True Crime Review by Chris Bunton
“Survived By One” is written by Dr. Robert E. Hanlon and Thomas Odle. It is a nonfiction true crime book.
It tells of the murder of the Odle family in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, in 1985. They were killed by the oldest son; Thomas, who is one of the authors of the book.
In the book, Tom gives us the mindset of the killer from his own perspective. He tells about how things grew from when he was young to when he killed. Tom tells us what he was thinking and what happened inside the house that day in November.
All of this is interspersed with facts from Dr. Hanlon.
It is a good nonfiction book if you are used to reading nonfiction. It has value in criminology, in that it is written by the killer and gives insight into familicide by Dr. Hanlon.
The book gives a history on the death penalty, the moratorium and the commutation of sentences in Illinois.
Tom gives his personal experiences on death row, before his sentence was commuted and the moratorium. He talks about being locked up with John Wayne Gacy and others. He gives insight into getting to know these killers, then watching them being taken to be put to death.
He tells us about how he had women wanting to date him after the murders, and speaks of his life in prison as an inmate.
The book is a must have in any true crime library. It was used as a source for my true crime article on the murder.
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Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.
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