Savage Appetites - Rachel Monroe

True Crime

Rating: 7.5/10

This authors approach to telling yet another story of our cultural obsession with crime is unique.  The book is structured into four points of view;, that of the detective, the victim, the defender and finally, the killer.

She interweaves her own personal fascination and questions not only herself but us. Why are we drawn to gorge ourselves on the suffering of others. To immerse ourselves in a grief that is not ours to feel. What is our motive.  Fear, revenge, power, curiosity, proclivity, or is it a curriculum for the modern women to assess her vulnerability?

The women profiled here are pushing to the edge, often unwise in their choices, and ultimately they pay a price.  The frightening part to this reader was that they seemed to need to live out some other life, one with horrors that weren’t intended for them.

The Women:

The Detective: buried in the female archetype of the 1940’s, she goes on to build intricate dioramas of death scenes that are used in forensic training.

The Victim: the discovery of an interloper in the aftermath of the death of Sharon Tate.

The Defender: the love interest of death row inmate and future freed man Damien Eccles.

The Killer: the corrosive online presence of killer groupie’s lure others into the fold.

Footnote: Those that are filming the myriad of documentaries and series, those recording the countless podcasts, and those putting pen to page must remember.  The crime stories that you chose to tell and the way in which you tell them have repercussions.  Always.