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DANGEROUS ATTRACTIONS
by Robert Scott
Pinnacle Books, May 2003
255 pages
$6.50
ISBN: 0786015144


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

The punishment for immaturity, stupid decisions and a feeling of immortality should never be sexual assault and death. In spite of being smart, pretty, coming from a loving family some kids are drawn to danger. Katrina Montgomery was one of these kids; when she was a teen she had started to run with a group of Neo-Nazis.

At 20 Justin Merriman, one of the skinheads with whom she ran, he was already a seasoned criminal with jail time behind him; he was mean and brutal; he enjoyed inflicting pain. During one of his prison terms Katrina and Justin corresponded, and the correspondence became sexually explicit. After he was released from jail the attraction waxed and waned but never turned into a relationship, in spite of Justin's expectations. One Thanksgiving night, after an evening of hard drinking and partying, Katrina went to Justin's home; this in spite of the fact that she knew he was angry with her. He had already threatened her at the party. There she was brutally raped for an entire night (in front of two mutual friends) and then murdered. Her body was never found.

For six more years Merriman continued on as a career criminal and a serial rapist, terrorizing vulnerable female  victims who didn't have the means to escape from his constant brutality. Finally, through his own poor judgment he was arrested for another crime and that brought authorities attention back to Katrina's very cold case.

In this book author Robert Scott introduces us to the victim, her friends, her family, and her killer. Scott follows the detectives as they doggedly investigate this case until they are sure that when they arrest him the case would definitely go to trial.

I have read a number of novels and true crime stories about serial killers, those who mutilate and torture, but I don't think I have ever read about a person as cruel and evil as Justin Merriman. It was hard to read about this man's excesses, but at the same time this book was so skillfully written that there was an equal need to keep reading until I knew exactly what he had done, and how he was finally brought to justice. This author has the ability to tell a true story with compassion and taste while grabbing and keeping the reader's attention.

Reviewed by Martha Hopkins, July 2003

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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