Deliver Us: Three Decades of Murder and Redemption in the Infamous I-45/Texas Killing Fields

Sadly, I must mention something right away. If you’re going to write a True Crime book you must get the facts straight. On page 106 of the E-book the author mentions America’s Most Wanted as a program that ran on the subject of one of those that was thought to be the serial killer that’s mentioned in this book. The program mentioned was Americas Most Wanted, but it was the program Unsolved Mysteries, with the episode of criminal Edward Bell and actor Matthew McConaughey playing the victim. I know this because I watched it, and still have it on tape. I always remember it because it was Matthew’s first acting gig. It was Episode #5.12 (1992). Being a True Crime book, I can’t let that slid. Because of that reality I had to mark off a rating mark for that. If your telling a true story and get something as small as that wrong, it just sticks with you, and bugs you deeply. I ordered the book off Amazon and checked out the written form through paperback, which below is a picture of it. I thought maybe it was just the E-book that made a mistake, but as you can see the paperback also details the mistake.Now getting back to the review. This is a horrible set of crimes toward girls in Texas during the 70’s and 80’s. Eleven innocent women and girls brutally slaughtered and placed out as trash. So, sad and horrible. I remember growing up hearing about this reality of crimes, because I have many avid True Crime readers as friends and also family members. This was one of the cases they would talk about during book club sessions. I could sit in the back ground when I was a we little lad and listen to their book club meetings, and this was one case's that sparked an interest in me on unsolved crimes. Unsolved murders, and my growing interest in human behavior. I went to college and studied in the major of abnormal and criminal psychology that is what my major was. I have always been fascinated with the human mind, and human nature. The criminal mind is one of great interest. I wrote a paper on the I-45 girls titled “Who Silenced the Lambs”. So, I like to seek out any information on the subject, and came across this E-book on Amazon, and had to give it a go.A wonderful vast knowledge of the crimes and history of the subject. That is what this book has going for it. Wonderfully written in detail on the cases. Gives you an open-minded setting of information on the victims, and on the ones suspected of doing it. The conclusion of the subject, or at least what can be concluded is also displayed throughout the book. Besides the aforementioned bad research, weather to blame it on the writer, editor, or fact checker I don’t know. But looking past that blatant falsity, this is a thought provoking and well brought together True Crime book. I think the author was able to develop a setting of mystery and intrigue even though some of these cases are over 40 years old. They still maintain a reality of horrible emotions and cruelty toward humanity. Thinking about these poor girl’s families never got the closer, never got the answer before many of them passed away is another saddened reality that pulls at the heart strings of caring.I like how the author separated the subjects by decades, and by potential truths of who did them, or knowing how the truth will never truly be known. I found myself enthralled from start to finish. I wanted to hear everything associated with the case, and the research the author did. There is an emotional reality inside the writing also. Something a lot of True Crime books sadly do, is lack of emotional appeal. So many read like text books, or straight novels, forgetting this is real, and that real human victims happened, and that there are still members of the family or friends of the victims still living. We as a culture tend to forget that an innocent person is killed, it's not just a story, a crime TV episode, they were a living, breathing, mother, daughter, lover, sister, friend, brother, dad, aunt, uncle etc., etc., etc.Kathryn Casey adds that important reality to her True Crime books. She gives a voice to the victims and the family and friends of those victims. She pays respect to their saddened reality of being ultimately silenced.The plot to this book is about the three decades long killing of 20 women and many young teenagers. Each one murdered in small towns all having one thing in common, the small towns are connected in one way or another to Interstate 45. Interstate 45 spans 50 miles. It’s a highway running from major city Houston all the way to Galveston. It started with 11 young girls in the 70’s and 80’s. As time moves along more murders. Strangulation, horrible disturbing and vicious beatings and rapes. Interesting is that some even died in pairs. 3 sets to be exact. Kathryn showcases the crimes, and most of all interviews the ones that are suspected of being the killers.I have read many of Kathryn Casey’s books. She is a fabulous writer. There are several I highly recommend by her, First: A Descent into Hell. Second: Deadly Little Secrets: The Minister, His Mistress, and a Heartless Texas Murder. Third: She Wanted It All. Fourth: Possessed: The Infamous Texas Stiletto Murder. Those are my favorite's by her and I highly recommend those.Would I Return to it Again: Once was enough, that does not mean it’s a bad book, it just means I was thoroughly satisfied and felt concluded in the subject matter. I believe this is a great tool to learn about this case and to learn about the victims and the families of the victims and all the sad truths, horrors and injustice that is this case.Would I Recommend: Absolutely. To any True Crime fan. To any person that likes an emotional understanding of a crime. Well written besides the small error. It’s a book that holds you to the end wanting to know the outcomes to the cases, the subjects and all the wonderful research and ground work that Kathryn Casey put into this book.Published: 2015Length: 373How I Read it: Kindle E-BookFour Words: Informative. Honest. Mysterious. Brutal.Originally posting of this review on my webpage: [...]

Great true crime book. I’m new to this genre and was very happy that it wasn’t overly technical or long winded.

I love true crime. Ann Rule was a favorite. This is the first book I've read by Kathryn Casey, and I was impressed. Instead of focusing on one murder from beginning to trial, she writes about murders of young women along I-45 south of Houston all the way to Galveston. Was there a serial killer, more than one serial killer, or individual suspects? No one knew.Casey divides the murders into those committed in the '70's, '80's, and '90's. Many of the cases do not have a trial because of lack of evidence/suspect. Instead she writes what she can find from talking to police officers and victims' families and reading newspaper articles and police reports. She does an admirable job - imagine approaching these still grieving families and getting them to open up.A few of the cases do have convictions. The book ended in 2015 with speculation that some of the perpetrators may have been responsible for murders they had not yet been charged with. To satisfy my curiosity, I googled William Lewis Reece and found he had been convicted in the summer of 2021 for the murder of Tiffany Johnston in Oklahoma. He was already serving a 60-year sentence for kidnapping when he was charged. It sounds as though he is also facing charges in Texas for the murders of Kelli Cox, Jessica Cain, and Laura Smithers. He has been a suspect in those cases for a long time.Retired FBI profiler Mark Young is quoted in the book: "At any one time, there are about six hundred serial killers in the U.S. Of those, maybe half are active. the others have aged and stopped killing, or they've stopped for other reasons, like sickness, or they're in prison for other crimes." Chilling.Ms. Casey is originally from Milwaukee, and grew up there the same time I was growing up about 25 miles south. I felt a strong connection with her. She had great empathy for the victims and their families. Their stories were sad. I enjoyed her writing very much and look forward to reading more of her books - I only wish they didn't all take place in Texas where she now lives. I heartily recommend this book.My only criticism of the book is that I would have liked bigger, better quality pictures. The book had many pictures, but many were very small, and some were so poor that I couldn't see what they showed.

It's a well written really good read but extremely sad that so many murders of young women aren't given more importance in some of these communities and proper sentences given to violent offenders. These girls became real to me early on and it's just so sad that many cases remain unsolved.

I have read most of Kathryn Casey's true life crime books. They are well written, thoroughly researched and very thought provoking. This book puts forward the facts and issues surrounding the murders and how individual families were affected. There are no nice neat tidy endings, just a lot more unanswered questions

Another example of excellence. Thorough research, composition, and detail brings the reader a clear picture of the events, of the I-45 horrors . The descriptions are visual, and the victims, their families, are breathtakingly real. A well crafted book, which I read in one weekend, my admiration for Kathryn Casey reaches a new echelon. I highly recommend this new release.

Exhaustively researched and objectively written,what a waste of all those young lives,not to mention their fear and suffering.The way their bodies were dumped as if they were just garbage highlights the fact that these killers have no compassion

Excellently written book. Initially found book hard to get into, but soon did. Book contains many different crimes and murders & each one is interesting. Ms Casey is a great crime writer.