The True Crime Website of
Author Gary C. King

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dance With a Deviant Killer Hidden In Plain Sight, August 25, 2011 By Kevin Edwards

This review is from: Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer (Kindle Edition)

In this, the first part of the 21st century, there is little argument that the world is full of boogey men - scary beings slinking around furtively doing their nasty business. But there are few of these frightening characters that are more disturbing than the sexual serial killer. Is it the gruesome nature of their crimes that make them among the worst of violent criminals? Is it the escalation of their acts, requiring more and more violence, blood and depravity to achieve satisfaction? Or is it that they walk around with us, day to day, their sheep's clothing masking the beast beneath the fluffy, white wool?

Sexual serial killers often have dissociative states or entirely different ego states that allow them to change personalities as easily as hanging up one set of clothes and putting on another, not unlike Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. And so it was with Dayton Leroy Rogers, respected businessman from Portland, Oregon, and his bone-chilling acts of humiliation, perversion and torturous murder. Gary C. King's true crime novel, Blood Lust, is a detailed re-telling of one of America's most horrific sexual predators.

King's novel is wonderfully detailed, the words resounding in the reader's head as if they were, themselves, the case investigator, finding clues, an increasing number of victims and, finally, Rogers himself. Be prepared for the chills that will inevitably run down your spine, the shock of depraved acts beyond understanding and the seemingly cool nature of a deviant killer hidden in plain sight.

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly magnificent read, 13 July 1999
By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer (Onyx) (Paperback--also now available for most eReaders, including Kindle)

Gary C King has certainly done wonders in writing the account of Dayton Leroy Rogers. Horrifying as some of the scenes are, you are taken much deeper than that. You get an insight into what it is like to be investigating such horrific crimes and yet you are still able to remain focused into the lives of the people involved. He has managed to take you there to envisage the most gruesome and sadistic acts of violence ever heard of and yet still remains to the point. A truly magnificent read.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, April 7, 1999
By A Customer

I read this book within 24 hours, I believe that's my personal record. It was written well and Gary really takes you there. I definately recommend this for a "true crime" reader!

5.0 out of 5 stars "Peaceful" Oregon!, January 12, 2005
By Mcgivern Owen L (NY, NY USA)
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

"Blood Lust" represents good no nonsense true crime about a serial killer in Oregon. That seemingly peaceful and scenic State certainly has had more than its' share of sickos, as TC aficionados (and no doubt the natives) are well aware. In BL, the protagonist is one Dayton Leroy Rogers who killed and mutilated eight young Portland area women in the mid 1980s. There is little suspense here. The killer is identified from the outset. The reader's interest will revolve around the portrayal of the gruesome manners of the young ladies' deaths and how the local authorities find the corpses and compile their case against Rogers. Author Gary King strikes a solid balance between crime reporting and the human suffering of the victims. Since the perpetrator is known, readers may ignore the "Ann Rule rule" and peruse the centerfold where pictures of the demised humanize them. It's chilling to think that most likely there are more female of Rogers' victims somewhere in this vast area. This reviewer visited Oregon recently and appreciates how rural the state is once one leaves the Portland/​Seattle metroplex and the I5 corridor. 12 reprintings since 1992 are a testimony to the obvious and well-deserved popularity of "Blood Lust".

4.0 out of 5 stars Horrific!, October 4, 2002
By A Customer

Very good book, frightening story! I too read this book very quickly, it was very fast-paced and easy to read. The crimes that Dayton Leroy Rogers committed were nothing short of horrendous, and it amazes me that he was allowed to be out in society to commit these unspeakable acts after being in prison for his sexual deviations to begin with. If you are a true crime reader this one's for you. Excellant writing by Gary C. King.

5.0 out of 5 stars A very sad tale........, January 17, 2000
By A Customer

I found this book to be one of the most fascinating books I have read recently. As an avid reader of true crime, I appreciate a well written story. The detailed accounts of survivors of this monster are almost unbelievable.

4.0 out of 5 stars Husband, father, lover, john, serial killer with a foot fetish!, June 21, 2007
By Sylviastel

Gary C. King is truly a well-known crime author. This book is probably one of the first that I have read and it's an easy read. He does explain how a man emerged from respected citizen to a serial killer with a deadly lust for blood, torture, and terror of innocent women who didn't deserve the horror. Granted, all of his victims were prostitutes which happen to be the top victims in serial killer cases like Ridgway and Dayton Rogers. He made a mistake and it caught up with him with many victims such as prostitutes who came forward with their tales of torture to frighten the most harden of criminals. King writes the story to explain the discovery and that the first victim that wasn't laid in his unofficial burial ground. Unlike Bundy and Ridgway who returned to visit their victims after their murder, Dayton left them to rot away and not be discovered. These women were mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and yet they had their share of problems such as drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, and poverty.

5.0 out of 5 stars Gives me the creeps, March 11, 2003
By Marlene Meijer "CrazyDutchwoman" (The Netherlands)
This was my first English written book and it scared the hell out of me. The writer tells the story mainly in view of the victims who survived this creep. If you read the pain and torture + everything else he put them through,unbelievable! I like this book cause it has so many details, for example all the stories of the people who survived, their family, the family of the victims, how the cops worked and how he finally was caught. Mister King is a great True crime writer.

Advance praise for BUTCHER and Gary C. King:

"Using the most intimate of facts, King draws readers as far inside the mind of murderers as rational, moral people can go--the rest of the journey, thank the gods, is beyond our knowing. King's talent and faithful service does honor to the dogged truthseekers who finally bring justice for those whose lives were stolen." Noreen Ayres, author of the Smokey Brandon mystery series.

"A page-turner for true crime fans." Vincent Bugliosi, author of HELTER SKELTER and THE PROSECUTION OF GEORGE W. BUSH FOR MURDER.

"Gary C. King is one of the best true crime writers on the scene today." R. Barri Flowers, Author of THE SEX SLAVE MURDERS.

"You will never want to walk alone again after reading this book." Dr. Maurice Godwin, Criminal Psychologist and Author.

“In a serial murder case almost too ghastly to comprehend, skilled true crime researcher (and writer) Gary C. King leads the reader deep into a world of unimaginable depravity, to meet a savage killer unlike any before him, who literally fed on dozens of helpless young women—whose defiled bodies then simply…disappeared. This book will jolt you…a page-turner.” Clark Howard, author of City Blood and Love's Blood.

Amazon.com Customer/​​Reader Review:

Inside the Mind of a Monster, August 29, 2009
By Lauri C. Coates (MASCOUTAH, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Count me among the many fans of Gary C. King. As an author, he meticulously researches the crimes he covers. I know that when I pick up one of his books, I will read more details than I will get anywhere else about the story. If you are a true crime junkie like me, you want to understand what the killer was thinking, and what makes him or her behave the way they do. Not that knowing the background of the killer gives him any excuse, of course; but as a student of psychology, I find it truly fascinating.

At any given time in the country, it is believed that there are numerous serial killers at work, many unknown, their crimes yet connected or possibly discovered. The tale of "Butcher" illustrates this point well. The crimes had been occuring for years, and while police felt sure that they were connected, it took quite a while for it all to come together.

King makes a point of including much information about the actual court case, photos, transcripts, etc. I feel that I have personally been in court for the cases he covers, and I can always count on one of his books to be the most thorough and detailed for information on the crime. I heartily recommend you add him to your must read list if you appreciate detail and in depth study of the criminal mind, law enforcement techniques, and victimology.