[U12]≡ PDF Stalemate A Shocking True Story of Child Abduction and Murder John Philpin 9780553569995 Books

Stalemate A Shocking True Story of Child Abduction and Murder John Philpin 9780553569995 Books

Download As PDF : Stalemate A Shocking True Story of Child Abduction and Murder John Philpin 9780553569995 Books

Stalemate A Shocking True Story of Child Abduction and Murder John Philpin 9780553569995 Books

I confess; the title (Stalemate) should have tipped me off that it would be a frustrating read. And, it is. I find the book to be a narrative without progress. There is a repetitive process of examining what law enforcement is thinking and comparing it to what Bindner is thinking. I don’t sense any progress, but then this is not a novel. Although one should not expect the narrative to progress like a novel, most true crime accounts let the reader know who committed the crime early on, and the suspense is created in recounting the search for the perpetrator, and sometimes the outcome of the trial. Ordinarily, the reader senses progress as one turns the pages. I am having a difficult time adjusting to the fact that this book is about a stalemate.

Adding to the reader’s frustration is the fact that the crimes occurred thirty years ago, when law enforcement agencies frequently did not coordinate well. It was also a time when milk cartons and mass hysteria created the impression that thousands of children were being kidnapped by strangers, when in fact the vast majority were either runaways or taken by non-custodial parents or relatives.

The question that arises in Stalemate is: Was Bindner the killer, or was he just a weird guy who inserted himself into the investigations? The stalemate and the frustration could be an indication that Bindner did not commit the crimes. [Spoiler Alert] In fact, a convicted murderer confessed to one of the crimes of which Bindner is suspected. But, there are those who do not believe the confession. If it were a crime, Bindner could be convicted of being creepy. But there is no physical evidence tying him to any of the crimes. The focus on Bindner reminds me of the obsessed Birthers, who spent 8 years trying to prove the President was born abroad, when all of the evidence showed he was born in Hawaii.

At one point, I was losing patience, and tempted to do a Google search and read about Timothy Bindner, just to find out what happened and save myself the time of reading the book. But, I managed to finish.

Note: I know that closure is very important to me, a personality trait that served me well in my 18 year career in sales, and again in a 25 year career as a litigation attorney. However, my need for closure undoubtedly influenced my opinion of Stalemate. If you are more comfortable than I am with a lack of closure, you may find the book more rewarding than I did.


Tags : Stalemate: A Shocking True Story of Child Abduction and Murder [John Philpin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Featuring the suspect's own words, a gripping true story of child abduction and murder takes readers into the complex realm of forensic investigation,John Philpin,Stalemate: A Shocking True Story of Child Abduction and Murder,Bantam,0553569996,Murder - General,MASS MARKET,Non-Fiction,Sociology, Social Studies,TRUE CRIME Murder General,True Crime,True Crime General,Sociology

Stalemate A Shocking True Story of Child Abduction and Murder John Philpin 9780553569995 Books Reviews

The book tells of numerous unsolved child abduction cases. Obviously, very traumatic and sad situations. There were numerous typos and in places, very repetitive, which distracted from the stories. Otherwise, a good book.
A kidnapping suspect's temperament, behavior, and thoughts confound law enforcement and the families of his would-be victims. Timothy Bindner is not a criminal mastermind in the Machiavellian sense because his strength comes not from his unpredictability and irrationality and the constant behavior that would, eventually, undermine a dogged detective's certitude. What is the truth when the facts are never clear?
I enjoyed reading this book, but there were so many editing issues that drove me insane. It is impossible to remain in the intense, suspenseful headspace of a true crime story when blatant misspellings and errors keep cropping up every few sentences. As a story, though, it was entertaining to read and offered great insight into the minds of those involved in these cases. I'd have preferred a more concise ending, but the journey was okay enough.
This is the story of Amber Swartz, the girl for whom "Amber Alerts" was named. The author has made a thoroughly convincing case that Tim Bindner is a serial killer. The explanation for why Bindner has never been tried is monumentally frustrating. While I know that the author was going out of his way to be "fair" to the suspect, I found his frequent use of quotations from Bindner to be annoying, and maybe even inappropriate--from the standpoint of giving him a voice, which is probably what he wants.
I judge all true crime books by the Ann Rule standard. This writer comes very close. The hair raising topic will make you sick, angry and keep you riveted. Well worth reading.
The one thought I'm left with is, why hasn't the rest of the country heard about these disappearances? In the middle of them the Polly Klaas tragedy occurred and everyone followed that, even the president of the United States made a speech. How does this happen? Terribly tragic yes, but she was one girl and here we have several who haven't even been found. Fascinating, unfortunate child abduction cases, taking place near San Francisco in the 80s and thereabouts. Follows a strange character who was obsessed with looking for the missing children and became a suspect himself after tracking dogs alerted to the scent of several kids in this guy's van.A weird dude, as only California can produce them it seems, he wouldn't stay out of the cops; hair and wouldn't stay away from the desperate mothers.Read here about how LE handled him and what happened to him. Excellently written by John Philpin.
This was "I'll vacuum later, leave the dishes, and honey, would mind getting supper tonight" type of book.
I loved it. Could not put it down. I've been a reader for 80 years and this book and author are right at the top of my best read books. The style of writing was so good. I can't wait to read Mr. Philpin's other books.
God bless and keep on writing!
I confess; the title (Stalemate) should have tipped me off that it would be a frustrating read. And, it is. I find the book to be a narrative without progress. There is a repetitive process of examining what law enforcement is thinking and comparing it to what Bindner is thinking. I don’t sense any progress, but then this is not a novel. Although one should not expect the narrative to progress like a novel, most true crime accounts let the reader know who committed the crime early on, and the suspense is created in recounting the search for the perpetrator, and sometimes the outcome of the trial. Ordinarily, the reader senses progress as one turns the pages. I am having a difficult time adjusting to the fact that this book is about a stalemate.

Adding to the reader’s frustration is the fact that the crimes occurred thirty years ago, when law enforcement agencies frequently did not coordinate well. It was also a time when milk cartons and mass hysteria created the impression that thousands of children were being kidnapped by strangers, when in fact the vast majority were either runaways or taken by non-custodial parents or relatives.

The question that arises in Stalemate is Was Bindner the killer, or was he just a weird guy who inserted himself into the investigations? The stalemate and the frustration could be an indication that Bindner did not commit the crimes. [Spoiler Alert] In fact, a convicted murderer confessed to one of the crimes of which Bindner is suspected. But, there are those who do not believe the confession. If it were a crime, Bindner could be convicted of being creepy. But there is no physical evidence tying him to any of the crimes. The focus on Bindner reminds me of the obsessed Birthers, who spent 8 years trying to prove the President was born abroad, when all of the evidence showed he was born in Hawaii.

At one point, I was losing patience, and tempted to do a Google search and read about Timothy Bindner, just to find out what happened and save myself the time of reading the book. But, I managed to finish.

Note I know that closure is very important to me, a personality trait that served me well in my 18 year career in sales, and again in a 25 year career as a litigation attorney. However, my need for closure undoubtedly influenced my opinion of Stalemate. If you are more comfortable than I am with a lack of closure, you may find the book more rewarding than I did.