Anyone You Want Me to Be: A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet

I got this book on a tip from a friend regarding a name in it. It was so well written that I read it cover to cover. Didnt think I would like the subject matter but it was written using all aspects of the case. And of course it had a good ending.......the culprit caught and convicted. The fact there was so much left unsolved has me intrigued if there will be a sequel to this book in the future??

Author John Douglas, a veteran of the FBI and expert in personality profiling, demonstrates his years of experience and storytelling ability in this vivid investigative analysis of the first Internet serial killer, John Robinson. Douglas, and his co-author Stephen Singular, meticulously describe Robinson's journey from a seemingly harmless white collar criminal to an obvious psychopath, who exploited the Internet's world of single women seeking love and relationships, with deadly results. A married father of four, a seemingly good citizen, active in his church and community, Robinson was able to hide his evil nature and schemes from his wife, a woman who lived in a state of absolute denial, and from others who knew him best. Fortunately, he was unable to fool Steve Haymes, a parole officer in Liberty, Missouri, who had been on Robinson's trail for fifteen years before his suspicions and persistent investigation panned out. Haymes was the only person who kept a record of Robinson's evolution through the criminal justice system. During a thirty-five year period, he examined his criminal patterns, his range of activities and attempted to penetrate the man's personality. Robinson had been arrested numerous times for fraud and theft, but was able to use his charm and cunning to elude more serious charges. It was during these early days in Robinson's criminal career that he appeared on Haymes' radar screen. In early 1985 Parole Officer Haymes imagined what the law enforcement community was confronting. In March 2000, he discovered that he had been correct in his initial assessment, with results much more disastrous than he had ever contemplated. Chubby, balding, unattractive, Robinson, was intelligent, innovative and entrepreneurial enough to be in the forefront of the consumer vanguard, employing the new personal computer technology to his advantage. Cybercrime had yet to be defined when Robinson saw the possibilities in using the Internet to make easy money and gratify his particular needs and longings. Ultimately, he discovered the world of sadomasochistic Website chat rooms, where he was able to charm and reassure the vulnerable, lonely women who frequented them. It was on the Net that he was able to stalk his victims and lure them to meet him in person - never to be seen or heard from again. I don't read much True Crime but was fascinated by this case of deadly cybercrime. I use the Internet frequently and know people who have met online and married - although they never frequented sadomasochistic chatrooms. Still, reading "Anyone You Want Me To Be" was an educational experience as well as a riveting read. Highly recommended! JANA

Fascinating and horrifying. I also read John Glatt's "Internet Slavemaster," which is about the same case and covers much of the same ground, but ends before the trial and verdict. I love books that peer into the criminal mind, and John Douglas has written some good ones, particularly "Mindhunter," "Journey into Darkness," and "Anatomy of Motive." What's particularly horrifying here is how John Robinson was able to get away with his crimes for so long. He would get caught in some scam and go to jail for a short stretch or get probation, then just carry on, always cooking up new schemes. When a woman he'd hired would disappear, the family would receive a poorly-typed letter purportedly from her, and the police would drop the case. Why wasn't this guy nailed sooner? It reminds me of the Sante and Kenny Kimes case, which is the subject of more than one book, but I think "Son of a Grifter" by Kent Walker, Sante's other son, is the best. In both cases, they started out as con men, managed to fool and/or intimidate people, got away with outrageous crimes for years, and went on to commit murder.

After being an avid fan of serial killer books for quite some time, I'd begun to think that I'd read everything that was ever written on the subject. However, soon after I picked up John Douglas' new non-fiction book, "Anyone You Want Me To Be," I quickly realized there was an entire world of crime I had yet to discover. While I had previously heard of John Robinson, I knew very little about the details of his background and killing spree. In today's world, where the Internet is such an integral part of everyday life, it is frightening to know there are predators like John Robinson out there, preying on innocent trustworthy people. Mr.Douglas, who created the FBI's profiling unit, effectively allows the reader to enter a place many authors have previously left untouched, a killer's mind. Tracing John Robinson's background from his childhood to his days as a killer, Douglas allows us to see Robinson as more than just a psychotic maniac. For those who enjoyed Mr. Douglas' previous works, this haunting, bone chilling masterpiece is an absolute must read.

I have been a huge fan of John Douglas' career and books. In this latest book he focuses his attention and uses his professional profiling expereince to analyze one case. In Anyone You Want Me To Be, the reader doesn't just get the facts of the case but it is told from an entirely different perspective, that of a profiler. From the title of the book one may think the character is fictious, but this story is very true. Mr. Douglas takes us into the mind of John Robinson and explains how one man used the Internet to manipulate and control women for his own personal gain. He also tells us how we can protect ourselves from predators on the Internet. A true page turner.