The Laughing GorillaThe Laughing Gorilla
a True Story of Police Corruption and Murder
Title rated 4.25 out of 5 stars, based on 2 ratings(2 ratings)
Book, 2009
Current format, Book, 2009, 1st ed, Available .Book, 2009
Current format, Book, 2009, 1st ed, Available . Offered in 0 more formatsThe author of the best-selling Zodiac chronicles the investigation into a series of grisly murders in 1926 San Francisco perpetrated by a man eyewitnesses claimed to have razor claws for hands.
San Francisco, 1926. The Gorilla Man, a hulking strangler with huge hands who lumbered on all fours, haunted Captain Charles Dullea, the last honest cop in one of the most notoriously corrupt departments in the country. The loathsome acts of the Gorilla Man were a new kind of modern American crime - motiveless, random, sequential. One of the country's first known traveling serial killers, the Gorilla Man terrorized from coast to coast with a Bible in his hand. For almost two years he exacted what has been called "the greatest reign of terror ever inflicted on the nation's women."
The killer escaped into Canada, murdering dozens as he fled. Years later, the Gorilla Man returned to the streets of San Francisco, stalking the foggy docks around the Ferry Building, leaving women strangled and dissected by a straight razor, a maniacal laugh trailing behind as he vanished. But was the culprit the same Gorilla Man as before ... or something worse?
While Captain Dullea hunts the killer, extortion and murder are exposed within the San Francisco Police Department. Before he can capture the Gorilla Man, Dullea must first clean up the corruption within his city's police department and public defender's office. Dullea is driven to determine why the Gorilla Man committed his crimes. But the far greater question is: Who is the new Gorilla Man? Nothing could have prepared Dullea for the answer.
Robert Graysmith, the author who tracked and wrote about the Zodiac killer, here produces the story of "The Gorilla Man", a serial murderer of the mid-1920s, who murdered then raped (in that order) women across the US and Canada during a two-year period. Many of the murders took place in San Francisco, and the story spends much time there, dealing not only with the hunt for this killer, but the thoroughly corrupt police department that was in charge of the case. Graysmith, who spent six years researching the case and the time period, is an entertaining writer. This is a good read for those who like the dramatic thrill of real-life crime. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The New York Times bestselling author of Zodiac now uncovers one of the most bizarre cases in the annals of American crime.
San Francisco, 1926: A series of women are slashed to death and dismembered. Incredibly, eyewitness reports claim the perpetrator was a hulking brute with razor-claws for hands who lumbered on all fours and laughed maniacally before shredding the nude flesh of his female victims. The tabloid press called him the Laughing Gorilla and loved every sensational beat of the story. For Inspector Charles Dullea of the San Francisco Police, the last honest cop in one of the most notoriously corrupt departments in the country, the serial killings raised a haunting question: who could commit such crimes? Nothing prepared Dullea for the answer.
San Francisco, 1926. The Gorilla Man, a hulking strangler with huge hands who lumbered on all fours, haunted Captain Charles Dullea, the last honest cop in one of the most notoriously corrupt departments in the country. The loathsome acts of the Gorilla Man were a new kind of modern American crime - motiveless, random, sequential. One of the country's first known traveling serial killers, the Gorilla Man terrorized from coast to coast with a Bible in his hand. For almost two years he exacted what has been called "the greatest reign of terror ever inflicted on the nation's women."
The killer escaped into Canada, murdering dozens as he fled. Years later, the Gorilla Man returned to the streets of San Francisco, stalking the foggy docks around the Ferry Building, leaving women strangled and dissected by a straight razor, a maniacal laugh trailing behind as he vanished. But was the culprit the same Gorilla Man as before ... or something worse?
While Captain Dullea hunts the killer, extortion and murder are exposed within the San Francisco Police Department. Before he can capture the Gorilla Man, Dullea must first clean up the corruption within his city's police department and public defender's office. Dullea is driven to determine why the Gorilla Man committed his crimes. But the far greater question is: Who is the new Gorilla Man? Nothing could have prepared Dullea for the answer.
Robert Graysmith, the author who tracked and wrote about the Zodiac killer, here produces the story of "The Gorilla Man", a serial murderer of the mid-1920s, who murdered then raped (in that order) women across the US and Canada during a two-year period. Many of the murders took place in San Francisco, and the story spends much time there, dealing not only with the hunt for this killer, but the thoroughly corrupt police department that was in charge of the case. Graysmith, who spent six years researching the case and the time period, is an entertaining writer. This is a good read for those who like the dramatic thrill of real-life crime. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
The New York Times bestselling author of Zodiac now uncovers one of the most bizarre cases in the annals of American crime.
San Francisco, 1926: A series of women are slashed to death and dismembered. Incredibly, eyewitness reports claim the perpetrator was a hulking brute with razor-claws for hands who lumbered on all fours and laughed maniacally before shredding the nude flesh of his female victims. The tabloid press called him the Laughing Gorilla and loved every sensational beat of the story. For Inspector Charles Dullea of the San Francisco Police, the last honest cop in one of the most notoriously corrupt departments in the country, the serial killings raised a haunting question: who could commit such crimes? Nothing prepared Dullea for the answer.
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- New York : Berkley Books, 2009.
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