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The Devil's Cinema: The Untold Story Behind Mark Twitchell's Kill Room (2012)

The Devil's Cinema: The Untold Story Behind Mark Twitchell's Kill Room (2012)

Book Info

Rating
3.84 of 5 Votes: 5
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ISBN
077105033X (ISBN13: 9780771050336)
Language
English
Publisher
mcclelland & stewart

About book The Devil's Cinema: The Untold Story Behind Mark Twitchell's Kill Room (2012)

I really enjoyed this book. A lot. It is a fascinating story and is incredibly engrossing. The effort made to convey details, mannerisms, and personalities allows us to "get to know" the people involved, so they become more than "characters" in a story. There is no sensationalism, which is greatly appreciated, especially in the true crime genre. It is so easy to make these stories into hyperbolic drama, and Lillebuen does a fantastic job of steering clear of that and presenting the story as it is: a tragic horror story that reminds us that we may not know everyone as well as we think we do, that everyone we meet online may not be who they say they are, and that, under some "good men's" squeaky-clean exteriors, slumber monsters. This case truly disturbed me, and I consider myself seasoned in true crime. It is hard to faze me, yet this case did just that.Everything in the book is meticulously researched, allowing for even tiny mannerisms to be detailed. This book is all about those little details, and I think it is these details that upset me so much. After all, it is in the details that we discover the human side of the people involved. Including these details, and weaving them into the narrative overall, really showed who those involved were. Twitchell and Altinger also kept pretty prominent internet personas, and the public nature of Facebook and internet forums has made whatever they posted on the internet accessible. The inclusion of snippets of these documents just compounded the disturbing nature of the case.In terms of more technical aspects: often this book read as a novel. In my opinion, this really helped to exacerbate the horrific nature of the case and made the book hard to put down. Several times I had to remind myself that this book is not a work of fiction: it is the true story of an innocent man who wandered into a predator's lair. Lillebuen's writing style is clear and vivid; it enables the reader to get a picture of what was happening and the progress of the investigation. The way he organizes the book may seem very disjointed, but I found it satisfactory as it progresses the narrative and switches between perspectives, so we see Altinger's final days and Twitchell's descent into homicide. The juxtaposition between these perspectives just exacerbates the disturbing nature of the story.

Do You like book The Devil's Cinema: The Untold Story Behind Mark Twitchell's Kill Room (2012)?

I picked this book up yesterday around 11 am, and finished reading it around 12:30 pm, what a spell binder what a horrific story about the evil that can live amongst us. I have read many true live murder stories, however this is Steve Lillebuen's first book, which is pretty amazing.Steve's background is veteran Journalist and he has written for the Edmonton Journal, The National Post, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the Sydney Morning Herald, and many other publications.This story deals with the "Dexter Killer" Mark Twitchell, and not wanting to give away the whole story, since this is a "must read" Steve takes us deep into the extra ordinary police investigation and the lives of everyone involved telling all about details which he researched, and many from contact he had with the killer. Twitchell's own account in "S.K. Confessions" found on his pc, this is a book which is really worthwhile read, written in a to my way of thinking "Ann Rule style", giving one personal insights of the characters in the story, based on facts which often take a great deal of time and patience to obtain.Being a mystery reader, I hate being told most of the story in a review, the only thing I can say, get the book, allow yourself a day or so, to sit back and become involved in the telling of this well pretty horrific, but very real story.I am keeping my eyes out for the next book from Steve Lillebuen.
—Neil Mudde

Good book.Well-written, fairly unbiased, fairly non-sensational.I appreciate that most of the information was gathered from sources besides Twitchell himself, though, it was glaringly obvious when stories were coming from the horse's mouth- very narcissistic.Recommend to people who wish to hear the ins-and-outs of the Twitchell case- from the original occurrence, to how he was convicted and sentenced.A warning to some: near the middle of the book, pieces of Twitchell's own account of the murder is quoted in gory detail- not over the top, but certainly stomach-turning.
—Lee

Without giving too much away, I have to say that Steve Lillebuen did a fantastic job researching and writing The Devil's Cinema. He was there at the beginning as a reporter, and then dedicated several years of his life putting this book together, with unique access to all the people involved in the story and investigation. He writes the story expertly, saving some surprises along the way so that the reader enjoys an almost novel-like experience as they read this incredible account. See my full review here - http://livinginthekitchenwithpuppies....
—Natashya KitchenPuppies

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