Cruel Sacrifice

A 14 Year Old From Southern Indiana

This book is a book not to let go. As a fact a friend of mine knew 2 of the girls that killed the 12 year old and he said they were really bad kids. If you can get this book, don't put it down.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Worth the time!

Aweful what happened but very well written book. Couldn't put it down.

A real page turner!!

Cruel Sacrifice, by Aphrodite Jones was an exceptional book that I just couldn't set down once I had started reading it. This book starts out painting a strong picture of four teenage girls and their intentions beat up a beautiful, outgoing, twelve year old Shanda Sharer; for stealing the girlfriend of Melinda Loveless. However, what started as a simple plot to scare, and beat up Shanda, something goes wrong and it turns into a gruesome murder that no one would soon forget. The major themes in Cruel Sacrifice were twisted love, lesbianism, brutal child abuse, and sadistic ritual killing. I loved this book, from the second I opened it I couldn't put it down! There were no slow parts, that make would make one question why it is that they're reading this compelling piece of literature. There was absolutely nothing that I disliked about this book. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the greatest I would rate it a good solid ten. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an intriguing book to just kick back and read. I would also recommend any of Aphrodite Jones books such as The FBI Killer.

Good Book But Some Weaknesses

This is a very good true-crime book. However it does have it's weaknesses. The biggest problem is in the time-line. Characters [such as Amanda] are introduced early in the book during the crime. We have no idea who she is and what part she actually played. After the crime is described in detail, she and her fellow characters are given bios which help explain the mechanics of this crime. These chapters should have been introduced first and then the accounts given. It's almost like the editor put them in the wrong sequence. The description of the main character's parent's sex life could have been limited to a few sentences although it does help explain her behavior as she grew up.

True Crime Book

I have to say that this book completly flabbergasts me. How someone can do these things to a child is UNREAL; or it should be. Unfortunalty this is a true story, with pages of evidence, and details about the murder of a 12 year old girl, and the sexual abuse of the people who murdered her. The only parts that I felt were a bit drawn out where the parts about the Loveless family. We unerstand there is a history of abuse, and sexual abuse; but I didnt want to read that in deatial for many chapters. Other than that this book shook my heart. Always keep your eye on your children and the ones they hang out with.

ADVID READER

This book is about a girl named shanda renee.She was 12 years old when murdered by what she thought we're her friends.It started with a love tri angle between 3 girls. Shanda had a crush on another girl named amanda,this didn't sit well with amanda's girlfriend michelle. She makes a plan to kill shanda because the other two girls won't stop seeing each other so they kidnapped her beat her,raped her, with a tire iron,then set her on fire while she was still alive. Then later returns to shanda to make sure the fire is doing it's job, by throwing the last drop of gasoline on her. They top it all off by going to mcdonald's for breakfast,laughing about what they did to shanda, and what shanda's body was doing while they watched her burn. This is a very sad story,exspecially for mothers who have daughters {no offense to fathers}will grip your attention.

Not Very Good

This book details a horrific crime, but in spite of the tragedy behind it, it's not very good. Way too much of it is devoted to Melinda's life and her parents' sexual activites, and it borders on being too explicit at times, considering that that really has nothing to do with Shanda Sharer.

Little Lost Angel

Little Lost Angel by Michael Quinlan covers the exact same story only much much better. Little Lost Angel focuses more on Shanda Sharer. Not much about her past but has many many details regarding the relationship with Melinda from beginning to end. In my opinion Little Lost Angel is a better book to read if you found the story about the murder of Shanda Sharer interesting.

How could this story end up SO boring?

...because Aphrodite Jones is a striking TV presense who wrote a sloppy book. Maybe her other books are different, but this was a drag. For quite a chunk of this, she seems to just paraphrase court transcripts. She doesn't have much to say about the perps or the victim beyond some obvious pop psychology mumbo-jumbo. No real feel for the place either. I don't recommend this - even a casual true crime reader will find it diluted and disjointed.

SAD FOR SANDRA

GREAT BOOK. I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN. CRAZY KIDS. HOW CAN YOU KILL A CHILD OR ANY ONE I THAT FACT

I've read better

I thought Cruel Sacrifice was an informative book but I felt it puts much too much emphysis on Melinda Loveless's homelife. Ms. Jones spends so much time discussing it in fact, that the reader can't help wondering if she is trying to generate sympathy for Melinda in spite of her horrible crime.

how one girl made me hurt as if i was with her in the car

when i got this book a friend told me that she read it and that night she could not sleep she said that when she did fall a sleep she was awakeing and when she opened her eyes she saw the little girl standing by her bed as if to say she needed help .when she told me this i knew i had to read this book .it is one of the best book i have read and i have read alot about killers and the hrut they put on the lives of the poepel they kill this one hrut me more than i can say . shandais one little girl that will from this day on live in my heart . my heart went out to her and her family i just hope that.melinda loveless and laurie tackett never see the light of day outsied of the jail they are in now ....

true crime fanatic

If this book sparked your interest try Little Lost Angel. It is about the same murder, only much more in depth about all the people involved. It was actually my first true crime novel, and now I've read hundreds :)

FANTASTIC

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I could not put it down.

THE TRAGEDY

This book is outstanding. There isn't a part in this book that doesn't make you think about how other people are treated. it's an emotional roller coaster for the girls in the story. What was saught as fun ended up as a grusome murder.

one of the best true crime books i've read

i have honestly read this book 4 times! when i was reading this book it really made me feel like i was actually there. brilliantly written. aphrodite jones is one of the best true crime writers out there. if you're a fan of true crime books, i highly recommend this book. A++

WHOA!!

This book was one of those that creeps you out, but you just can't put it down. I think that this book really poses the question of who is to blame when something like this happens. It makes the reader ask itself who is the true victims; the young innocent girl who was murdered or the 4 young girls who allegedly suffered unspeakable acts growing up as children. I defintely recommend this book to anyone interested in true crime.

oh so sad

this book was so good i can't put it into words on how i feel, All i could think about was my little girl and how her mother and father felt this was the best book i have ever read.

Cruel Sacrifice

I live in Indiana. Just about 5 or 6 hours away from where this tragic murder happened. I think the author did a wonderful job protraying the feelings of the family of not just the victim, but the other girls that weren't involved. My heart goes out to the victims family.

Cruel Sacrifice

When I bought this book for the first time, I wasn't sure what to expect. After reading the first chapter, I couldn't put it down. The author did a wonderful job in writing it. It was graphic, suspensful, and intelligent. Great Job!!!