement toward the victim's family was actually necessary. A little explanation would have made a better read. There are very valid reasons by the police would not want family members showing pictures of a suspect to potential witnesses. And no, they couldn't release the body before the suspect had an opportunity to ask for his own examination of the remains.  Chain of custody would have been important also.King also claimed in his Foreword that he wasn't going to pull any punches in describing the crimes, but there are times when a recital of facts, without some insight, doesn't help the story. That also came out when he was talking about the various reported sightings of O'Neall while on the run. I began wishing for a chart or a map with the locations and dates listed. Further, the author's recital of the efforts of the various psychics involved, lacks discrimination. Like their approach to potential witnesses, the family's approach to psychics was far too guileless.Adequately written but not engrossing.