The Road Out of Hell: Sanford Clark and the True Story of the Wineville Murders

I have read many books on true crime but this one is in a class by itself. The author must be commended for the incredible delicacy required to relate exactly what happened to this strong and resourceful boy. He was only 13 when his spectacularly ignorant parents let his cousin take him out of Canada to California where he was to help his relative with raising chickens. What happened to the boy is beyond a normal person’s ability to describe. It will bring tears to your eyes but the boy is the strongest and most patient human being I have ever read about. I cannot say enough about this author. I wish he had written many more books. You will not be able to put this book down till finished. 10 stars if I could.

It's not often we get to hear the story from the victim of a serial killer as we do in this sensitively written account of Sanford Clark, the nephew of serial killer Gordon Stewart Northcott. In 1926 Northcott snatched his nephew, 13 year old Sanford, away from his self centered sister and used him for sex as well as his servant and accomplice as Northcott raped, tortured and murdered about 20 young boys on his chicken ranch outside of Los Angeles. This scenario repeated itself with escalating mania for two years before Northcott was caught, convicted and executed by the state. In an earlier work about Northcott and his crimes, James Jeffrey Paul's book, Nothing is Strange with You: The Life and Crimes of Gordon Stewart Northcott, Paul details the facts about Northcott and the legal ramifications of his crimes, as horrific as anything we've ever known. But what of the nephew, Sanford Clark, Northcott's victim accomplice who managed to survive the psychopathic depravity and sexual abuse at the hands of his uncle? Sanford was small for his age during the years he lived with Northcott. He was young, alone and so dominated by his abusive uncle, he lost all sense of the outside world and fully believed he would become Northcott's next victim. Daily Northcott abused Sanford with beatings, humiliation, demeaning his intellect, satisfying his sexual needs and enlisting him to carry out his perverted atrocities on young boys he lured to his ranch with promises of horseback riding, baby rabbit hutches or a day's work. This constant terror forced Sanford to subsume his individuality to suit his uncle's appetites for sex and control. There is nothing that can change the facts about Sanford's victimization at the hands of Northcott, but we can learn much. The story is told from inside Sanford's head from one spellbinding moment to the next spellbinding moment. I was so consumed reading about Sanford's life that I inhaled the hope he finally found when, "He felt a quick burst of pride over how fast he was learning to find his way around the worst of his uncle." My only frustration here, and it is a minor one, is that I wanted to know more, and in greater detail, the thoughts and steps during Sanford's years at the Whittier Boys School where he was sent after the murder trial. It was there he found the love and acceptance so necessary at a critical time in his life. I don't think it is a careless assumption that without the Whittier school, Sanford's remaining years would have been a lot more painful for him and the world around him. It takes an unusually gifted writer to describe Sanford's circumstances without descending into gratuitous salacious descriptions of sexual defilement. Award winning author, Anthony Flacco, is at his best telling true stories as he did in previous books, A Checklist For Murder from Dell Books and Tiny Dancer from St. Martin's Press. He writes from his point of view that the reader should get into t

Probably the best true crime book I have ever read. I couldn't put it down. It's an amazing story.

I read "nothing is strange with you" the story of GS Northcott, and I always wondered what happened to poor young Sanford, well, now I know. This book is so wonderful, there is so much detail and you truly get to know this man, and his story. It's amazing that he turned out to be the man he was. This book is both sad and inspiring. Truly a wonderful read.

I read this book in two sittings, simply because it was so intriguing and so mind boggling that I simply could not put it down. I read the other book about northcott and this is far superior because it wasn't as textbookish like. the personalities were brought out much more clearer and real than the previous book about this situation. If there was any criticism, it would be that the capture of the boys and the violence towards them was definitely in the background, but not just in front of the reader. I kept wondering....how were the boys kept for all that length of time and how did he manage to keep them so hidden? Some of those details were left out, but overall, this is one book i will never forget, and for some reason, this story sticks with me and hard to shake. Don't even hesitate buying this book if u are fascinated by this story...the story becomes much too real, much too horrific. Hope u have the stomach for it.

This is a troubling masterfully written book of the dark side of evil and the triumph of the human spirit. It is one you will have trouble putting down and one you will not likely forget. To read this is to be there each step of the way from hell and back. The writing is compelling, the story is compelling, the outcome is compelling and in the end, full of hope. If you are a first time Anthony Flacco reader you will want to read more of his books. If you have read and loved books by Anthony Flacco you will love and be spellbound by The Road Out Of Hell. Would be a riveting movie and hopefully will be!