The Night Stalker

The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez

By: Philip Carlo

Narrated by: Tom Zingarelli

Length: 18 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Decades after Richard Ramirez left 13 dead and paralyzed the city of Los Angeles, his name is still synonymous with fear, torture, and sadistic murder. Philip Carlo's classic The Night Stalker, based on years of meticulous research and extensive interviews with Ramirez, revealed the killer and his horrifying crimes to be even more chilling than anyone could have imagined. From watching his cousin commit murder at age 11 to his 19 death sentences to the juror who fell in love with him, the story of Ramirez is a bizarre and spellbinding descent into the very heart of human evil.

Incredibly, after The Night Stalker was first published, thousands of women from all over the world contacted Carlo, begging to be put in touch with the killer. Carlo interviewed them and here presents their disturbing stories and the dark sexual desires that would drive them towards a brutal murderer. And in an exclusive death row interview, the killer himself gives his thoughts on the "Ramirez Groupies" - and what he thinks they really want.

©1996 Philip Carlo (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"This book will provide true crime readers a chilling inside perspective of a serial killer." (Library Journal)

The narrator shouldn't "do" the voices

Would you consider the audio edition of The Night Stalker to be better than the print version?

I never read the print version

What did you like best about this story?

The story was fascinating. I left LA shortly before all this took place, so I never experienced all the horror and shock Angelenos felt.

What aspect of Tom Zingarelli’s performance would you have changed?

Please, please don't do the voices. It's offensive when you try and do a Spanish accent (or your idea of a Spanish accent), or when you make your voice higher for a woman's voice, especially since you didn't give each male character a different voice to distinguish one from the other. I understand this is a performance, but it's not a stage play. You have a pleasant voice, so a straight reading would have been great.

Any additional comments?

Great story. I knew the bullet points of extreme violence, a neighborhood of concerned citizens catching Ramirez, and the fan clubs, but the specifics were shocking.

A Hard Listen At Times But Worth It

There are very graphic descriptions of Ramirez's attacks that can be difficult to listen to at times but the overall story is compelling enough sit through them. The narrator does a creditable job.

Scary!

Really scary. Gave me the chills several times. Makes you really think twice about leaving windows open at night.

So dark!

I love true crime. After seeing the documentary on Netflix, I knew I had to read the book. I knew a lot about Richard Ramirez prior to it, but I learned more after reading this. It is a well written book and the details are captivating. Richard Ramirez is definitely one of the most scariest serial killers of all time. 4.5 stars.

great read

Very interesting look behind the scenes of a national story. I was very young when this happened but followed it very closely.

Be Prepared to be enveloped

Although the story is quite captivating, parts of it seem to drone on endlessly. The details are quite image inspiring, and grisly. I found myself absolutely loathing Ramirez at the beginning; and, although I DON'T condone anything he did, I did manage to capture some of his more "human" aspects by the end of the book.

Disturbing and compelling

At times the story is lurid, listening made me feel greasy and embarrassed. At other times, the author redeemed himself and me for our interest in this tale. The narrator does a fine job. Gird yourself, then give it a listen.

Riveting!

While I wasn't the greatest fan of the narrator doing ethnic sounding voices of the victims, I didn't find much else to complain about regarding the narration. The story of the crimes is pretty brutal, but it totally sucks you in. There is a part where the author interviews Richard that is a little tough to follow, but it was ok overall. If you're a true crime buff, this is a good read.

Loved it!

The court precedings were long but interesting. Nice background on the monsters family. I was annoyed by the groupies and his family.

definitely worth it!

I was reluctant to buy this book after reading everyone else's reviews. But I'm happy I did.

Yes, the narrator has trouble pronouncing some words. Does it bug? Not enough for it to detract because it's sporadic.

Yes, the last half of the book is the trial of Richard Ramirez. The reviews led me to believe it was more transcript less prose. But it was a part of the story and I thought it was akin to Ann Rule 's Ted Bundy story.

I enjoyed every minute and am sad it wasn't updated past 2006. But you should definitely get this book- holistic approach to all involved in these crimes.