In the heart of Indianapolis in the mid 1960's, through a twist of fate and fortune, a pretty young girl came to live with a thirty-seven-year-old mother and her seven children. What began as a temporary childcare arrangement between Sylvia Likens' parents and Gertrude Baniszewski turned into a crime that would haunt cops, prosecutors, and a community for decades to come...When police found Sylvia's emaciated body, with a chilling message carved into her flesh, they knew that she had suffered tremendously before her death. Soon they would learn how many others-including some of Baniszewski's own children-participated in Sylvia's murder, and just how much torture had been inflicted in one "House Of Evil".
This case is a devastating reminder of how manipulative and powerful a parental figure can be on our youth. It's also a sad reality of how often society (as a whole and in part) fail to protect those who need it the most. This book however, doesn't do this case justice. The author's writing is sporadic, dry, even confusing at times. It lacks any kind of emotion to the events in which the author describes, leaving much to be desired. It's bad enough when the case itself is a sad one, but even more heartbreaking for the victim when the book feels just as detached and empty as the abusers themselves. I feel that the author failed to humanize the victim, and for that, I cannot recommend this author's book for this particular case.
