A true-crime history of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond—an investigation of how a new strain of psychopath emerged out of a toxic landscape of deadly industrial violence
The book’s a meld of true crime, memoir and social commentary, but with a mission: to shock readers into a deeper understanding of the American Nightmare, ecological devastation entwined with senseless sadism. Murderland is not for the faint of heart, yet we can’t look away: Fraser’s writing is that vivid and dynamic ... A superb and disturbing vivisection of our darkest urges, this summer’s premier nonfiction read.
Extremely disturbing ... Intellectual framework underpins but never impedes the momentum of Fraser’s compelling, beautifully written text ... This propulsive narrative is buttressed by extensive research documented in voluminous footnotes. With facts at her fingertips, she disdains to pretend objectivity ... This is a cautionary tale, not a triumphal one, and Fraser closes with a passionate, angry passage whose biblical cadences ring with righteous fury.
Fans of linear narratives will find this book maddening ... Fraser’s book works best as a literary theme — crimes of industry choking the life out of the natural world, spawning crimes of the heart.
