My Review and Thoughts:
This is a case I have been following since the start. I
remember when the breaking news report of a missing Alabama school girl on
vacation with her senior class broke into my TV program I was watching back in
2005. Natalee Holloway became a house hold name and the mysterious young and
handsome playboy Joran became somewhat of the mythical boogeyman.
“Standing six feet four, with a pale complexion, angular
features, and piercing brown eyes, the twenty-two-year-old cut a striking
image…. Joran Andreas Petrus van der Sloot was born August 6th, 1987.…Chain
smoking, unshaven, and quiet, the brown-haired guest in Room 309 was a night
owl and a loner.” --Page 2
This was a case and still is a case of many made-up stories
of how this young girl vanished off the face of the earth. After much legal
mumbo jumbo Joran who being held in an Aruba holding cell was let go and
forever became the one who seemed to got away. No evidence convicts him, yet
the public and law system, believes he did kill Natalee Holloway. He went free
and then another truly haunting and tragic crime occurred by this young downward
spiraling man. Another woman goes missing and ends up being found murdered in
Joran’s motel room. This time the evidence seemed a closed case, the camera
does not lie, two entered the room and only one came out.
“But the Dutchman’s charm was almost hypnotic.” --Page 27
This is a fascinating and truly offal story. Two women,
murdered, one young man, the devil in sheep’s clothing haunting the world and
his prey. The new modern Ted Bundy. Slick, handsome, the jock playboy next
door. I believe he is a serial killer and there are many more victims then we
know about. This is an amazing researched and well-developed book of knowledge
on this case.
“His impassive brown eyes could be so utterly sincere that
it was almost impossible to believe he was not telling the truth.” --Page 30
“Joran had an insatiable sexual appetite and was often out
on the prowl.” --Page 31
This book is a massive research tool, there is a lot of
information on all the aspects of the cases. You need to look no further than
this book. It’s an unfolding of what seems like a never-ending story of
secrets, lies, mystery, blood and most of all murder.
What is amazing about this book is it gives you all the
inside scoop. The leading up moments and the hidden moments not talked about
before the ordeals. The news only focuses on the incident after it happens,
this book gives you detailed information on who each person was and how they
are involved. You get to know the past, along with the present incident.
“He seemed like a normal teenager, one of them.” ---Page 36
The only real flaw I have with the book is it repeats a lot
of the Natalee Holloway mystery and disappearance which is fine if you don’t
know the situation, but if you know the ordeal like I do it tends to be a
little repeat action because there are countless other media, books, papers and
articles on the subject. I show no disrespect to Holloway’s family because what
happened is heart breaking, and Natalee deserves to be remembered, and a lesson
should be learned from the incident, but the subject has been hammered into the
minds of the public repeatedly to the point you blur it out, and so with this
book the repeating of the same thing that everyone or at least most everyone
knows can be a little yawning, yet still is great to get that recap reality of
the whole story.
The main highpoint to the book is the murder case and
information of Stephany Flores which is the latest mystery involved in the
Joran Van der Sloot Saga. This gives you all the info, from the murder
depiction and the reactions of the family. This book stands out as being a
truly great crime piece of pure knowledge, and research that any person wanting
to know everything about Joran van der Sloot, and his criminal actions needs to
look no further than this tour-de-force of excellent reporting.
The brutal nature of how Stephany was murdered is detailed
as the autopsy is discussed. The sadistic reality of this act by Joran upon
this innocent woman is truly an eye-opening experience. To learn the pain and
suffering she must have went through is heart breaking to lay there and slowly
die in unimaginable pain is downright evil.
One can only speculate the rage and pain and horror he
showed to Natalee that fateful night in 2005. I have always wondered about one
reality to the Natalee ordeal and that is Joran stated he left his shoes behind
on the beach, which his shoes have never been seen again, even after a
hundred-thousand-dollar reward was offered for any evidence found. This was
about going under the theory, that he did leave his shoes, and that someone
else took them, because they thought someone had just left them.
I personally believe that Joran kicked Natalee to death in a
fit of rage. Kicking her face and head with his shoed feet, and that is why he
had to get rid of the shoes because they contained his crime. I believe she
refused his sexual advances, no one refuses Joran, and Joran always gets what
he wants. He raped her, and then in rage and panic, he murdered her. I believe
he called his friends, and in a panic after trying to figure out what to do,
they called Joran dad’s Paulas, and he helped them cover up the crime. I believe
this is a case that will never be solved unless Joran for once in his life
comes forward, and really tells the truth and pinpoints where Natalee’s body
is, but until that day it will be just another unsolved mystery.
This is a great book to read, I highly recommend it. This is
a thought provoking and well researched and developed book. It is one that
truly stands out as being a perfect crime book that answers all the questions
during and after the ordeals involving Joran. This truly is a Portrait of a
Monster.