Easily the most disturbing book I've read in ages; the strange part is how similar it is to contemporary crime fiction.  The exact same emphasis on sadism is present in Karin Slaughter, Vince Flynn or Brad Thor; the only difference is that in this case, you know it's all probably true.

Wilton Earle has done an excellent job rendering a believable and yet readable voice for Donald "Pee Wee" Gaskins, who probably killed over a hundred people in his career as a killer before gettinig locked up on Death Row.  The job must have been hard; Pee Wee's stories are gruesome and frightening.

Pee-Wee grew up under a series of brutal stepfathers, and got hit in the head often.  He was a bit of a runt, as his nickname implies, and his short stature was more than compensated for by a lust for violence and a mean streak a mile wide.  He learned violence through receiving it, but it's hard to deny that, despite his execution, he dished out more than he received.

Everyone who loves to read thrillers about serial killers should read this book.  You should look directly at what you're titillated by.  Maybe it will cure you.  The audience that loves these books about sadistic serial killers-- like those in Karin Slaughter's books-- or sadistic protagonists, like those in Vince Flynn or Brad Thor's books-- feels protected by the fictional nature of the material.  Look the devil in the eyes, you people.  This is what it's really all about-- Pee Wee with his knife, a long, skinny shank he named his "Arkansas Toothpick."  Read about how he mutilated and tortured young kids he picked up hitchhiking.

Pee Wee divides his many murders up into various categories, the foremost of which are his "Serious Murders," in which he had a motive, and his "Coastal Kills" in which he was just doing it for fun.  He had to have a Coastal Kill about every six weeks or he started jonesing.  The cruelty was its own reward.

I know you love your ticking time bombs and your Kiefer Sutherland.  But for your own sake, take a look at your own lust of violence.  Take away the "terrorist" threat and the righteous justifications and all these crusading torturers are just Pee Wee Gaskins in disguise.  There's a little bit of Pee Wee in all of us.  Read it if you dare.