Product Description

A balding, podgy father of four sits in prison in Olathe, Kansas, convicted on six counts of murder and suspected in at least five other disappearances. Most disturbing to prosecutors is the method John Robinson used to procure victims. Robinson, police say, was an innovator - stalking his victims online, haunting chat rooms and finding ways to exploit the Internet's anonymity. The story of the 'net's first serial killer illustrates what can go wrong in the virtual world where relationships are established without the benefit of physical contact. The John Robinson story is the perfect window into cyber crime and how unsuspecting people can be drawn into a dark world that can lead to temptation and end in death. Douglas and Singular weave Robinson's crimes into the much larger pattern of internet sex that is occurring everywhere. They interview law enforcement specialists, psychologists, web users, and others involved in this drama. Every technological advance creates new criminal opportunities. At the beginning of the 21st century, the world is linked electronically as never before. A cautionary tale about trusting strangers and being wary of false intimacy, ANYONE YOU WANT ME TO B

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #834734 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
"John Douglas is masterful and unrivaled in scientific and gifted probing of the violent mind."

Customer Reviews

Anyone you want me to be
This book was a compelling read.

In fact if it wasn’t for the need to sleep I would’ve read this in one go.

The mixture of chronological and factual information was woven well into the everyday detail, resulting in the chapters flowing into each other.

As a European, I found the continual references to the US Civil war a little off putting, however it gave some background as to the rivalry between the two prosecuting authorities beyond their own personal agenda.

At times the dialogue seemed to meander in a direction that left this reader wondering, ‘ where are we going with is ? ‘

If other readers bear with it, the reasoning eventually becomes clear.

The information concerning non crime scene locations were in more detail then this reader felt was necessary.

The general descriptions of Robinson’s activities made interesting reading.

Based on the passages given, quite why these women fell for Robinson’s ‘ on-line grooming ‘ is still not completely clear, beyond his charm and their need for a particular lifestyle.

Unfortunately the testimony referred to, didn’t shed additional light on what this reader felt were crucial questions.

The sparing use of pictures [ not necessarily crime scenes ] may have added to the mental picture the reader is left with.

However the descriptions given left a lasting impression with this reader, which is to the credit of the authors.

The evasive tactics of Robinson and his several defence team staff showed the reality of modern adversarial justice.

Truth and natural justice appear to have second place behind technical justice, even when it can be foreseen that the defendant is deliberately undermining his own defence for tactical reasons.

The description of Judge Anderson’s no nonsense decisions reflected well on a judicial system that seems to those on the outside at least, to be unfairly weighted in favour of the defendant.

Conspicuous by its omission were what could be considered as sufficient references to the defendant’s account of events beyond generalisms, either during police questioning or whilst in court, which was felt to be a crucial ingredient.

Leaving aside these issues, which may say more about this reader than the content of this work, would I recommend this book to a friend ? Yes I would.

a somewhat muddling account
I don't know if I read this book too slowly over several nights, but I found the flow of the story somewhat disruptive. There is no doubt that John Robinson was a truly manipulative and evil man who sailed through his life using and abusing everyone around him including his wife. The much awaited court case is documented during the latter part of the book. It was at this stage that the facts surrounding his victims and their downfall - there were many - had almost been forgotton (by me!). So the early part of the story introduces his victims in brief and it is not until much later that the facts and details of their harrowing abuse, torture and death crops up again. It would have been better if the story had flowed by documenting each of the victims and their individual stories in depth, instead of flitting over the facts at the beginning and then at the end. Definitely worth a read as John is a fascinating character who is ruthless in his selfish mission to enslave lonely and needy females over the internet.