In 1989, Ramirez was convicted of thirteen counts of murder, five attempted murders, eleven sexual assaults, and fourteen burglaries. Ramirez also enjoyed frequently degrading and humiliating his victims, especially those who survived his attacks or whom he explicitly decided not to kill, by forcing them to profess that they loved Satan, or telling them to "swear on Satan" if there were no more valuables left in their homes he had broken into and burglarized. He punched, pistol whipped, and strangled many of his victims, both with his hands and in one instance a ligature stomped at least one victim to death in her sleep, and tortured another victim by shocking her with a live electrical cord. Ramirez used a wide variety of weapons and different murder methods, including handguns, various types of knives, a machete, a tire iron, and a claw hammer. However, his first known murder occurred as early as April 1984 this crime was not connected to Ramirez, nor was it known to be his doing, until 2009. Ramirez's highly publicized home invasion and murder spree terrorized the residents of the Greater Los Angeles area and later the San Francisco Bay Area over the course of fourteen months.
Ramirez would often commit burglaries to support his drug addiction, many of which were later frequently accompanied by murders, attempted murders, rapes, and assaults. By the time he had left his home in Texas and moved to California at the age of 22, he had begun frequently using cocaine. Ramirez also cultivated a strong interest in Satanism and the occult. Abused by his father, Ramirez began developing gruesome, macabre interests in his early and mid-teens from his older cousin, Miguel ("Mike") Ramirez, who allegedly also taught him some of the military skills that he would go on to use during his year-long killing spree. Ramirez's childhood is considered an influence on his crimes. He died in 2013 while awaiting execution. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1989.
Larsson’s story takes classic mystery tropes - family feud, blackmailing sequences - and spices them up with additional developments in the protagonists’ personal lives.Ricardo " Richard" Leyva Muñoz Ramirez ( / r ə ˈ m ɪər ɛ z/ Febru– June 7, 2013), dubbed Night Stalker, Valley Intruder (as his attacks were first clustered in the San Gabriel Valley), and Walk-in Killer was an American serial killer whose crime spree took place in California between June 1984 and August 1985. Blomkvist is invited to stay over at the wealthy family’s island, where he comes into contact with other family members who were present at the scene years ago, and begins to wonder if any of them were involved.Īs Blomkvist decodes the copious amount of decades-old notes and newspaper clippings, he slowly fills in the missing pieces of the puzzle about this dysfunctional family. Following two separate strings of events, the characters eventually find themselves both trying to find the person who, forty years ago, supposedly killed Harriet Vanger - niece of one of the wealthiest men in Sweden.
WESTERN LOUISIANA SERIAL KILLER MIXED RACE SERIES
The first book of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series introduces us to journalist Mikael Blomkvist and freelance hacker Lisbeth Salander. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is no exception. It appears a mark of a good mystery book is that it has been made into a movie. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the number of great mystery books to read, you can also take our 30-second quiz below to narrow it down quickly and get a personalized mystery book recommendation ? From true crime books to espionage odysseys (of course, including whodunnit riddles) here are the 30 best mystery books that you cannot miss out on if you’re looking for twisted stories to keep you on the edge of your seat. Arguably, the best feeling when reading a crime novel is being faced with a sufficiently difficult puzzle and yet still being able to jump up and shout “I knew it!” when the final reveal comes around.Ī good murder case will always rank high on a list of mystery novels, but other stories also have their merits. The best mystery books are those with ingenious sprinklings of clues along the way that brings out the inner detective in you. When you flip open a mystery novel, what do you expect? Probably a thrilling tale that keeps you wondering who the culprit was.