The Terrifying True Story of Cross-Country Killer Tommy Lynn Sells

Ten-Year-Old Krystal Surles Watched In Horror As Her Best Friend Was Murdered At The Hands Of An Intruder.

Through extensive interviews with law enforcement personnel, prosecuting attorneys, the victims family and Tommy Lynn Sells (another serial killer with 3 names, it’s a pattern) Diane Fanning has recreated a life of crime and details the bravery of one little 10-year old, who even when doctor’s were saving her life insisted on talking to police, her goal was justice for her friend.

This is a compelling read and Dianne Fanning’s writing keeps you interested until the last page, she sticks to the facts, always telling when something has or hasn’t been able to be verified.

For readers of True Crime, I recommend this book. ( )

This is a scary book because it's true. Tommy Lynn Sells kills because he gets mad. If he thinks someone was disrespectful, he kills them and leaves no witnesses, except one. 10-year-old Krystal Surales. He slit her throat in her bed after she watched him kill her friend in their bedroom. She laid in bed until she was sure he was gone and then walked a 1/4 mile with her windpipe severed to a neighbor's house and got help, but she didn't stop there; she was able to give a description which led to Sells' arrest and then testified against him which landed him on death row in Texas.

The book chronicles his years of murdering across the country. Sells' would break into a home and kill the occupants. More often than not, they didn't know him. He didn't break in to steal, he did it to kill.

What's even scarier is the fact that there are so many serial killers roaming across the country. Like Sells' they've honed their skills to the point they don't get caught. Sells' would still be out there if it wasn't for Krystal. He left no prints, no DNA - meticulously cleaning up his crime scene.

The book was interesting until the end. The trial portion of the book dragged and I found myself skimming over parts of it.

By the end, I felt the author wasn't being objective, but then how could she, having spent so much time with Sells'? It was obvious that she doesn't support the death penalty. During the trial, a psychologist basically said Sells' couldn't help himself due to his past abuse, and the fact that he had borderline personality disorder and because of that he couldn't help himself.

Fanning also included a letter from Sells' one in which he said people lied about him. He rambles on and on and makes a lot of racial slurs. I'm not sure that was necessary in the book and didn't add anything in my opinion.

The first 3/4 of the book was good, the last 1/4 I could've skipped. ( )

Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful. So poorly written and dull that I couldn't even finish it. I will not buy another book by this author again regardless of subject. ( )