A chilling journey into the life and mind of charming and persuasive predator and serial killer Christopher Wilder, who murdered on two continents and evaded capture for over twenty years
Christopher Wilder was about as bad as they get. A serial killer and predator, he first came to the attention of police in Sydney when as a teenager in 1963 he was charged with rape. As a young adult he relocated to Florida, USA.
Wilder plied his vile and deadly trade on two continents and did so undetected for more than twenty years. He was a chameleon and a predator with a modus operandi refined over the decades, luring young teenage girls with the promise of a career as a photographic model. His final flourish was a six-week spree of abduction, sexual assault and murder crisscrossing the USA and earning him the top spot on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.
Wilder could have been stopped a few times in his evil career - but he wasn't. In addition to his many crimes in the US, he is now also a prime suspect for the infamous Wanda Beach murders - one of Australia's most notorious unsolved crimes. The Snapshot Killer explores how a monster was able to hide in plain sight and tells the tragic story of the many victims - at least twelve, but likely more - whose lives Wilder destroyed, with consequences that continue to resonate to this day.
Copy received for an honest review
I was only a small child when all of this happened, but it is something that has been in news over the years, especially with regards to the unsolved Wanda Beach murders.
This book is completely fascinating, yet completely horrifying in that a man, doing what he was doing, got away with it so many times. So many time he was within the grasp of police, and so many times he walked away to do it again.
I would like to think that in this day and age, with social media and insta-everything that this would not happen again, although we know it still does.
Mr McNab had me intrigued and engrossed in this story right away. I know someone who knew one of the girls who was murdered at Wanda Beach, and thy have mentioned on more than one occasion Christopher Wilder and how he got away with it.
Being that Mr McNab is a former police detective, the writing can sometimes come across quite dry, however that didn't bother me. I was so interested in the story itself.
I closed this book, thinking of those who survived, heart hurting for the family of those who were never found.
I am now keen to continue my true crime binge.
Duncan McNab is a former police detective, private investigator, investigative journalist and media adviser to government and the private sector. He is the author of over seven books, including the phenomenally bestselling DEAD MAN RUNNING (with Ross Coulthart), OUTLAW BIKERS IN AUSTRALIA and WATERFRONT. Duncan was a producer on the Kennedy and Clarion award-winning MURDER UNCOVERED series (7 network) in 2017. In 2017 his book GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER won the Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime. In the same year his bestselling book on discraced former detective and convicted murdered ROGER ROGERSON was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime.