Pretty Little Killers

The Truth Behind the Savage Murder of Skylar Neese

By: Daleen Berry, Geoffrey C. Fuller

Narrated by: Pam Ward

Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

After killer Shelia Eddy pled guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison and Rachel Shoaf was sentenced to thirty years for second-degree murder, family, friends, investigators, and other key sources reveal the facts you would have learned if the case had gone to trial.

Including specific details drawn from Rachel's confession, Pretty Little Killers looks at the crime through the eyes of the victim and killers, providing intimate testimony from the pages of Rachel's personal journal, Skylar's diary and school papers, and court records. Daleen Berry and Geoffrey C. Fuller examine all this, including previously unreported details about Rachel and Shelia's rumored lesbian relationship, and explain why more than one investigator believes that Skylar's murder was a thrill kill. Most important, Pretty Little Killers provides a satisfying answer to Skylar's final question: "Why?"

©2014 Daleen Berry and Geoffrey C. Fuller (P)2014 Tantor

sad but true and they should of got more time

sad but true I used to live right a round the corner from Skyler and I think them girls should of get a lot worse punishment then they did

Great narrator

The narrator for this book was excellent. The content itself was also compelling, though there were some liberties taken.

Monongahela

Let me get my gripe out of the way—please, narrators, learn how to pronounce proper names!!! It's Muh-non-ga-HEE-la.

Otherwise, an absorbing, thorough account of a bewildering crime. I'm not sure we'll ever know the complete "why" but not for lack of trying on the part of the authors.

"I finally decided to get this....

"Because I had read reviews that were not so great, but I caved because there is nothing else on this case . I agree that it is generic info that doesn't tell the listener any new details and you will only be ingesting the Twitter and Facebook posts Already released .
This book felt so rushed and written so quickly after the tragedy that the book doesn't even include the pleas of the girls.
I hope a more thorough book is published with the answer to the fundamental question that this book did not answer, which is WHY? Why did they do this and "because we didn't like her isn't cutting it." Someone needs to delve deeper into what was going on in the minds of the girls".

Amazing Book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Nothing kept my interest throughout

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

How they tried to cover it up

Which character – as performed by Pam Ward – was your favorite?

Skylar

Did Pretty Little Killers inspire you to do anything?

Keep a close check on all my granddaughters friends

Any additional comments?

Great book

Great Details

Loved it!! Couldn't stop listening and I appreciated all the details!!! Happy I found this

So heartbreaking

I listen to this audiobook to get a better grasp on the crime. I still can’t wrap my head around how to best friends conspired to kill their best friend. This was very well narrated and written.

Social Media and the Age of Entitlement

What did you love best about Pretty Little Killers?

This story is so completely incomprehensible that the best part about this book is that the authors attempt to make since of what so clearly makes no since.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Pretty Little Killers?

It id difficult to answer this question without offering a spoiler. I would say that the most memorable moment for me in this story is when one of the killers, Rachel, confesses. However, I cannot say I wasn't equally rattled when Rachel pleads guilty to the crime, and apologizes for her actions acknowledging that it simply isn't enough. The father's response is about what I suspect would be my response, only he was far nicer about it than I think I could have been.

What does Pam Ward bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Sometimes when I read a book myself, especially one with this much information I forget to give a different voice to the individuals than the narration that fills in between the dialog. I think that's something Pam Ward does for this story.

If you could give Pretty Little Killers a new subtitle, what would it be?

I think I would give it the title of this review, "Social Media and the Age of Entitlement". In reality, those two things are the real motive for this crime.

Any additional comments?

The book concludes with recommendations for ways to try to protect your child from today's technology and how to stay engaged in your child's life. The sad truth is, there is no way to protect them from the friends that they have had all through growing up. There is no way for a parent to predict these kinds of things. The Neesen's could not have protected Skylar by being stricter with her. They could not have protected her by monitoring her friends more closely. The only thing they could possibly have done is be more aware of the tensions and strife between the girls that would have been evident from their social media accounts. This does NOT make them in any way at fault. This story will be the fodder of my fears for the next 3-6 years while my daughter finishes high school and college.

Everybody Aint Your Friend

I felt as though the book was well written. It basically wakes everyone up to the point of knowing everyone isn't your friend, No matter how much they smile and joke around with you. Only if Skylar listened to those who told her that Sheila was bad news. Both the girls grew to hate her...with no legitimate reason. Why didnt she see that or feel that. I am way grown but when I was Skylars age my mother would always tell me to watch you friends....and she could always tell who was genuine and who was acting for their own selfish reasons, At first you dont want to loose that friend, but then the real person comes out which proves your parents right. My mother and father were right every time,,,, even when I married, they knew what kind of husband I had. We are divorced. Parents need to monitor their children, their friends their friends parents and home-life. This comes in handy. When you see the signs of something admidst....you let them know. Parents can feel this...I believe Skylars mother intuition kicked in that something was'nt right....but it was too late. We just know when a friend is worth keeping. Its that gut feeling!

Great storytelling

This was a really well done book. The authors clearly did a lot of research and use a lot of sources to write this book. I really loved how it almost read more like a novel than just the relaying of facts like some true crime podcasts.. I was very pleasantly surprised that the quality of the storytelling, because I expected something more like a podcast. I would highly recommend this book. It was easy to listen to, easy to visualize, and I couldn’t stop listening.