esco@ssc-vax.UUCP (Michael Esco) (05/24/85)
`"SON" A Psychopath And His Victims' by Jack Olson, Dell Publishing If you're looking for a good summer thriller to read, this may be the one. "SON" is the true story of Ruth and Fred H. (Kevin) Coe. Kevin Coe is Spokane Washington's infamous South Hill Rapist who, for more than two years, terrorized the city. He is thought to have raped as many as 40 or more women along the residential South Hill. Olsen, a veteran non-fiction author, writes a taut and compelling book. The first two thirds of the book is a biography of Coe, describing his life as seen by others, interspersed with descriptions of the rapes, assaults, and other sex crimes in cronological order. The last third is description of Coe's trial and his mother's subsequent trial. Unlike works of fiction, knowing how things turn out for the Coes does not diminish this book. The book provides insight into the lives of the rapist's family and friends, the police, the victims, and the community at large. It follows the decent of the South Hill from an almost idyllic neighborhood to a near war zone where women were afraid of the rapist and men were afraid of the women. Nothing Stephen King writes can touch a book like this. Michael Esco Boeing Aerospace p.s. I may be slightly prejudiced. As I started to read this book, my mother told me that one of the rapes occurred across the street from my sister's house.