The Devil's Right-Hand Man: The True Story of Serial Killer Robert Charles Browne [NOOK Book]

Overview

NATIONAL BESTSELLER—the true story of serial killer Robert Charles Browne.

The case of Robert Charles Browne, who may be one of America’s most prolific serial killers, was supposed to be a cold one. But then three retired members of the El Paso Sheriff’s Department took it on.
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The Devil's Right-Hand Man: The True Story of Serial Killer Robert Charles Browne

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Overview

NATIONAL BESTSELLER—the true story of serial killer Robert Charles Browne.

The case of Robert Charles Browne, who may be one of America’s most prolific serial killers, was supposed to be a cold one. But then three retired members of the El Paso Sheriff’s Department took it on.
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

In a chilling, if sometimes meandering, account of alleged serial killer Robert Browne, Michaud and Price paint a grisly portrait of a man with no remorse or regard for human life. (The case was also recently written about in the New York Times Magazine.) The all-volunteer cold-case squad in Colorado Springs, Colo.-headed by retired FBI agent Charlie Hess and retired police detective Lou Smit-first encountered Browne after his 1995 conviction for the abduction and murder of 13-year-old Heather Church. Convinced that the enigmatic, well-spoken Louisianan had killed before, Hess began what would become a five-year dialogue (initially through letters) with Browne at the Colorado State Penitentiary. Teasing the investigators with riddles and vague details, Browne led them on a gruesome hunt through almost 20 years of unsolved rapes, murders and dismemberments stretching from Louisiana to California. The killer proudly proclaimed the "score" to be police "one," Browne "forty-eight." Veteran true-crime author Michaud (Ted Bundy: Conversations with a Killer) and former Washington Poststaffer Price meticulously catalogue the squad's investigation, at times inundating the reader with names, dates and case details that are difficult to keep straight. But this unsettling account of the man who may be one of the country's most prolific serial killers is a must-read for true-crime fans. (Oct. 2)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Kirkus Reviews
How the correspondence among three volunteer detectives and a self-proclaimed serial killer helped solve long-standing murder investigations. Michaud (The Evil That Men Do: FBI Profiler Roy Hazelwood's Journey into the Minds of Sexual Predators, 1999, etc.) has made a career of penning splashy true-crime books, and Price is an experienced newspaper journalist. Their first book together never strays far from the facts. A three-man cold-case squad of former law-enforcement agents in Colorado decided one morning in 2002 to pick up the trail of Robert Browne, who was serving a life sentence for the murder of a 13-year-old girl. Browne had been mailing the police cryptic messages of rhyming verse that made references to many other victims. Retired FBI officer Charlie Hess suggested writing Browne a letter, and the other men agreed that even if the con's claims proved false, they had nothing to lose by trying. Four years later, their efforts paid off when Browne confessed and pleaded guilty to a murder he had committed two decades earlier. Clear, clipped prose and vivid descriptions of the cases never bring readers close enough to the killer or his thoughts. Neither Browne nor Hess was interviewed for the book, so the information is parsed from the letters they exchanged, conversations with other officers and Browne's terrified ex-wives. A loner with a history of drug use, violence and robbery, Browne made no secret of his disdain for women but never illuminated his reasons for murdering what he, at one point, claimed were 48 victims. The lack of hard evidence to corroborate most of his confessions is another letdown, though the book offers a thorough examination of the challenge police face infollowing up on old crimes. Meticulous but one-dimensional.
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781440620584
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
  • Publication date: 10/2/2007
  • Sold by: Penguin Group
  • Format: eBook
  • Pages: 304
  • Sales rank: 163,783
  • File size: 390 KB

Meet the Author

Stephen G. Michaud is the New York Times bestselling author and co-author of more than a dozen true crime books.

Debbie M. Price is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in numerous publications.

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Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review
  • Anonymous

    Posted July 3, 2011

    It opens up your eyes!!

    As the last review my cousin was one of the victims he kidnapped and killed. The worst part is that he was the closest neighbor 1 1/2 miles away. I never was able to meet Heather, I was told she was a very precious person. I would of loved to of met her, but Browne had to take her away. When I read the book it took me like 2 full days to read it, cause it was hard to put down.

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