House of Evil: The Indiana Torture Slaying

by John Dean

Book Overview

In the heart of Indianapolis in the mid 1960's, through a twist of fate and fortune, a pretty young girl came to live with a thirty-seven-year-old mother and her seven children. What began as a temporary childcare arrangement between Sylvia Likens's parents and Gertrude Baniszewski turned into a crime that would haunt cops, prosecutors, and a community for decades to come... When police found Sylvia's emaciated body, with a chilling message carved...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312946996
• ISBN13: 9780312946999
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: St. Martin's True Crime
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Hard to get through.

I love true crime and was really excited when I saw this book but I found it very hard to get through. The writing is just plain boring and disorganized. The crime in itself is horrifying and fascinating however I found this book extremely difficult to read due to lack of interest in the way it was written. Would not recommend.

Expecting a great read!

This was an excellent true story crime book. I had watched the movie and the book was every bit as good.

A horrifying crime!

I have read alot of true crime and this one is one of the worst crimes that I've read about. Very sad yet I keep thinking of so many ways it could have been prevented. Very disturbing so I don't recommend it to just anyone. But for those of you who really love any true crime Read this book!

Great read

This book is very descriptive and a great read for those who love true crime. To think this could happen next door and at a time in America when people couldn't imagine such evil. Not for the faint of heart.

Great True Crime

To me this is a must read for any fan of true crime. As an Indiana native I was glued to this horrific story. The details of the gruesome murder will not only make you cringe, they will keep the pages turning swiftly! An incredibly easy read (apart from some stomach turning tidbits of torture) and surprisingly well written for a local newspaper reporter. A job that gave John Dean the perfect line of sight to get the best scoop and write the definitive Sylvia Likens story. If you live in Indiana you need to know this story.

Don't let this happen again

I bought the book after seeing the movie based on it--An American Crime--because what it showed was next to impossible and I wanted to read the full account. The crime, crimes actually because allowing such cruelty to happen was almost as bad, were much worse than the movie dared to show. Reading this well written, absorbing report and seeing the photos of the body, the house, and the persons involved is hard and revolting. However, it will make us really aware that such things do happen, that evil persons live right in our neighborhood and not appear different from us, that government and church may fail to protect, that parents can be bad, and that we can help if we denounce anything suspicious.

Very Good Book

This was a very good book. I recommend getting it. Its worth the 7 dollars paid.

Page Turner

I read this book in two days. I hadn't even heard of this crime until I bought this book. The author explains why it was reprinted in the preface. It was well written and well structured. Great read. I'd highly recommend it to all you true crime readers. It's one of those crimes that will haunt you for a long time.