Fear Came to Town: The Santa Claus, Georgia, Murders (Berkley True Crime)

I've read a good deal of true crime-- everything from Truman Capote's In Cold Blood to handfuls of titles available in mass market paperback. Truthfully, this crime is not unbelievably exceptional (Heidler goes from being a troubled child to a troubled adult that ends up murdering a family he peripherally knows), but it really is the way Crandell writes that allows the reader to feel there is something worthwhile and at stake here in reading this. How does a child end up this way? How does something like this impact other people? The community? An individual life? Of course these questions aren't ever able to be fully answered, and isn't that the point? While telling a complete, factual story, Crandell gets the reader to reflect on all the things we'll never know.

While anticipating arrival of this book, I resisted the urge to Google the story. I knew there would be true crime sites that told the facts, but I wanted to "hear" Doug Crandell tell the story. I'm glad I waited. As other reviewers have said, there is a lot more to this book than just police reports and courtroom documentary. As always, Doug Crandell gives the characters full life, letting us experience the crippled psyche of the killer and the powerful spirits of the survivors. Having said all that, I appreciate the suspensefully told story which reads, at times, like a good murder mystery.

This is more than a telling of a horrible quadruple murder of two loving adults and two young children. This is a story about a close-knit town, a broken child-advocacy system, and the caring professionals who were swept up in this bizarre case. Strange as it may seem, the author provides enough information for the reader to feel some empathy for the murderer, who is himself a victim of a system that is mandated -- but fails -- to meet the needs of dysfunctional families and mentally ill children. Anyone who works in or cares about child welfare should read this book to see the impact of our failure to provide adequate services. The same goes for those who are mandated to fund and oversee child welfare systems! Although the young killer was accused of the crime, there is a clear case for considering all of the broken systems as co-conspirators. Highly recommended.

So many true crime books are devoted almost entirely to the trial of the accused and could be written by anyone with access to the court records. "Fear Came to Town: The Santa Claus, Georgia, Murders" is NOT one of those poorly written books. The author takes great care in researching the lives of all involved in this heinous crime. For those true crime readers who want a great read and have a full free day or night to spare, BUY THIS BOOK!

As the title suggests, this is the story of the quadruple homicide that occurred in Santa Claus, GA in 1997. The book is as much about this peculiarly violent southern region (the Coastal Empire, "bloody" Toombs County,) as it is about the tragedy that occurred there. This is a heartbreaking read. We know what's coming, and the author lets the events unfold in restrained, careful prose - making the reader wish he could go back in time and somehow intervene. The book ends with a glimpse of redemption - for the Daniels family, and for the town itself.