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Title details for When a Killer Calls by John E. Douglas - Available

When a Killer Calls

A Haunting Story of Murder, Criminal Profiling, and Justice in a Small Town

#2 in series

by John E. Douglas
Mark Olshaker
Audiobook
1 of 2 copies available
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1 of 2 copies available

From John Douglas—the legendary FBI criminal profiler, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and inspiration for the Netflix show Mindhunter—comes a chilling journey inside the mind and crimes of Larry Gene Bell, one of the most dangerous serial killers Douglas confronted, and the desperate effort to identify and catch him.

On May 31, 1985, two days before her high school graduation, Shari Smith was abducted from the driveway of her family home in South Carolina. Based on the crime scene and the abductor's repeated and taunting calls to the family, law enforcement quickly realized they were dealing with a sophisticated and highly dangerous criminal. A letter arrived the next day entitled "Last Will & Testament," in which Shari, knowing she was to be murdered, wrote bravely and achingly of her love for her parents, siblings, and boyfriend, saying that while they would miss her, she knew they would persevere through their faith. The abduction rocked her quiet town, triggering a massive manhunt and bringing in the FBI, which enlisted profiler John Douglas. A few days later, a phone call told the family where they could find Shari's body.

Then nine-year-old Debra May Helmick was kidnapped from her yard, confirming the harsh realization that Smith's murder was no random act. A serial killer was evolving, and the only way to stop him would be to use the study of criminal behavior to anticipate his next move before he could kill again. Douglas devised a risky and emotionally fraught strategy to use Shari's lookalike older sister Dawn as bait to draw out the unknown subject. Dawn and her parents courageously agreed.

One of the most haunting investigations of Douglas's storied career, this case details how the eerily accurate profile he created—alongside his carefully crafted and stage-managed manipulation of the killer's psychology—combined with dedicated police work and cutting-edge forensic science to end a reign of criminal terror. As Shari's family took incredible personal risks to lure her killer from the shadows, Douglas and the FBI pushed criminal profiling to its limits, culminating in one of his most dramatic and effective confrontations with a sadistic and remorseless killer.

  • Creators

  • Series

    Cases of the FBI's Original Mindhunter

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 1, 2022

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780062979810
      • File size: 259714 KB
      • Duration: 09:01:04

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      June 1, 2022

      On May 31, 1985, Shari Smith was abducted from the driveway of her family home in South Carolina. When Shari's parents receive cryptic phone calls from someone claiming to know where Shari is, the police realize they are dealing with a meticulous and organized criminal. They enlist the FBI and one of the coauthors, Douglas, for help. Two weeks later, nine-year-old Debra May Helmick is also kidnapped from her front yard. An anonymous caller continues to call and harass the Smith family and offers details on where Debra can be found. Both authors pick apart those phone calls to put listeners in the mind of the killer by sorting through the details of the disappearance, the criminal mind capable of such horror, and the subsequent trial and justice. VERDICT Narrated by Keith Sellon-Wright, this detail-heavy account gets bogged down in minutiae at times, leaving listeners struggling to follow the story. True crime fans, however, won't be disappointed in this gruesome tale of abduction, murder, and criminal profiling.--Anna Clark

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 20, 2021
      FBI profiler Douglas and Olshaker (Mindhunter) tell the riveting story of how the FBI, working with local law enforcement officers, cracked the case of a particularly nasty killer. In rural South Carolina in 1985, 17-year-old Shari Smith was kidnapped from her family’s driveway by a man who later raped and suffocated her. The killer called the Smith home multiple times and mailed the parents their child’s last will and testament before telling them where to find her body. Two weeks later, he did the same to nine-year-old Debra May Helmick. Douglas, who was called in on the case, discovered that Larry Gene Bell, a 36-year-old electrician’s assistant, fit the FBI’s profile of a white male who had served in the military. The authors describe in dramatic detail how Bell was finally caught (clues included the imprint of a phone number lifted from the sheet of paper on which Shari had written her will) and the two trials that ended in death sentences, as well as the sense of terror in the small town and the incredible faith of the Smith family and their community. Peppered with other FBI profiling cases, this is required reading for those interested in the early years of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit. Agent: Frank Weimann, Folio Literary Management.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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