Mr. Green is detailed in his descriptions of the crimes of "The Vampire of Dusseldorf". For those who are interested in true crime, it should be added to your list. One warning, it is graphic and may not be for those who do not want to read all the bloody (literally) details. I usually read these type of books and I did need to follow this up with a fluffy cozy mystery book to clear the palate so to speak. ( )

The Monster Within is not for the feint of heart. This is true crime with graphic descriptions of the criminal’s deeds. In early 20th century Germany, Peter Kurten was the first of what we now term a sexual serial killer, and his career was the basis for modern-day profiling. The violence is made even worse by knowing this is a non-fiction book, not some writer’s fantasy of “how evil can I make my villain”? In the end, it presents the causes for Kurten’s psychopathology, causes which are still all too present in the early life of too many of us. ( )

A well-written and absolutely brutal recounting of life and crimes of Peter Kurten. I knew his story before starting this book, but Ryan Green filled in many details and presented a full picture of Kurten and his crimes. Be warned: this is a distributing book. It isn't overly gory, but it is not for the faint-hearted. I have been reading true crime for decades, and it took me much longer than usual to get through this book because I kept having to put it down for days at a time to process what I had read.
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The book is well written; that is always a plus! Truly brutal depiction of a serial killer's acts of evil. The book is obviously researched well, however the author speaks of the motives and thinking of the killer, and I don't know how he could be aware of the killer's thoughts. That being said, it's a quick read and kept my interest. ( )

I love true crime and this book is as real as it gets. Excellent if you like raw gritty true stories that leave you OMG thoughts! Will definitely be checking out the rest of this author’s books. ( )