Stolen in the Night: The True Story of a Family's Murder, a Kidnapping and the Child Who Survived [NOOK Book]

A Family Destroyed, A Little Girl's Courage

This true crime story heartbreakingly conveys the story of the anniliation of a family. Sexual psychopath Joseph Edward Duncan II brutally murdered a mother, her older son, and her boyfriend. Duncan then kidnaps the murdered woman's other 2 children, young Shasta and Dylan Groene from their idyllic Idaho home.

Millions of people watched the horror of this case unfold on the evening news. Detectives and the FBI scrambled to find the missing children, and the nation held it's collective breath, hoping for the best, anticipating the worst.

Told with an unerring eye to detail, Gary King's book takes the reader on this heartrending story, from harrowing twists to the tale of a courageous little girl who manages to survive against all odds. You feel the righteous indignation that comes with knowing that a bragging sexual predator was allowed to escape his punishment for earlier crimes, the horror faced by the young girl who he sexually brutalized, and the brother she knows he murdered. This story will haunt you long after you finish reading it, as much from the experiences of the family as from knowing that the system didn't work, and that this monster was allowed to go free.

Mr. King writes with great detail, and shares much of the case, the work involved, and the background story that allowed this horror to exist in the first place. I came away knowing more about the faults of our justice system, and what made this psychopath "tick". Knowing that Shasta has been reunited with her father, and is receiving psychological help to deal with her ordeal, brings the book to a decent conclusion. There is no happy ending to this story, and Mr. King doesn't try to paint a picture of one. It's handled with tact, well-meaning and compassion.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is not true at all

Too bad this book isnt the truth!!! This is my family that is in this book!! Maybe one day someone will get the real story!!!!

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Sad but true

Great book,heard about it and wanted to read it sad but one you will enjoy.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

scary for parents

Very good read
Only complaint is there were no pics like it said there were

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sad book

Somthing i dont nor will never understand, why these child molesters/rapist/killers are let out of prison ?? Didnt anyone ever hear of do somthing once will do again ?? I get so angry here is a damn monster that has raped, molested, killed, and was out in our society to keep doing these horrible acts on innocent children !! If jails/prisons are overloaded start getting rid of these monsters, my gosh dont let them out !! Please !! .... Bn

Disappointing

The book offered nothing new. I was hoping to learn more about the victims; however, they did not get mentioned much. Save your money. If you've seen the news, you've already seen it all.

Makes me sick

To think about what happened to this poor family. Hug your kids twice tonight!

Sad

If you ever worie about yur children read this book

Didn't provide any additional insight

This book was ok for a quick read. It didn't provide any additional insight into the case at all. It seems as though the author was rushing when he wrote the book and it reads like a bunch of compiled news articles. There are a lot of areas were the same information is repeated multiple times and it seems to focus more on what changes need to be made to the current laws concerning sex offenders than it does with the case it's supposed to be about.

Tragedy

Hate it and love it

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Stolen in the night

This book drug on. I couldnt wait to get it over

0 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommended if you have a tough stomach

this book is a heart felt book. It have its ups and downs. its not recommended for children under the age of 13 because its to graphic for them. if you have a book report or project about child abuse, you should use this book for your project...

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book sets forth Awareness in all of us

This was a good book, because it makes us more aware of what is going on around us. Any parent should read this book. We need to be aware of the people around us, and the things that go in in our communities, as well as communities close by. This book gives you a glimpse into a mirderers mind- its sick.

I Should've Expected as Much

While the color photos and captivating headlines always turn my head at the bookstore, I usually know better than to pick up a true crime book. I went against my better judgment when I decided to read Stolen in the Night: The True Story of a Family's Murder, a Kidnapping and the Child Who Survived by Gary C. King and I really wish I wouldn't have.

Stolen in the Night is the story about Joseph Edward Duncan, a sexual psychopath, and how he kidnapped two children in Idaho and brutally murdered the rest of their family. The story itself is as shocking and disturbing as it's advertised to be. However, the presentation of that story could be much better.

This is where I blame true crime novels in general. They typically read like a long, drawn-out newscast. Sure, there are plenty of details, but not necessarily the details readers are craving to learn. For example, it doesn't really matter to me what the chief investigator of a case had for breakfast. In a fictionalized story, this minute detail might help develop the character and could be seen as a necessary contribution, but in a book like this, it's merely thrown in amongst other facts to take up space. On top of that, there is usually no flair to the writing. The words are informative, yet stale, and the reader ends up feeling like he's just finished a news article or blurb from a textbook. I have to say that in this area, Gary C. King excelled. His writing was not as poor as some of the other true crime authors I have read. He did his best to use vivid vocabulary here and there, which made it possible for me to finish the book instead of throwing it away after the first one hundred pages.

My recommendations about this book vary based on your purpose. If you simply want to learn what happened with this psychopath and the kids he kidnapped, but don't want to wade through a bunch of irrelevant information, I would simply find a news article about the crime. It'll be easier to read, give you all the information you want, and take up a whole lot less of your time! If you enjoy knowing every intricate detail of every conversation, theory, and investigation, then you might enjoy this book. Like I said previously, its biggest fault is that it's written for the true crime genre. Gary C. King has talent, but as a reader, I think it could be put to much better use than writing glorified news reports.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Stolen in the Night/ Cries in the deseret

I read both of these books, I love them both I was shocked at how a man can do all those things and manage to get away with it. If the police and the probration office did there job he would not have been able to get out of jail to murder,kidnap and rape these these two children and there family. I was very happy to hear that the little girl was found alive. She had to watch her whole family get murdered and her little brother be raped and killed and be raped herself. How does any little girl live with that. I am talking about the book stolen in the night. I would recomend this book to read it is very sad it may bring you to tears but read it.

Enlightening Conversation Book

I thought this book was good, but it did take me a while to really get into it. It is definitely a book that will make you think about our justice system and how some offenders slip through the cracks so easily and can manipulate trained staff. This would make a great conversation between those with the same interest in law, or sometimes the lack of it.

A Quick Read

This book was a quick read, but very good. The author seemed very thorough, and appeared sensitive toward the victims and their families. The only other book I've read by this writer is An Early Grave.

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