Author: Jeff Guinn
Comprehensive, chilling, blood-curdling…this is a true account detailing pretty much all you need to know about serial killer Charles Manson and his cult. It delves into Charles’ childhood, his family history, his life in crime and the murders which made him notorious – all in all, it is incredibly thorough and is an extremely well researched resource.
It tends to address other issues relevant to Charles’ takeover, such as 1960’s America and the influence of music at the time – most significantly, The Beach Boys and The Beatles – which goes to show just how all-encompassing this work of non-fiction really is.
Because of the complexity of the crimes/trials and the amount of people involved the book takes time to read and concentration to follow it closely, but this isn’t necessarily a negative because the story is so gripping and has such huge human interest value that the length of it can be overlooked.
It is written with fluidity and has plenty of quotes – it even includes never before published family photographs, which makes it a real stand-out piece. Overall this is an insightful book that paints a shocking story of mayhem and murder.
> Hannah Montgomery
