Beyond Murder: The Inside Account of the Gainesville Student Murders

I've read all three books about the Gainesville Ripper, Danny Rolling - Beyond Murder, Killer on Campus and the Gainesville Ripper. Beyond is the ultimate Rolling book and it blows the other two books clean out of the water. It's clear, concise and it moves at a great pace. The authors spent countless hours investigating the case, researching their information and interviewing not only Rolling, but the families & friends of the victims, the police agencies involved and anyone else they could think of that might have valuable information, making this a tight and accurate read. Donnelly, a reporter, covered the Gainesville murders for the Miami Herald as the case was unraveling. Philpin, a criminal profiler for numerous years, wrote a psychological profile early on in the case for the Miami Herald. If you want to know everything there is to know about the Gainesville killings pick up this book. The other two I would only suggest reading if you can get them for free from your public library because even a nickle for a used copy is too much to pay for them.

I lived this story. After graduating from UF in 1992, I went overseas for 7 years, not knowing the entire happenings with the case. I knew some of the details of the case and that Rollings plead guilty, but I was unaware of the entire story. This book changed all of that. Reading this book brought tears to my eyes on several occasions. This whole ordeal was so shocking, it is impossible to comprehend. Reliving the memories of fear was hard for me, but I needed closure. "Beyond Murder" recounts the story of the victims and their families prior to and following the murders, the police force, the killer, and every aspect of the case. There are a few times during the read that I felt as though I was reading a police report when family members were quoted, which I am sure was the case. It took a little from the overall story, but not enough to change my 5 star rating. Get this book, learn the importance of safety, and always remember Sonja, Christina, Christa, Tracy, and Manuel, five beautiful people taken away from this world by evil.

This book is without a doubt the only accurate account of the horrible murders in Gainesville, FL. Be in the mind of the killer; be in the mind of the detective tracking him. And know the truth, not the self-serving stories told by the killer and his paramour, not the summaries of newspaper accounts. This was a horrible event. The authors give us a driving, accurate narative. Couldn't put it down.