Helpful Score: 4
Although this book seems to focus far more on the killers than the victim, I did find it an interesting read. A cautionary tale for anyone with an insecure teenage girl who might be hanging out with the wrong group of friends...
Helpful Score: 3
from the back of the book...
On a freezing January in 1992, five teenage girls crowded into a car. By the end of the night, only four of them were alive. The fifth had been tortured and mutilated nearly beyond recognition. Her name was Shanda Sharer; hre age - twelve.
When the people of Madison, Indiana heard that a brutal murder had been committed in their midst, they were stunned. Then the story became even more bizarre. The four accused murderers were all girls under the age of eighteen: Melinda Loveless. Laurie Tackett. Hope Rippley. And Toni Lawrence.
Here, for the first time, veteran true crime journalist Aphrodite Jones reveals the shocking truth behind the most savage crime in Indiana history - a tragic story of twisted love and insane jealousy, lesbianism, brutal child abuse, and sadistic ritual killing in small-town America...and of the young innocent who paid the ultimate price.
Book also contains 16 pages of never before published photos.
On a freezing January in 1992, five teenage girls crowded into a car. By the end of the night, only four of them were alive. The fifth had been tortured and mutilated nearly beyond recognition. Her name was Shanda Sharer; hre age - twelve.
When the people of Madison, Indiana heard that a brutal murder had been committed in their midst, they were stunned. Then the story became even more bizarre. The four accused murderers were all girls under the age of eighteen: Melinda Loveless. Laurie Tackett. Hope Rippley. And Toni Lawrence.
Here, for the first time, veteran true crime journalist Aphrodite Jones reveals the shocking truth behind the most savage crime in Indiana history - a tragic story of twisted love and insane jealousy, lesbianism, brutal child abuse, and sadistic ritual killing in small-town America...and of the young innocent who paid the ultimate price.
Book also contains 16 pages of never before published photos.
Helpful Score: 2
I read this book as a teenager & this book gave me nightmares. I read it again years later as an adult and again it gave me nightmares due to the graphic details of the crime.
I can watch horror movies without batting and eyes yet this book really got to me.
The book tells more about the killers than the victim. Teen girls kill a 12yr old girl. You will learn about the life of the girls and their childhoods. Some are pretty disturbing.
The details of the crime are very shocking and sick. A lot about the crime is very hard to read.
I've seen this shocking story featured on shows such as "Deadly Women", home made documentaries are found on Youtube & tons of Internet sites retelling the crime.
I can watch horror movies without batting and eyes yet this book really got to me.
The book tells more about the killers than the victim. Teen girls kill a 12yr old girl. You will learn about the life of the girls and their childhoods. Some are pretty disturbing.
The details of the crime are very shocking and sick. A lot about the crime is very hard to read.
I've seen this shocking story featured on shows such as "Deadly Women", home made documentaries are found on Youtube & tons of Internet sites retelling the crime.
Helpful Score: 2
I am usually ok with watching and reading this type of subject, I even get into the autopsy shows etc and it doesn't phase me a bit. But this book I could not finish reading. When I got to the part where they began telling how they tortured that poor girl it made me sick to my stomach and I couldn't even go any further. It still gives me the shivers recalling what happened and knowing how evil a person can be. Maybe the next person who reads this can tell me what happened to the persons who committed this awful crime!
This book was very sad but definately worth reading. If you want to see just how cruel a killer can get, then you definately need to read this book. If people think that serial killers are the only ones deranged and are psychopaths there in for an eye opener with this book. These were all girls who went to the same school and knew the same people. What they did to this girl and what they put her through will bring you to tears.
good book
It was a very good book. i enjoyed it much.
On a freezing January in 1992, five teenage girls crowded into a car. By the end of the night, only four of them were alive. The fifth had been tortured and mutilated nearly beyond recognition. Her name was Shanda Sharer; her age-twelve.
This is a true story of four girls, all under the age of eighteen, who are involved in the murder of another teenage girl. One girl was so insanely jealous of another that she planned to kill her, with the help of her friends. The girl that got killed was only twelve years old.
On a freezing January in 1992, five teenage girls crowded into a car. By the end of the night, only four of them were alive. The fifth had been tortured and mutilated nearly beyond recognition. Her name was Shanda Sharer; her age--twelve.
When the people of Madison, Indiana heard that a brutal murder had been committed in their midst, they were stunned. Then the story became even more bizarre. The four accused murderers were all girls under the age of eighteen.
When the people of Madison, Indiana heard that a brutal murder had been committed in their midst, they were stunned. Then the story became even more bizarre. The four accused murderers were all girls under the age of eighteen.
This was truly a terrifying look at what children can do when they put their minds to it. I could nto beleive that one of these girls is already out of jail, and the others will be out early enough to still have a life. How does this happen?
This book is chilling and heartbreaking. My heart goes out to the family of the victim, but it is easy to see that the four girls responsible for the murder were victims in their own right. Each of the four had horrible home lives. This, however, is no excuse for the torture and murder of a twelve year old girl. I was interested in this book after hearing the mother of Shanda speak at my college. A troubling read, but I would suggest it for anyone interested in true crime novels.
This book holds you on the edge of your seat from start to finish...It's a can't put down, although sometimes I wanted to more than anything. It is so hard to imagine the extent of man's inhumanity to man and in this case it was teenagers to children. The horror is very frightening.
On a freezing January in 1992, five teenage girls crowded into a car. By the end of the night, only four of them were alive. The fifth had been tortured and mutilated nearly beyond recognition. Her name was Shanda Sharer; her age--12.
When the people of Madison, Indiana heard that a brutal murder had been committed in their midst, they were stunned. Then the story became even more bizarre. The four accused murderers were all girls under the age of 18: Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey, and Toni Lawrence.
Here, for the first time, veteran true crime journalist Aphrodite Jones reveals the shocking truth behind the most savage crime in Indiana history--a tragic story of twisted love and insane jealousy, lesbianism, brutal child abuse, and sadistic ritual killing in small-town America...and of the young innocent who paid the ultimate price.
When the people of Madison, Indiana heard that a brutal murder had been committed in their midst, they were stunned. Then the story became even more bizarre. The four accused murderers were all girls under the age of 18: Melinda Loveless, Laurie Tackett, Hope Rippey, and Toni Lawrence.
Here, for the first time, veteran true crime journalist Aphrodite Jones reveals the shocking truth behind the most savage crime in Indiana history--a tragic story of twisted love and insane jealousy, lesbianism, brutal child abuse, and sadistic ritual killing in small-town America...and of the young innocent who paid the ultimate price.
I read mostly true crime. I almost couldn't finish the first few chapters. The book is about the torture of a 12 year old girl. "Cruel Sacrifice" is graphic in the description of the crime. It focuses on the 4 girls who murdered Shanda Sharer.
I was young when Shanda Sharer got murdered, so I don't remember much about when it happened. However, now that I live in Madison, Indiana I wanted to read the book. I will say it is a very well written book and keeps your interest throughout the entire book. The author talks about each girl involved in great detail so you get a true sense of what they were like and what may have drove them to do such a thing. How four girls around 16 years old could even think of doing such a thing is puzzling.
This book is very well worth the read, but it is graffic and not for young readers.
This book is very well worth the read, but it is graffic and not for young readers.
This is the true account of a really fascinating story of four teenage girls who murder another twelve year old girl. Quoting a statement in the book by Mike Walro, "Stephen King couldn't come up with a plot like this." These girls were from extremely dysfunctional families. The characters are unbelievably evil. A problem with the book I had was that it goes back and forth so much from the present to the murder. The people were hard to keep straight: Melinda/Melissa, Amanda/Shanda, etc. Worth reading if you like true crime and can stomach descriptions of domestic violence.
The book was well written and researched, but its a very disturbing story on many levels.
very shocking book
Very graphic, disturbing, and difficult to read at times. NOT for the faint of heart! Particularly interesting to me, though, because I grew up in Madison, IN...
Haunting true crime story about teenage girls, a lesbian relationship, and the torturous death of one of them. Evil and shocking. Fast read, written well, I really like this author.
Like most others, I am horrified about Shanda Sharer's murder. This was an unimaginable happening. I don't know how her mother survived it. I feel like I would blow up the earth to make sure those four girls never had the opportunity to walk free again!
All that aside, this book was very poorly written. I stuck with it only for the facts and details of the case, but it was extremely disjointed and all over the place, the layout of information a mess.
I also think it's sad that on the cover, the four murders' photos are in color while Shanda's picture is in black & white, and smaller. Seems like a subtle glorification of these beasts who pass for humans. I can hardly swallow when I think that two of them were released and are free to go on with their lives in the world with the rest of us. It's like a slap in Shanda's memorial face.
I hope better books were written about Shanda Sharer's murder.
All that aside, this book was very poorly written. I stuck with it only for the facts and details of the case, but it was extremely disjointed and all over the place, the layout of information a mess.
I also think it's sad that on the cover, the four murders' photos are in color while Shanda's picture is in black & white, and smaller. Seems like a subtle glorification of these beasts who pass for humans. I can hardly swallow when I think that two of them were released and are free to go on with their lives in the world with the rest of us. It's like a slap in Shanda's memorial face.
I hope better books were written about Shanda Sharer's murder.
Like most others, I am horrified about Shanda Sharer's murder. This was an unimaginable happening. I don't know how her mother survived it. I feel like I would blow up the earth to make sure those four girls never had the opportunity to walk free again!
All that aside, this book was very poorly written. I stuck with it only for the facts and details of the case, but it was extremely disjointed and all over the place, the layout of information a mess.
I also think it's sad that on the cover, the four murders' photos are in color while Shanda's picture is in black & white, and smaller. Seems like a subtle glorification of these beasts who pass for humans. I can hardly swallow when I think that two of them were released and are free to go on with their lives in the world with the rest of us. It's like a slap in Shanda's memorial face.
I hope better books were written about Shanda Sharer's murder.
All that aside, this book was very poorly written. I stuck with it only for the facts and details of the case, but it was extremely disjointed and all over the place, the layout of information a mess.
I also think it's sad that on the cover, the four murders' photos are in color while Shanda's picture is in black & white, and smaller. Seems like a subtle glorification of these beasts who pass for humans. I can hardly swallow when I think that two of them were released and are free to go on with their lives in the world with the rest of us. It's like a slap in Shanda's memorial face.
I hope better books were written about Shanda Sharer's murder.
THIS HAS GOT TO BE ONE OF THE SADDEST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ.
pretty good if you like true crime
A terrifying account of four girls murdering a 12 year old girl.
