The Chicago Killer

The Hunt for Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy

By: Joseph R. Kozenczak, Karen M. Kozenczak

Narrated by: Joseph R. Kozenczak

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

The Chicago Killer: The Hunt for Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy is the story of the capture of John Wayne Gacy, as told from the perspective of the former Chief of Detectives of the Des Plaines, Illinois, Police Department Joseph Kozenczak. The conviction of Gacy on 33 counts of murder is significant in the annals of the criminal justice system in the United States. Two articles give the listener a comprehensive insight on the use of psychics and the lie-detector in a serial murder investigation.

©2003, 2010, 2011, 2014 Joseph R. Kozenczak and Karen M. Kozenczak (P)2015 Karen M. Kozenczk

Interesting read

I love how in depth this book goes! I love that it is read by the author as well

want more

I was hoping to learn more about the victims , of the 33 victims there was only minimal info on most.

Pay no mind to narration complaints.

"Waaahhh, he's not a professional narrator..."

Y'all hush.

Do you even realize what a primary source TREASURE this audiobook is? Let's just start with names. Places and people. Proper pronunciation. It's kind of a big deal, as these are real people and real places. I have heard poor John Szyc's name pronounced in a dozen different ways in a dozen different Gacy audiobooks, not to mention the zillion variations you can squeeze from four letters across hundreds of tv shows and documentaries. I hadn't a clue how that kid and his family actually say their name. You know who knows? This guy. He was there. Imma trust him.

Yep, he's got a noticeable Chicago accent. Deal with it. It's real, it's not a put-on from someone acting an audio role. His reading is objectively clear, well paced, and there is no problem with flow or inflection. That's light-years more than I can say for SO many deeply problematic "professional" voices.

It is absolutely invaluable to have this man reading this book, and the willful blindness to that fact due to a regional accent (which is indisputably accurate for time and place, because -- AGAIN, for y'all in the back -- he. was. there.) is so disheartening.

I am desperately picky about narration. The smallest verbal tic can ruin an entire book for me. I have no problem saying that this book, *specifically* in this audio format, is ESSENTIAL to a real understanding of this case. There's no better material for showing the reality of the investigation in its own place with its OWN accent. Quit your whining and be thankful this exists.

Interesting but Slow

Kozenczak’s firsthand account of the Gacy investigation is, undoubtedly, interesting and unique. Some details contained in this book are widely known, having been repeated ad nauseam, while a few others have only been known to Kozenczak. So there’s no question that the author’s point of view in this book is worth consulting when researching Gacy.

On the other hand, I found the reading/performance to be quite slow. I understand that some authors prefer to narrate their own books but Kozenczak was a cop (and a great one), not a narrator. This book would have held my attention much more thoroughly with a different narrator.

Overall, I give it 4 stars, almost solely because no other person on this planet had the relationship with Gacy that Kozenczak did. I’m grateful that he shared his story before his death but do wish he would have permitted someone else to read it aloud in his place.

Good Book But ....

The content is great but the narration is rough at times along with the random chimes....I get why they are there but still it's not good.

Sometimes okay, sometimes tedious

The author spends a lot of time defending the police department's use of psychics, which I found a little unsettling. I also thought that the author would have been better suited having a professional narrator instead of reading it himself. It was sometimes pretty tedious to listen to, which is a shame considering the interesting subject.