Ace In The Hole

I am a true crime fanatic and thought I had heard of most of these wild serial killer type stories. Turns out I haven’t. This was well written and really played into the story and the people that were apart of it.

Interesting take on a important part of true crime history. Going into it I knew a little bit beforehand but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Okay i went into this kind of skeptical but boy was I wrong. You can tell that Oj Modjeska did their research when this book was written. This book was really well done, I was hooked from page one this is what a true crime book should be. I want to thank the author and netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

This was a fascinating expansion on a mention of a woman in a book about the Hillside murders. Her name is Veronica Compton and her story is quite bizarre. I knew of the incident, but never knew the details before. So I found this novella very enlightening.

While I've learned a lot about Ken Bianchi and the Hillside Stranglers over the years from TV, movies and books, I had never heard anything about this chapter before. And it was a very interesting chapter about a woman who fell for Bianchi, and apparently eventually another serial killer. At times there seems to be a few too many superfluous details to lengthen the book, but overall it was a fascinating read.

A huge thanks to Netgalley for the Arc.

In order to gain insight into the mind of a murderer, a glitzy and brilliant Hollywood actress and screenwriter reaches one of America's most infamously imprisoned serial killers. She conducted an interview him as part of her study for her new play, hoping to shine a spotlight on his celebrity. She aspires to write the next Cinematic horror hit, but her schemes go haywire when she underestimates the individual's persuasion and conniving charms behind bars. As he puts her reverence to the ultimate test, love shifts to madness... and entices her to perform the map of her theatre in real life

The fact that this is a true crime story makes the overall readings even more chilling and traumatising. Wicked, disturbing and horrifying. Author did a marvellous job depicting each character's values and personality, while messing with the readers' mind whether to trust them or not. In truth, we can never know the true intention of a person. Despite rooting for the innocent, there is no innocent for those who commit crime in the eyes of the law. In my opinion, there is more that meets the eye regarding this Veronica person. I was actually sympathies with her, as she was being manipulated by Ken, but sometimes one must be held responsible to the wrongs they did especially under the influence of unregistered medication. There is no remorse when it comes to serial killers. They don't really have a heart i guess.

I want to applaud the author for her splendid writings as it successfully gripped me from beginning to the end. I wasn't a fan of true crime before, but OJ Modjeska changes that for me.

When Veronica Compton wrote Anthony Bianchi a letter she claimed she wanted to write a screenplay about a female serial killer but it seems she may have had ulterior motives because soon after she claimed to be in love with the serial killer and would go above and beyond to prove her devotion. The model/screen writer was at the very least a mover in the shaker and at the most the desire of the men who knew her but eventually she would only have eyes for Bianchi Author OJ Modjeska has written a detailed account of the relationship and it’s eventual untangling. I thought he did a superb job and read this all in one sitting. It’s definitely a book any True Crime fan should have in the library especially those who found the Hillside stranglers interesting. Just an FYI the author also wrote a detailed book about the two serial killers Anthony Bianchi and his cousin who he worship also. I found the details about Veronica‘s life very interesting I also found it interesting that she didn’t want to call what she had habristophilia, even though she had a classic case of being in love with the serial killer. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes True Crime or at the very least the things that lead to it. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

A Classic Case Of Habristophilia
This book is based on real events that took place in Los Angeles, California and Washington state in the late seventies and early eighties. At the centre of the story are two very strange individuals who fell into a romance.
The book is an interesting read about Hollywood actress Veronica Compton. Heather gets involved with Ken Bianchi the Hillside Strangle. who raped, tortured, and strangled to death ten women in Los Angeles between October 1977 and February 1978.
The Author OJ Modjeska has done an excellent job depicting each character's personality and values. Without giving too much away Heather writes to Bianchi saying that she is researching a play and would like to interview him. Very quickly after meeting him she ends up being tied up in a plot to commit a copycat murder to try and clear Bianchi of the murders he has committed. They both believe by tricking the authorities that the real killer is still out in the community on the loose and Bianchi will be let loose.
I found it was a fascinating read as I have read a few books on the Hillside stranglers, but I did not know much about Veronica Compton . Who sends a photograph after swimming in her nightgown to a known serial killer. I find Heather to clearly have habristophilia and she has a classic case of being in love with a serial killer.
Compton is a very dangerous woman who has no remorse and draws people into her madness. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes True Crime. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

As a lover of true crime I found this chapter to be incredibly fascinating. I learnt a lot more about one of the Hillside Stranglers than I initially knew. It was interesting to read about the relationship between Veronica and Ken, they both had their own agendas entering into their relationship but where Ken was only using Veronica to try to get himself out of prison, Veronica who started out communicating with Ken for research purposes ended up falling in love with him. To the point where she ended up in prison herself.

This definitely brought a new layer to the already widely known Hillside Stranglers case and I really enjoyed learning more about it.

I am a huge true crime fan and this novella was perfect for me. I had never heard of this romance prior to this book so it was very fascinating to read. I tore through this very quickly. I would definitely like to read more true crime books from this author.
I just reviewed Ace In The Hole by OJ Modjeska. #AceInTheHole #NetGalley
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I find it intriguing how women can fall head over heals for those the rest find only disgust. How can someone love, follow and sometimes marry another that has done such horrific acts against others. If you like true crime stories then this is one to read.

Interesting and engaging novella about Veronica Compton, the "ace in the hole" of Hillside Strangler Kenneth Bianchi. Her habits, her goals and the manipulation that happened at the hands of Bianchi make up the first 3/4 of the book, with the last 1/4 devoted to her activities in jail, the various trials she took part in, and her parole.

Overall, an interesting look at a real woman who let her fascination with a killer morph into something dangerous. Thank you to Netgalley for the arc. This is a voluntary review, and all opinions are my own.