Overview
At the center of this gripping epic novel of mass murder, pursuit, and psychological terror is Thomas Bishop, a psychotic young killer who believes he is the son of Caryl Chessman, who was executed for rape in California amid intense controversy. Subjected to unmerciful physical and mental torture from an early age, Bishop kills his mother at the age of 10 and is placed in an institution for the criminally insane. He grows to manhood knowing the outside world only through a television screen. At 25, he succeeds in a brilliant escape and change of identity and begins to move across the country, murdering women in particularly gruesome ways. Pursued by reporters, police, and the mob, Bishop manages to elude them all, and the search for him becomes the greatest manhunt in U.S. history. Stevens takes the reader on a harrowing descent into the mind of a mass murderer in this eerily realistic serial-killer novel. The chilling denouement will hold readers spellbound until the shattering, unforgettable conclusion.
Thomas Bishop was 25 when he escaped from an institution for the criminally insane. Behind was a grotesque history of pain, murder and abiding rage. Ahead lay a path of vengeance, a reign of terror that only the greatest manhunt in U.S. history could stop. Reissue.
Synopsis
At the center of this gripping epic novel of mass murder, pursuit, and psychological terror is Thomas Bishop, a psychotic young killer who believes he is the son of Caryl Chessman, who was executed for rape in California amid intense controversy. Subjected to unmerciful physical and mental torture from an early age, Bishop kills his mother at the age of 10 and is placed in an institution for the criminally insane. He grows to manhood knowing the outside world only through a television screen. At 25, he succeeds in a brilliant escape and change of identity and begins to move across the country, murdering women in particularly gruesome ways. Pursued by reporters, police, and the mob, Bishop manages to elude them all, and the search for him becomes the greatest manhunt in U.S. history. Stevens takes the reader on a harrowing descent into the mind of a mass murderer in this eerily realistic serial-killer novel. The chilling denouement will hold readers spellbound until the shattering, unforgettable conclusion.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Shane Stevens's By Reason of Insanity is The Godfather of serial-killer novels -- the first and still the best. What sets this apart from all the books that would come after is the quality of the prose and the almost Old Testament flavor of the writing. There are long sequences in which the killer studies other killers -- most notably Caryl Chessman -- and reaches a moment of insight into evil that transcends all other crime fiction I've read. A brilliant and lacerating novel unlike any you've ever read -- and one you'll never forget. I promise.—Ed Gorman