“It just wasn’t their night.” (Richard Speck)
On the evening of July 13, 1966, an intoxicated Richard Speck broke into a townhouse at 2319 East 100th Street in Chicago to rob a group of student nurses. Speck woke the residents and ordered them into a room, calmly requesting money in exchange for their safety. The young women obliged. They believed that he was just going to take the money and leave, but Speck had other plans.
He tied them all up with strips of bed linen and led one of the girls into a separate room to “talk alone”. The situation took a turn for the worse when two more resident nurses burst into the townhouse, surprising Speck in the act. What transpired in the following hours would grip the nation with fear and forever change the perception of society.
The Townhouse Massacre is a chilling and gripping account of one of the most brutal and gruesome true crime stories in American history. Ryan Green’s riveting narrative draws the listener into the real-life horror experienced by the victims and has all the elements of a classic thriller.
Caution: This audiobook contains descriptive accounts of abuse and violence. If you are especially sensitive to this material, it might be advisable not to listen to this book.
My Review
Thanks to Ryan Green for sending me a free copy of this audiobook in return for a review.
Ryan Green specialises in concise yet detailed true crime books. This is an excellent contribution to his oeuvre. The crimes of Richard Speck were particularly vile, attacking a group of student nurses in disgusting ways before murdering them. He was also a misogynist drunk.
The content was in-depth without being excessively graphic. Green goes into Speck’s background and criminal history, his psychology and then the crimes he commited. The build up to the mass murder was lifelong misogyny and alcoholism, a strong madonna/whore complex, a family that didn’t know what to do with him and a twisted understanding of reality. Oh, and his ex-wife was a child when he raped her. Having the background, one can see how Speck came to commit his crimes.
The narration was good, very easy to follow and to listen to.
Overall, a good contribution to the true crime genre.
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