Eric G. (guswrites) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 28 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
Interesting story, but EXCRUCIATINGLY slow moving.
Michelle (ShellyD77) -
Helpful Score: 6
Interesting story. I felt it was a little long and was wishing for it to be over.
Ron P. reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A true story of sex and death on the internet. Anyone You Want Me To Be is a contemporary real-life dramam of high-tech crime and punishment.
This book was very interesting. I was amazed at how people could be so easily conned by a rapist and killer, using the internet.
This book was very interesting. I was amazed at how people could be so easily conned by a rapist and killer, using the internet.
Bobbie L. (nascargal) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 352 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is very scary true-crime book. Legendary FBI profiler John Douglas explores the shocking case of John Robinson, a harmless, unassuming family man whose criminal history began with embezzlement and fraud-and ended with his arrest for the savage murders of six women and his suspected involvement in at least five disappearances. Most disturbing was the hunting ground in which Robinson seduced his prey: the world of cyberspace. Haunting chat rooms, targeting vulnerable women, and exploiting the anonymity of the Internet, his bloody spree was finally halted by a relentless parole officer who spent ten years trying to nail Robinson as a cold-blooded killer.
Mary J. (mpmarus) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 133 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
True story of an online predator. Explicit sexual content (descriptions of behavior, not salacious). IMO, went on too long.
Tanya T. (Countrygirl) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 112 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book makes you think harder about who you decide to "chat" with in Internet Chat Rooms!!
Allen F. (afreeman) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is a true story about one very crazy person. It is a shame that some people are able to get away with such awful things for so many years before they are cought. Though I know some never are cought. This was a train wreck story from start to finish. The writing could have been better but the story keeps you going. Knowing it is all true is also captivating.
Roger B. (IRONWOLF1) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 38 more book reviews
I did'nt finish it because of my distaste of the very sick sob it was about,,disgusting
Brandy K. (stateofdelusion) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 9 more book reviews
This book is a real "eye opener" about chatting and the internet. It will really make you think. It's chilling! I really enjoyed this one a lot more than the true crime books.
Glenna G. (keno) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 869 more book reviews
wow what a page turner! after 30+ years he got caught and convicted!
Jennifer B. (Chemeria) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 31 more book reviews
I thought this was one of the best true crime books I have read and I have read MANY!!! This was great a definate must read.
Rebecca H. (Rebemdee) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on
An interesting book about the internet and how a sociopath used it to make money and kill.
Jim P. (detectivereader) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 50 more book reviews
A true story of the horrors that may lurk on the other end of internet chat rooms. A serial killer that prowled the internet for victims.
Len S. (lens) -
The author tried to paint the internet as a lawless place teeming with criminals at every turn, as if people like John Robinson were the rule rather than the exception. Robinson scoured fetish-related chat rooms, offering jobs and a master/slave relationship. A simple search of the same internet would've revealed Robinson to be a career criminal.
The unintentional comical highlight for me was a wildly inaccurate description of computer forensics: "It's a trade secret.", says the court expert when asked how erased files can be recovered.
I did like how slowly the story moved in the beginning and the reasonable depth of info on victims of this heinous man.
What I took away from this book was how an evil man with an ability to smooth-talk the ladies had his playground enlarged by the internet. He then used laws designed to protect criminals to facilitate killing scores of women before he was captured.
The unintentional comical highlight for me was a wildly inaccurate description of computer forensics: "It's a trade secret.", says the court expert when asked how erased files can be recovered.
I did like how slowly the story moved in the beginning and the reasonable depth of info on victims of this heinous man.
What I took away from this book was how an evil man with an ability to smooth-talk the ladies had his playground enlarged by the internet. He then used laws designed to protect criminals to facilitate killing scores of women before he was captured.
Sam M. reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 109 more book reviews
Douglas (The Cases That Haunt Us)-criminal profiler, ex-FBI agent, true crime writer and supposedly the model for a key character in Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs- presents the sordid and horrific case of John Robinson, "the nation's-if not the world's-first Internet serial killer." A chubby middle-aged father of four with a long history as a con man, Robinson explored the local s&m underground of Kansas City while skillfully using Internet chat groups to lure sexually adventurous women to Kansas, where he killed six of them, and perhaps five more, before his arrest in 2000. Douglas's methodical pace and his careful accretion of detail to describe bizarre crimes committed by seemingly ordinary people is highly reminiscent of the work of true crime writer Ann Rule, with Douglas seeing the case as being "about sex among unglamorous people and how the Internet had unleashed so many pent-up possibilities." He also spends a lot of time describing how the proliferation of porn-related sites on the Internet has made it "the fastest-growing criminal frontier in cyberspace." While much of this is fascinating, Douglas too often breaks his tone to issue simplistic warnings to the reader ("Nobody can any longer afford to be naive when it comes to cyberspace"). Johnson, writing with journalist Singular, helpfully offers an appendix featuring "tips for helping adults and kids avoid the dangers of on-line predators.
Merisa A. (nvangel) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 162 more book reviews
this one of the better True crime books I have read.
Pamela O. (pamelaoates) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 2 more book reviews
Interesting book.
Rebecca L. (mrsswoopie) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 36 more book reviews
AMAZON.COM REVIEW:
The Internet has made many enterprises easier since its rise to popularity in the mid-90s: book sales, personal correspondence, and, in the case of John Robinson, serial murder. Even before he ever went online, Robinson had forged a life consistent with a killer's profile. Despite being fired and arrested numerous times for fraud and theft, he wriggled out of serious trouble thanks to a smooth charm and cunning intelligence. For decades, Robinson's more sinister activities escaped the notice of nearly everyone, including law enforcement and, incredibly, his own wife. But what makes Robinson's story, as told here by John Douglas and Stephen Singular, uniquely disturbing is the presence of the World Wide Web and the ease with which a murderer can use it. Online, Robinson frequented chat rooms and sites dedicated to the lurid underground world of bondage and sadomasochism. In this anonymous space, he was free to assume honey-tongued new identities that he used to lure women, especially those in vulnerable situations, to Kansas with promises of employment, protection, or sex. Their subsequent disappearances were explained away with letters that appeared to be written by the victims but were actually typed by the killer on pieces of paper the women had previously signed. Ultimately, dogged law enforcement officials were able to catch up with Robinson and put him on trial after finding gruesome evidence of his deeds. While they are skilled true-crime writers, Douglas and Singular occasionally stray into hyperbole, which is far from necessary given the elements already present in Robinsons horrifying story. It is likely that any reader will walk a little more warily by their computer after reading this book and getting an idea of who might be hiding behind a given nickname
The Internet has made many enterprises easier since its rise to popularity in the mid-90s: book sales, personal correspondence, and, in the case of John Robinson, serial murder. Even before he ever went online, Robinson had forged a life consistent with a killer's profile. Despite being fired and arrested numerous times for fraud and theft, he wriggled out of serious trouble thanks to a smooth charm and cunning intelligence. For decades, Robinson's more sinister activities escaped the notice of nearly everyone, including law enforcement and, incredibly, his own wife. But what makes Robinson's story, as told here by John Douglas and Stephen Singular, uniquely disturbing is the presence of the World Wide Web and the ease with which a murderer can use it. Online, Robinson frequented chat rooms and sites dedicated to the lurid underground world of bondage and sadomasochism. In this anonymous space, he was free to assume honey-tongued new identities that he used to lure women, especially those in vulnerable situations, to Kansas with promises of employment, protection, or sex. Their subsequent disappearances were explained away with letters that appeared to be written by the victims but were actually typed by the killer on pieces of paper the women had previously signed. Ultimately, dogged law enforcement officials were able to catch up with Robinson and put him on trial after finding gruesome evidence of his deeds. While they are skilled true-crime writers, Douglas and Singular occasionally stray into hyperbole, which is far from necessary given the elements already present in Robinsons horrifying story. It is likely that any reader will walk a little more warily by their computer after reading this book and getting an idea of who might be hiding behind a given nickname
Mary Elaine L. (Laney) reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 911 more book reviews
An interesting and scary book.
Mark P. (mobilemark) - reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 48 more book reviews
a interesting store about a internet predator
Marta T. reviewed Anyone You Want Me to Be : A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet on + 11 more book reviews
very interesting
