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Kill Jar: Obsession, Descent, and a Hunt for Detroit's Most Notorious Serial Killer
Kill Jar: Obsession, Descent, and a Hunt for Detroit's Most Notorious Serial Killer | J Reuben Appelman
Enthralling. Gripping. Cinematic. Raw. A cold case murder investigation paced like a podcast, as visually stunning as a film, and as brave and personal as our darkest memoirs. J. Reuben Appelman cracks open one of America's most notorious murder sprees while simultaneously banging the gavel on his own history with violence. A deftly-crafted true crime story with grit, set amid the decaying sprawl of Detroit and its outliers. With a foreword by Catherine Broad, sister of victim Timothy King. Four children were abducted and murdered outside of Detroit during the winters of 1976 and 1977, their bodies eventually dumped in snow banks around the city. J. Reuben Appelman was six years old at the time the murders began and had evaded an abduction attempt during that same period, fueling a lifelong obsession with what became known as the Oakland County Child Killings. Autopsies showed the victims to have been fed while in captivity, reportedly held with care. And yet, with equal care, their bodies had allegedly been groomed post-mortem, scrubbed-free of evidence that might link to a killer. There were few credible leads, and equally few credible suspects. That's what the cops had passed down to the press, and that's what the city of Detroit, and J. Reuben Appelman, had come to believe. When the abductions mysteriously stopped, a task force operating on one of the largest manhunt budgets in history shut down without an arrest. Although no more murders occurred, Detroit and its environs remained haunted. The killer had, presumably, not been caught. Eerily overlaid upon the author's own decades-old history with violence, The Kill Jar tells the gripping story of J. Reuben Appelman's ten-year investigation into buried leads, apparent police cover-ups of evidence, con-men, child pornography rings, and high-level corruption saturating Detroit's most notorious serial killer case.
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review
TorieStorieS
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Panpan

I‘m pretty familiar with this part of the Detroit area so I looked forward to learning more about these horrific murders. But this isn‘t really true crime in a lot of ways- it skirts into being more of a memoir in many ways with a lot of focus on the author‘s own life and personal relationships. This unfocused approach made this hard to appreciate and while it seemed like there‘s nothing more than conjecture & suspicious activity. #AudioColoring

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MicheleinPhilly
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Panpan

I wish this had been written by someone who was less of a hot mess. I don‘t care about your daddy issues or your lady issues or your alcohol issues. Pick a lane and stick to it, mister! It‘s quite unfortunate because the case is ripe for a well written exhumation of the evidence. Sadly this is not it.

vivastory But, I'm confused if you liked it 🤔 4y
Lovesbooks87 I got an ARC of this and bailed on it! 4y
TrishB Thank you for your honest opinion 😁 4y
See All 11 Comments
MicheleinPhilly @vivastory Subtle I am not, Scott! 4y
TiredLibrarian Wow - just looked at the book page and 17% like it! 😯 Guess you're not alone, @MicheleinPhilly 4y
TiredLibrarian Too bad because the original crime story sounds interesting. Maybe it's in nerd of a better treatment by someone else. 4y
LeahBergen Man, I love a good review like this! 👏🏻👏🏻😆😆 4y
Bookzombie Great review! 4y
Megabooks Fantastic review! 4y
Kristy_K Great review! Completely agree. I couldn‘t even finish this one. 4y
Reviewsbylola I gave this a so so. I can totally understand your pan tho. 4y
63 likes11 comments
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Reviewsbylola
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Mehso-so

Just finished my final read of 2018, 🎉

This is a true crime memoir that centers around the Oakland County Child Killings in MI in the 70s. Reminiscent of I‘ll Be Gone in the Dark, it was a bit too sloppy. There were too many threads, too much focus on the author and his personal issues, and an overwhelming lack of focus. Not everyone can do what Michelle did—that‘s the moral of the story. #netgalley #bathandbook

LiteraryinLawrence I have to ask... what IS that in the background? 😁 5y
Reviewsbylola Behind my kindle is a sheet mask and above it is a bath bomb. 😂😂 @LiteraryinLititz 5y
LiteraryinLawrence @Reviewsbylola Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! 😋 5y
ashley_o13 @LiteraryinLititz @Reviewsbylola I was going to ask the same thing about the bath bomb. I thought it was either a cookie or a rice Krispy treat with icing on it lol 😂😂 5y
BarbaraBB @LiteraryinLititz Thanks for asking. I thought it was a slice of broccoli with meat on it 😂😂 @ashley_o13 5y
84 likes1 stack add5 comments
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KatieDid927
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Mehso-so

I kind of liked the author interweaving his own personal story along with the narrative of his search for the OCCK as a concept, but it ultimately fell flat because nothing was resolved in either his personal story or the search for the OCCK. The writing style was disjointed and there were way too many unnecessary threads added that went nowhere. This book needed stronger editing.

(a Goodreads giveaway)

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Litpixie
Bailedbailed

Again, I made it to page 15 before deciding I don't want this in my head. A book that should be about 4 child killings in the 1970s should exclude a grown man's kink with pain. As he begins to describe this feelings about self - harm, after describing the way the four children were killed and found it began to feel a bit like porn. I almost feel as if I need brain bleach.

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Orpheuswaking
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Mehso-so

I was expecting a book about the OCCK murders and the hunt for the killer. Instead a got a book about the authors life and his own personal demons. It wasn‘t uninteresting but absolutely not what I wanted to read.

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Lovesbooks87
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Bailedbailed

I hate bailing on book's but when I think of my massive TBR pile I can't make myself read something I don't want to read. I enjoy the parts about the true crime aspect of this book. But I feel like most of the book is talking about his person life now while he was writing the book and it is just turning me off from wanting to read it.

Reviewsbylola 😬😬😬 I just got this one on netgalley. 6y
Lovesbooks87 @Reviewsbylola it's wasn't bad and it could have just been me. I was just forcing myself to read most of the book and thinking about all the other books that I need to read so I figured I would just bail on it for now. I have heard a lot of great things about it! 6y
Reviewsbylola I do love true crime so I‘m hoping I won‘t hate it! 6y
See All 6 Comments
Lovesbooks87 @Reviewsbylola I do too it is one of my new favorite genres. But I felt like half of the book was true crime and the other half was about his personal life. 6y
amb Glad to know I‘m not the only one who struggles with this one 6y
MelissaSewell Thanks for the heads up, I‘ll skip it. 6y
77 likes3 stack adds6 comments
blurb
Books_Wine_Repeat
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Another ARC? Yes, please! 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️ #Goodreads #giveaway #gimmeALLtheBooks

50 likes2 stack adds
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FairyHighRoad
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Pickpick

This book was a wild ride. Part true crime and part memoir, it reminded me of I‘ll Be Gone In The Dark. Appelman goes down the rabbit hole of investigating who was the Oakland County Child Killer who killed 4 kids between ‘76-‘77. Appelman uncovers a pedophilia ring that involves wealthy & powerful men, local cops & suspicious suicides. I hope this leads to a suspect like The Golden State Killer. #netgalley #arc #ssdgm #mfm

28 likes4 stack adds
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Samplergal
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Pickpick

Oh, put this in your TBR pile if you like true crime. I‘ll be posting a real review on my blog later, but for now, consider this one a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟read. Triggers for child abduction and pedophilia, but not graphic. On sale in August!

Lovesbooks87 I have a hold on it at the library! 6y
83 likes9 stack adds1 comment
blurb
Samplergal
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This should be fun! #netGalley

RavenLovelyReads Sounds good!!! 6y
Lovesbooks87 This sounds so good! I can't wait to read it! 6y
Samplergal This is quite an excellent read so far. 6y
90 likes4 stack adds3 comments