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    Serpentine
    Serpentine
    Serpentine
    Audiobook24 hours

    Serpentine

    Written by Thomas Thompson

    Narrated by Mike Chamberlain

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    There was no pattern to the murders, no common thread other than the fact that the victims were all vacationers, robbed of their possessions and slain in seemingly random crimes. Authorities across three continents and a dozen nations had no idea they were all looking for same man: Charles Sobhraj, a.k.a. "The Serpent."

    A handsome Frenchman of Vietnamese and Indian origin, Sobhraj targeted backpackers on the "hippie trail" between Europe and South Asia. A master of deception, he used his powerful intellect and considerable sex appeal to lure naïve travelers into a life of crime. When they threatened to turn on him, Sobhraj murdered his acolytes in cold blood. Between late 1975 and early 1976, a dozen corpses were found everywhere from the boulevards of Paris to the slopes of the Himalayas to the back alleys of Bangkok and Hong Kong. Some police experts believe the true number of Sobhraj's victims may be more than twice that amount.

    Serpentine is the "grotesque, baffling, and hypnotic" true story of one of the most bizarre killing sprees in modern history (San Francisco Chronicle). Edgar Award-winning author Thomas Thompson's mesmerizing portrait of a notorious sociopath and his helpless prey "unravels like fiction, but afterwards haunts the reader like the document it is" (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland).
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateAug 21, 2018
    ISBN9781977376633
    Serpentine
    Author

    Thomas Thompson

    Thomas Thompson (1933–1982) was a bestselling author and one of the finest investigative journalists of his era. Born in Forth Worth, Texas, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and began his career at the Houston Press. He joined Life as an editor and staff writer in 1961 and covered many major news stories for the magazine, including the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As Paris bureau chief, Thompson reported on the Six-Day War and was held captive by the Egyptian government along with other Western journalists. His first two books—Hearts (1971), about the rivalry between two famous Houston cardiovascular surgeons, and Richie (1973), the account of a Long Island father who killed his drug-addicted son—established Thompson’s reputation as an originator, along with Truman Capote, of the “nonfiction novel.” In 1976, Thompson published Blood and Money, an investigation into the deaths of Texas socialite Joan Robinson Hill and her husband, John Hill. It sold four million copies in fourteen languages and won the Edgar Award and the Texas Institute of Letters prize for best nonfiction book. To research Serpentine (1979), an account of convicted international serial killer Charles Sobhraj, Thompson flew around the world three times and spent two years in Asia. His other books include Lost! (1975), a true story of shipwreck and survival, and the novel Celebrity (1982), a six-month national bestseller. Among numerous other honors, Thompson received the National Headliner Award for investigative reporting and the Sigma Delta Chi medallion for distinguished magazine writing.  

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    Reviews for Serpentine

    4.5/5

    66 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The book goes into great detail about the protagonists life and story of his crimes. It starts Loba built and it was worth a listen.
    • 4/5
      After watching the mini series on Netflix, I had to read this. Filled in a lot of the details and the background of the characters. The ending suddenly dropped off and left more to be desired. An updated ending where it includes Charles’s exit out of the Indian prison and then capture in Nepal is needed. Otherwise great book.
    • 5/5
      After watching Netflix/BBC the Serpent this book fills in all the missing details. Long but very good. A little boring in the end with trial but the rest of book so good it was still 5 stars!
    • 5/5
      This is the best book on Charles Sobhraj - at least, this is the best book that I have read. Thomas Thompson has written a gripping tale, and what I admire, is that he wove the stories of some of the victims into the narrative. And he did this masterfully. He started the book with the story of Charles' parents and described the circumstances of his youth. From this, it is easy enough to understand the trauma that shaped Charles. Then, you move on to his continuing criminal career and end with the drama of his trial. Sadly, Thomas Thompson died in 1982, else I am sure that he would have continued the story with an update. This is a brilliant book.
    • 5/5
      Thomas Thompson brilliantly dissects the festering evil that is Charles Sobhraj in 1979's "Serpentine." This twisted tale winds across continents, through hideous murders and countless shocking crimes and arrives at clear-eyed conclusions about the nature of evil. Thompson's thorough research and compelling narrative of the life of the man known as "The Serpent" equal a tale minus the subtle glorification or sympathy so often found in similar accounts.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      True crime story about Charles Sobhraj. I read this book many years ago and decided to re read it as I remember it was very intense . I was fascinated by all the detail even on this second reading. One of my favorite true crime books.