2024 the best true crime books review

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(as of Dec 04, 2024 00:37:10 UTC - Details)

Previously published as Becky, this is the heartbreaking story behind the murder of 16-year-old Bristol schoolgirl Becky Watts, a crime that shocked the nation and tore a family in two.

A vulnerable and shy girl, Becky Watts was brutally murdered and dismembered by her own step-brother on 19 February 2015. As her father Darren discovered the horrific details of what happened to his darling girl, his world fell apart.

Writing about the darkest hours, Darren uncovers what Becky’s relationship with her step-brother Nathan, a child he had raised as his own son, was really like. He recalls the devastation of discovering the truth about the depravity with which Becky was torn from him in the safety of her own home. And he recounts the torment of the legal battle to see his step-son sentenced to life behind bars.

Both heartfelt and haunting, searingly honest and unflinching, this is the ultimate story of a family tragedy.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperElement; Illustrated edition (January 3, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0008179611
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0008179618
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.9 x 5 x 7.6 inches
Reviewer: Angelikka
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Super sad.
Review: This book takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. You actually live what he is writing. I was so devastated reading this book and so heartbroken. I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone but you did a wonderful job portraying your thought and feelings. May Becky rest in peace.

Reviewer: SMG
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Beautiful tribute to a daughter
Review: Though the book is clearly written not by a professional author but rather from the heart of a grief-stricken father, it is a beautiful read.I left feeling like I knew beautiful Bex and her once beautiful family.I felt every inch of grief and cried several times. It was raw and brutal and lovely.

Reviewer: Yu Fan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: As a true crime Enthusiast, this is an interesting BOOK
Review: It's interesting to see this case from the father's point of view. You get to see his view point and feelings of what happened before her disappearance, during, and after... and it really makes you feel as if you were a family member of the deceased as well. a really good read as this was one of the more interesting modern true crime cases I've heard about online. Not much extra information when it comes to what you can find about this case online, BUT there is a lot of insight on the personalities and childhood of the murderers, and the victim themselves which is not found anywhere else online

Reviewer: Tricia Majer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Evil within review
Review: Well written.... kept my attention... You can feel the pain and anguish in the words the father has put to page..

Reviewer: John Stanhope
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Painful Read
Review: This is a sad and gruesome story, dramatic enough to keep you reading. Problem is, this is a personal memoir, whose author is not a professional writer, not even a good one. He heaps up cliches and says the same thing over and over. I thought I would scream if he again wrote about how kind the people of Bristol are or testified again about how he couldn't make it without his wife. Without the repetition, this would be a pamphlet instead of a book. He sketches a sentimentalized portrait of his daughter. It is mawkish, but conveys enough that you mourn her loss.It was brave for this man to write such a complex story without a ghost writer. But even so, the raw events of the book make it memorable and you put the book down with your share of the grief for this poor murdered girl.

Reviewer: alysson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Wow
Review: Wow! So many questions left unanswered for this family. Thank you Darren for sharing your story. It was heart breaking. Bex sounded like a lovely girl. A hard but very good read.

Reviewer: Sunflower
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A true story that reads like a raw, edgy thriller, but is true, shocking and extremely bittersweet
Review: The foreword of the story failed to grab my interest; however, I was hooked from the first chapter onward. I did not want to put the book down. I knew what was going to happen, but I wanted to know how, why and when. This was a devastating tragedy that affected family, friends, and a town.Becky Watts was only in her mid-teens when she was brutally murdered in her own home by her 28 year old step-brother whom she had grown up with. This true heartrending and soul-stirring story is written in great detail by Becky’s bereaved father.Becky was a shy sixteen year old with a big heart. She had endured loneliness and because of that she had suffered from anorexia, but now all of that was behind her. Becky loved her family and had finally managed to have a few friends. She was beginning to blossom. Becky was greatly loved by her father, step-mother and other family members, but obviously the step-brother was not so loving. The story starts before Becky and her brother Danny were born. It includes many good times that were had by Darren the father and his step-son Nathan. Darren had loved and treated Nathan like his own son. The bittersweet story describes the emotions of each family member and is a step-by-step narrative of how a normal family’s life is completely shattered by an unbelievable tragedy.The tragic story is well-written in British terminology. It reads like a raw, edgy thriller; however, it is a true story that is shocking and extremely bittersweet.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Excellent
Review: This book is extremely well written. Her father takes you through everyone's life, not just Bex. He had me sobbing many times. May God be with them.

Reviewer: Amanda
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A very emotional, heartbreaking story of a beautiful young girl who was taken away from those who love her, in the most terrible way imaginable. I remember when this horrific crime took place. My own daughter is only slightly younger than Becky, they have much in common which made this book very difficult to read. In fact, there are parts I couldn’t read, skipping some pages after breaking down in tears. It is very well written and is an amazing tribute to Becky. Highly recommended, but difficult to read in some parts. Be prepared to be affected x

Reviewer: DD50
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This was a really good book, I just feel like they kind of glossed over what actuall😒y happened to her. I don't know if that was because that's all the information Nathan gave up or that's just how they chose to do it as a family, but regardless it was still a very good book. I can't imagine what that family was/is going through. No parent should have to bury their child. It's not the natural ordee of things. I think it's even more earth-shattering and awful when it's your time to bury them, plkll LLP look ø

Reviewer: vic
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I had so many tears whilst reading this story about the cruelest and horrific crime that was committed to such a young beautiful kind girl, my heart goes out to the family and I truly hope they can find peace and remember bex as she was growing up, not the horrific ending she did not deserve, I really hope that Nathan and Shauna rot in prison, though personally death would have been better for them, why should they get to live and breathe when they cruelly committed such an evil actMay God be with you Darren and Angie

Reviewer: SAMANTHA RAYBOULD
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: A heartbreaking read however totally gripped to continue to the end. The strength of this family is truly incredible and very humbling. Heart felt emotions for the devastating carnage this man caused to his immediate family and wider relatives. RIP Bristol's Angel

Reviewer: Giggling Gerty
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This story was heart wrenching from the beginning. After reading this I felt so sorry for all of the family. The Dad had me in tears with his story of love & devotion to justice for his Becky. I felt very sorry for the Step Mum too because she raised Becky as her own daughter so she not only lost her but also her son to prison because he was guilty.A great read, I was compelled to Google all those involved to put faces to their names & be more connected to the story.