I Would Find a Girl Walking

Creepy, shocking, disturbing and compelling -- and that's just the first chapter!

The authors rightly begin this book with an intense and upsetting episode of flesh-ripping violence perpetrated by the killer of more than 40 women, Gerald Stano, on the "one who got away." It is this description of Stano, intoxicated and enraged, ripping apart a motel room while slashing away at his terrified victim with every sharp object available, including a can opener, that burns images of uncontrolled madness, erupting anger, and hot blooded violence into our minds. This scene stands in sharp contrast to the cold detachment of Stano's matter-of-fact confessions and descriptions of his multiple murders. In recounting his murderous activities, he exhibits neither remorse nor perverse glee. While some serial killers become sexually aroused or emotionally stimulated when recounting the "moment of death" of their victims, Stano doesn't linger for a moment on the actual act of murder or the moment of perceived death. It is all so simple and matter of fact: "then I strangled her, or "then I stabbed her."
And his reason is always the same -- they got mouthy or critical. In truth, Stano was so damaged mentally and emotionally that his psychopathic behavior was almost a forgone conclusion. If you want to make a monster, follow the recipe found in this disturbing, fascinating and compelling book. Adding to the supreme discomfort of Stano's story is the extensive addendum featuring his friendly, chatty and manipulative correspondence with the book's journalist co-author Kathy Kelly, and his palsy-walsy letters to the cop who put him away.
Kelly and her accomplished co-author, Diana Montane, give us a book that is all the more haunting because Mr. Stano himself was never haunted. He had no more regard for the women he killed than one would have for a bag of garbage. His almost smirking understated pride in his record of murder belies the screaming shrieking madness his victim's experienced in the last moments of their tragic lives.
And yes, he and Ted Bundy became prison buddies. If true crime is your genre, this book should be at the top of your TBR pile.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Excellent book. Highly recommend!

This book was very interesting. The writing is very captivating, and it had my attention from the very beginning. You really get to see inside the mind of this serial killer and what made him tick. Highly recommend.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A CHILLING, ALL-TOO-REAL NARRATIVE OF A MADMAN. EXCELLENT!

When you read I WOULD SEE A GIRL WALKING, you will not find the somewhat usual 'blood & guts' telling, nor the over-sensationalized deeds related of a madman's actions. What Kathy Kelly and Diana Montane present in this new all-too-true book about Gerald Paul Stano is a cleanly told story, with the analytical, critical view that only an experienced professional reporter can provide. As a young crime-beat reporter, Ms Kelly first reported on Stano's heinous acts, at the time not knowing that the numerous slayings were the responsibility of one depraved individual. Only after a wounded but alive victim escapes his clutches does the truth come to light. In this narrative, the authors delve into the investigations into the crimes, both before and after Stano's arrest. They also do a remarkable job relating the tremendous cost and pain the victim's families suffer in his wake, a subject often ignored in this genre. In a seldom seen coup, reporter Kathy Kelly becomes Gerald Stano's sounding board, as, for over a year, he sends her over 40 letters, reproduced here word for word, which give a chilling backdrop to his future acts, as well as a stark look into the mind and soul of a true psychopath (If a psychopath can really have a soul). Like a demented but spoiled child when he doesn't get his way, Stano describes in great but detached detail how just the wrong word or look would mean the immediate end to the lives of so many young women. Brutal for their bluntness, absolutely chilling in their indifference to human life. To know there are people like this in our world (I lived two doors down from him up until the day of his arrest) is a scary thought, but one that we all need to be aware of. Kathy Kelly and Diana Montane have presented the case of a madman, one who lived undetected amongst us for far too long, in an accurate and concise fashion - a book that should serve as a warning to ourselves as well. An excellent read.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

TRUE CRIME DRAMA A TRUE THRILLER! Highly Recommended!

In what best selling author Michael Connelly describes as "One of the best looks inside the mind and motives of a serial killer that I've ever read",authors Kathy Kelly and Diana Montane give readers a true crime drama in I WOULD FIND A GIRL WALKING.Just prior to the technological age that changed the way law would handle criminal investigations forever,Gerald Eugene Stano became one of the most prolific serial killers of his time. Without surveillance cameras, cells phones, DNA evidence,and computer communication between law enforcement agencies,it was a time allowing the likes of Stano to ride around in his treasured cars looking for young girls for sex,or what started out that way. Late in the 1960s-1970s,Stano could be found cruising around Daytona Beach, Florida, in search of his next victim. In I WOULD FIND A GIRL WALKING,Kathy Kelly takes her experience with Stano, goes inside the mind of this madman, and along with Diana Montane, provides a glimpse into what made him tick. At the time,Kelly was a reporter at The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Kathy's reporting caught Stano's attention as he loved to read his own press and he'd only agree to interviews if it was with Kathy. His other connection was with DBPD Sgt. Paul Crow who was able to connect with Stano in a way no other lawman could. Since so many of the murders were committed in other jurisdictions, the lawmen from those places would work through Crow to deal with Stano. Once Stano took a liking to Kathy Kelly, he agreed to answer questions for her so she could get all the facts and they corresponded. Kathy kept all his letters in a shoe box in her home with thoughts of someday working to put them into some kind of book. Along with fellow reporter Montane, they worked for two years to tell Stano's story and the description of the crimes he committed are compelling. More importantly especially to the authors, are the stories of the victims and their families. Taking the details from Stano's letters, the authors have written a haunting story that readers will find hard to put down. Many of the chapters are devoted to the victims and how their part of the story came about. Intertwined to make an intense and fascinating read, I WOULD FIND A GIRL WALKING will keep you turning pages as it surely did for me. Gerald Stano's background is also written about from when he was the unwanted child of a prostitute to a very much wanted baby of an adoptive parent who fought to keep him even after he was labeled "inadoptable". Gerald's relationship with his adoptive parents even up until the end is described. For Kathy, it was a difficult and emotional journey to "get the story" and keep herself sane while this madman thought of them as friends.The letters in the back of the book are quite meaningful after reading the story as Kathy interjects personal observations to explain some of what Gerald writes about.In fact, it is from one of the letters that the authors got the title of the book.Gerald Stano had written to explain how he picked a victim, and he said very casually that"I would find a girl walking."How Stano is finally convicted and which of the murders is the one that finally gets him executed is described.The book even has some photographs but as the authors are quick to say, none of them are gruesome.Montane in a recent interview said about Stano,"I felt he was a very average but cunning individualself-inflated with a grandiose image of himself-a lady killer,a real lady killer!&

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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