The Night Stalker by Philip Carlo

Started: 10/8/2025

Finished: DNF

Year: 1996

Pages: 421

Genre: True crime

Grade: C

Reason for reading: library book

Type: hardcover

Blurb (from Amazon): "Painstakingly researched over 3 years, based on nearly 100 hours of exclusive personal interviews with Ramirez on California's Death Row, The Night Stalker is the definitive account of America's most feared serial murderer, Richard Ramirez. You'll follow Ramirez on his odyssey into depravity and mind-numbing violence, from his earliest brushes with the law in El Paso, Texas to his deadliest stalking expeditions. You'll watch an unprecedented police manhunt gather force, driven by one implacable goal: to capture and bring to justice the monstrous Night Stalker. You'll triumph with the brave group of East Los Angeles civilians who, in a moment of unparalleled courage, finally brought his career of mayhem and murder to an end. And you'll be witness to one of the most sensational trials in California history, which resulted in no less than nineteen death sentences for Ramirez.

"A killer whose seductive, darkly brooding looks still draws women like moths to flame - from avowed Satanists who worship his perverted credo, to a legion of true crime groupies - including a juror who actually fell in love with the "Death Row Romeo" after helping to convict him - Richard Ramirez continues to fascinate and terrify to this day."

Opinion: I knew what had happened once he was arrested and that's when I stopped reading-I was more interested in why he became who he was-bad childhood/role models, etc. I had also recently watched a documentary about him and was also based partly on this book so I thought that I'd read it.