Caveat Lector
Review by Kim Cantrell
Randy Kraft was, by all appearances, your average ordinary Joe. He was neat, gainfully employed, and in a relationship.
A an openly homosexual relationship.
In the 1970s and 80s. Before being gay was okay.
But that wouldn’t be the thing Kraft was best remembered for.
Not by a long shot.
While his homosexual lifestyle wasn’t closeted, the demon within Kraft that picked up hitchhikers along the freeways was known only to his victims.
A suspected total of 65 of them.
Having read true crime for over two decades now, I hate to admit the number of victims’ a serial killer tallies up isn’t so shocking anymore.
Disgusting. Disparanging. But not shocking.
And while that held true for Dennis McDougal’s book Angel of Darkness about Kraft’s crimes, there were still plenty of pages where I felt my stomach churning.
McDougal doesn’t sugar coat ANYTHING in this book. His recounting of the crimes are about as straight-forward as anything I’ve ever read.
Gruesome. Detailed. Vivid. Brutal.
A style that I have a love/hate relationship with. I love the truth but, to steal a famous movie line, I can’t handle [that much] truth.
One downside to McDougal’s writing style is that he tends to jump around, often backtracking which creates a bit of confusion.
Overall, however, I found it to be a very interesting, if difficult, read. I highly recommend adding Angel of Darkness to the TOP of your true crime reading list.
Updates on Randy Kraft:
Randy Kraft still sits on death row awaiting execution, but no date has been set at present as he continues his appeal process.
