In the Name of the Children: An FBI Agent's Relentless Pursuit of the Nation's Worst Predators
Written by Jeffrey L. Rinek and Marilee Strong
Narrated by P.J. Ochlan
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
FBI Special Agent Jeff Rinek had a gift for getting child predators to confess. All he had to do was share a piece of his soul . . .
In the Name of the Children gives an unflinching look at what it's like to fight a never-ending battle against an enemy far more insidious than terrorists: the predators, lurking amongst us, who seek to harm our children.
During his 30-year career with the FBI, Jeff Rinek worked hundreds of investigations involving crimes against children: from stranger abduction to serial homicide to ritualized sexual abuse. Those who do this kind of work are required to plumb the depths of human depravity, to see things no one should ever have to see―and once seen can never forget. There is no more important―or more brutal―job in law enforcement, and few have been more successful than Rinek at solving these sort of cases.
Most famously, Rinek got Cary Stayner to confess to all four of the killings known as the Yosemite Park Murders, an accomplishment made more extraordinary by the fact that the FBI nearly pinned the crimes on the wrong suspects. Rinek's recounting of the confession and what he learned about Stayner provides perhaps the most revelatory look ever inside the psyche of a serial killer and a privileged glimpse into the art of interrogation.
In the Name of the Children takes readers into the trenches of real-time investigations where every second counts and any wrong decision or overlooked fact can have tragic repercussions. Rinek offers an insider's perspective of the actual case agents and street detectives who are the boots on the ground in this war at home. By placing us inside the heart and mind of a rigorously honest and remarkably self-reflective investigator, we will see with our own eyes what it takes―and what it costs―to try to keep our children safe and to bring to justice those who prey on society's most vulnerable victims.
With each chapter dedicated to a real case he worked, In the Name of the Children also explores the evolution of Rinek as a Special Agent―whose unorthodox, empathy-based approach to interviewing suspects made him extraordinarily successful in obtaining confessions―and the toll it took to have such intimate contact with child molesters and murderers. Beyond exploring the devastating impact of these unthinkable crimes on the victims and their families, this book offers an unprecedented look at how investigators and their loved ones cope while living in the specter of so much suffering.
Jeffrey L. Rinek
Jeffey Rinek served 30 years as a Special Agent with the FBI primarily investigating cases of missing and murdered children and is internationally renowned for obtaining a surprise confession from serial killer Cary Stayner to the brutal slayings of four women and girls known as the Yosemite Park Murders. In theSacramento office of the FBI, he was responsible for assisting police and sheriff's departments throughout Northern California in active and cold-case investigations involving missing children, child kidnappings, and the abuse, exploitation, and murder of children. He also served as a certified profiler for the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. In 2003 he was named Investigator of the Year by the California Sexual Assault Investigators Association and in 2006 received an Award for Excellence from the International Homicide Investigators Association. He was the Sacramento division case agent in 1993 overseeing theinvestigation that would come to be known as the Unabomber case. He has also worked for the FBI in theareas of white-collar crime, foreign counter-intelligence, and organized crime, served on the Bureau's swat team, and as a co-pilot in its aviation force. He and his work have been featured on numerous TV documentary crime shows including A&E's American Justice, TruTV's Crime Stories, and Investigation Discovery's Real Detective.
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Reviews for In the Name of the Children
241 ratings32 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting story. A lot of it was regarding the agents personal life and the way he processed the trauma of the cases he worked. I found the actual case work more interesting. I also did not care for the narrator. He sounded like a computer and it often sounded over dramatized, which IMO wasn’t necessary since he was describing the most dramatic incidents that could ever happen to anyone.
4 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A profound and deeply touching account of a life committed to saving even the tiniest speckle of light still burning in a human soul and transcending it into a fire to warm our wounded hearts. Jeffrey Rinek is my personal hero!
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Well written. The first couple of chapters are more of an autobiography, put in to give background and context. He provides a lot of detail about his own childhood and pursuits in becoming an FBI Special Agent. Unfortunately, this also seems to distract a little from the overall narrative of the book. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I was really interested to read about the investigations and how he handled them, so the first couple of chapters were more of a hurdle than something that truly gripped my full attention.
Overall though, it’s an awesome book (in a very dark and sad way). No real happy endings, but he always tries to find some bits of positivity, even in the grimmest of cases.2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book, can't imagine the trauma endured by all the FBI agents, victims and their families.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent book, I wish he had written more. An FBI agent that truly cares, the cases aren't just numbers for him.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fascinating book and a must read for true crime fans. Great insight given in to the minds of killers. Very moving account of how the investigations can effect the FBI personnel involved, extremely sad in parts. I enjoyed this book a lot, I definitely won't forget it.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was written from the heart and I was enthralled by it!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Over an hour in and there's really no true crime. Basically a random person's life/career story.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Riveting and at the same time scary and heartbreaking! Very detailed.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What a phenomenal book. I would say it’s worth it from beginning to end . Not a dull moment .
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Really interesting, and well narrated. Wish it is a fiction.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book. Good stories from an FBI agent. Very good.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent book. A must read! I hope he writes another.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I’ve cried!!! It was amazing!!! Thank you so much!!! So true
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I’m sure the book is good, but I simply cannot listen to this narrator! It’s like listening to a medical documentary instead of a book ?
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was sobering to listen to how Jeff's commitment to his work affected him and his family.And how some people in an organidation are not supportive of an agent when he is successful in his role.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5(Audiobook) The narrator sounds a little more advanced than a standard computer voice. I could not make it past chapter one, and I am not usually fussy about narrators. It may not bother someone else, I wish it didn’t bother me as I think the book has so much to offer.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Absolutely loved it. His experiences as an FBI agent are horrifying, but the devotion to his work throughout his career (despite jealous colleagues) is truly remarkable.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quality writing with in-depth view behind the sunglasses and into the heart of an agent who has seen too much pain. Would give it 5 stars except the narration is so flat and bland it cannot begin to do justice to the story.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This was very hard to listen to. If the author is so haunted by what he’s seen on the job, why did he write a book and share the horrific stories?! Tell your therapist, not write a book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I think this is my favourite true crime book I’ve read… one where it isn’t all about the author and their accomplishments but about the victims, and the authors family.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extremely well written. Sometimes hard to listen to, this is a great account of an accomplished man in an seemingly impossible job. I really enjoyed this book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book! And I believe brave of him to write. Kelly Izell's review, I must say, is dense. Writing is a therapeutic tool and for him to share his personal experience is admirable and not to mention much needed in our world. Shining light on this darkness is NEEDED. Looking away ( or keeping to yourself, only to share in therapy )and pretending children aren't being horribly hurt by these predators doesn't make the problem go away.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The emotional ups and downs I felt as I followed this man through his experiences made me reach out to the Detective who rescued myself and thank him all over again, 47 years later.
Thank you...for sharing these children's stories.5 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This guy was tortured by his profession and it’s amazing he made it through to retirement. He’s a great story teller. Tough subject matter. I enjoyed his efforts to help people.
Great man. Flawed just like all of us.2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As riveting as it is disturbing. It is hard to give this too high a rating simply because of the subject, readers deserve credit just for making it all the way to the end.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book is not for the faint of heart. It is dark and disturbing because it is true. Many times I wanted to put it down and move on to a happier story but I couldn’t seem to stop listening. It will give you a new respect for law-enforcement and what they go through
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is incredible. It is hard to hear at certain parts but it’s worth it. It really gives you a respect for the people who go into law enforcement to help.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I’d give this book five stars but, it’s really depressing and emotionally draining. I like true crime but whoa.
The author is an incredible person and what he went through would kill most people.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If you like true crime novels, especially those in the same vein as John Douglas' (Mindhunter), then you will enjoy Rinek's In the Name of the Children. Although perhaps enjoy is the wrong word. Rinek takes you deep into his world as an FBI agent who specializes in crimes against children. It's dark and gruesome yet also oddly fascinating. Rinek was relentless in his pursuit of justice and it shows in the cases he highlights here. Nothing is more disturbing and heartbreaking than when harm comes to a child and this book looks at these cases and brings to light not only these tragedies but the men and women who fight for justice and bring hope that maybe one day this won't happen anymore.