Charmer by Jack Olsen (November 1995)

Ladies’ Man.  Lady killer.
Review by Kim Cantrell

George Waterfield Russell, Jr. may have been African-American but he never seemed to notice.

A charismatic person, Russell was popular with the Island’s youth even after his childhood had long passed him by.

Russell was perceived by most of his peers and Island officers to be a harmless individual with a penchant for petty thievery.

Then women started dying.

Brutally murdered and posed in offensive, humilating poses, even veteran police officers were stunned by the scenes.

The women all had one thing in common:  George Russell.

Although it would take several months for police to make the connection.

Jack Olsen follows the story of George Russell in his 1995 true crime book Charmer.

While I’ve long been an admirer of Olsen, and many times proclaimed him to be a master of true crime, I am disappointed to say that Charmer, while interesting, just didn’t match up to his other books.

Much of the story is told from a multitude of contributers’ first person point of view, and the background is a bit too sketchy; not typical of Olsen’s style.

I’m still going to recommend Charmer, however, because…well…it IS Jack Olsen, after all.  You’re guaranteed an interesting story, just don’t expect the mega quality found in his other books.

Updates:

At present, George Russell continues to serve his sentence as a guest of Clallam Bay Corrections Center, being prisoner number 290588.

Wonzel Mobley continues to practice dentistry in Seattle, Washington.

Kris Mobley remains active in the Mercer Island community. She is now a grandmother.

Erika Mobley now works in international copyright law, being a leader in licensing and business development for Apple’s App Store.