The Michigan Murders: The True Story of the Ypsilanti Ripper's Reign of Terror

I've written before that, when it comes to true crime, there are few writers -- maybe none -- who could eclipse Jack Olsen. He wasn't called "The Dean of True Crime" for nuthin', after all. But before writing true crime he was mostly a newspaper and magazine guy, even writing sports books and for magazines such as "Sports Illustrated" (SI). Unfortunately, Mr. Olsen is no longer with us as he died in 2002."The Michigan Murders: The True Story of the Ypsilanti Ripper's Reign of Terror" (TMM) is the first book that I've read from Edward Keyes, and while I don't think it's quite as good as most of Mr. Olsen's true-crime works, it surely is close. To me, if a book wants to be good, it has to do at least one thing right: "In my mind's eye I need to be able to envision what's happening as I'm reading." If I can't "see" what's happening I lose interest very early on. But if I feel like I've been dropped into a crime scene and can "see" what the victims see, what the UNSUB sees, or what the detectives see, then the book has a very good chance of keeping, and holding, my interest.And I would say that this lone criterion is certainly met with TMM.But what was really interesting to me: after maybe halfway through TMM I did some searches on Mr. Keyes and realized that there are many parallels between him and Mr. Olsen. Mr. Keyes wrote for newspapers and magazines as well, even writing for SI like Mr. Olsen did. But maybe the most coincidental item to me: both writers passed away in 2002. It's as if the two writers were journalism twins.Now, other fellow "critics" on this site have complained that where TMM failed for them was that most of the names were changed for the cast of characters. I have to admit, it bothered me a bit too. Usually when I'm reading I like to jump out of my digital reader and search the Web for additional information on people that I'm reading about. In TMM that's nearly impossible because, since the names were changed, only fictional people would come up in searches, often from available online snippets of TMM itself. So keeping track of people was a bit tricky. I will write that I actually knocked down my review score one notch simply because of this.Why did Mr. Keyes change the names of the characters though? I'm guessing it was for legal reasons but that is just a guess. I do know that after Ann Rule wrote and published "The I-5 Killer" (I5K) about Randall Woodfield, that serial killer (SK) sued her from prison in Oregon. She had used real names in the book. And even though by that time I believe that Mr. Woodfield was convicted of some of the murders, it did seem to be a bit of a circumstantial case to me. It was the early 80s and so DNA evidence couldn't yet be used. In the end though I believe that Ms. Rule won the case, and many years later, it was determined through DNA testing that Mr. Woodfield was guilty of his crimes. As a matter of fact, I believe that it was determined that he even had more victims than were known in the early 80s through DNA. I do highly recommend buying and reading I5K as I believe it's one of Ms. Rule's best books.But back to TMM.Like I wrote I really felt like I was dropped into the scenes while reading, and most of the time, I could actually envision what those scenes looked like. In particular there is a somewhat "comedic" chapter -- even books about SKs can be funny at times -- where the police replaced a dumped body with a mannequin, hoping that the UNSUB would return to the scene of the crime, as those police either wanted to catch him red handed or at least get his fingerprints off of the mannequin. It would've been smart to wipe down the mannequin before placing it on the ground with gloves though, I suppose, which evidently they didn't do. Someone did show up in the wee morning hours but the cops couldn't catch him and they took a lot of heat from the media for that. The police were even called "The Keystone Kops" which might've been a bit fair. But in my mind I could see everything play out, and I did let out a chuckle here and a moan there myself while reading.I give nothing away when I write that John Norman Collins was eventually captured, tried, and convicted of the murders. That is in the synopsis. In the book his name is different and I've forgotten the alias offhand as I finished the book about a week ago. I usually try to write a review immediately after writing as it is then fresh in my mind, and this time I admit I failed. I believe that, over the years, there has been a lot of debate about whether Mr. Collins was actually guilty or if he was rather railroaded. After reading TMM, assuming that most of the details are correct -- outside of those pesky aliases -- I will write that it sure appears that he is guilty of the crimes. And "is" is the correct word. From what I understand he's still alive and in prison which is fairly amazing as he was convicted about 50 years ago now, as of 2022.There is another book, released in 2016, called "Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked" (TIY). I haven't read it and probably won't so I can't recommend one book over the other. I do know that TMM was an Edgar Award Finalist -- that's in the synopsis as well -- so evidently most critics really like TMM. I would guess that TIY uses real names but that's just a guess. If aliases are a showstopper for you then I might recommend downloading samples of each, reading each sample, then buying the one that you think you'll like best. Perhaps you should do that either way. But that's the best recommendation that I can give you.But if you're into true crime, in particular books about serial killers, I highly recommend TMM. And I also recommend looking into some of Mr. Olsen's true-crime books as well. In particular "I: the Creation of a Serial Killer" might be the most chilling book I've ever read. It is written as a first-person narrative from Keith Hunter Jesperson, the so-called "Happy Face Killer." If you buy and read that book you might realize that while Mr. Jesperson was committing his crimes there weren't too many happy faces in police departments to go around in Washington, Oregon, and other states where Mr. Jesperson roamed.

This book was at times fascinating, the story sometimes frustrating, the outcome heartbreaking for all involved. I was unfamiliar with details of this case before reading the book. I liked the way the case was presented in a factual manner, but still in story format. It gave the sense of frustration of law enforcement as they desperately searched for anything to break the case open and stop the murders.I found it heartbreaking reading about Armstrong's aunt who only ever knew of his gentle fun-loving nature. I'd love to know what words were exchanged between James and his mother in those moments they shared alone. Knowing he was not that close to her, it was hard to know if her tears were real or manufactured for show. That part was just odd to me. I had little doubt of his guilt, but I still felt saddened for his family. Then there's all the other murders they couldn't charge him with. How do those families feel? Is it enough to know he was sentenced to life in prison? Justice was served, but it was not pleasant getting there. Just relief that it was done. This one may stay with me awhile. Just sad all the way around.

Between July of 1967 and July of 1969, the bodies of 7 young women were found dead and decomposing... all within a 25 square mile area resting between Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The bodies of all of these young women were horribly mutilated, oftentimes with head injuries so severe that immediate identification was impossible. In addition, many of the bodies had been slashed, cut, or burned postmortem. All were sexually assaulted.It is common knowledge that the great majority of serial offenders (both serial rapists and serial killers) tend to escalate in behavior over time. As their obsessive and deviant fantasies become ever more powerful and difficult to control or ignore, the offender is compelled to kill more often, assuming more risk. This is exactly what happened with the Michigan murders. Consider the statistics:July 1967 - One VictimJuly 1968 - One VictimMarch 1969 - Two VictimsApril 1969 - One VictimMay 1969 - One VictimJuly 1969 - One VictimInitially, I thought the killer had taken time off in June of 1969. However, it was later revealed that the offender took a road trip to California in June of 1969, where he murdered a 17 year old girl. Who was this violent offender so driven to kill and kill again? A well-groomed, attractive, gregarious student attending Eastern Michigan University! On the average, John Norman Collins was murdering at the rate of 1 victim per month near the end of his murderous reign. He was 23 years of age when apprehended. Can you imagine the body count had Collins not been arrested and had continued to kill for another year or two? What if he had gone undetected another 10 years? The thought is horrifying!I found it interesting and very telling that as a Freshman at Eastern Michigan University, Collins maintained good grades and was considered a successful student. During the second semester of his Sophomore year, Collins began cutting classes and his grades suffered greatly. Collins began killing the semester after his school performance began to suffer and he fell behind, suggesting that for a a full semester before he ever killed, Collins was in the grip of psychological deterioration and decline. It seems likely that he began his stalking and prowling behaviors during this time, his fantasies finally giving way to murderous rage in July of 1967. The truly sobering fact is this: John Collins was questioned by police investigators following the 2nd homicide. He was dismissed as a possible suspect. As a result, 6 more women would die before Collins was finally apprehended.I found THE MICHIGAN MURDERS riveting. In fact, had I been allowed to use 1/2 star ratings, I would have given it 4 1/2 stars. Why not 5 stars? There were some minor portions of the story where the descriptions of the police investigation dragged and the trial coverage was rather tedious and dry. The coverage of the trial could easily have been reduced by 10 pages without losing any real content. However, the slower portions of the story were not extended and did not detract greatly from the book as a whole. I highly recommend THE MICHIGAN MURDERS for all True Crime lovers.I did want to mention one issue that confuses me greatly. Nowhere in my copy of THE MICHIGAN MURDERS is the offender ever named as John Norman Collins! In the book, the offender is named as James Armstrong. When I initially read the other reviews, I thought I must have read another book by the same title. However, after following a link provided by another reader to the Michigan State OTIS registry, I did a search for John Collins. The information I found indeed confirmed that "James Armstrong" is John Norman Collins. The prison issued identification number for Collins is the same number listed for James Armstrong in the book. The physical description matches. The date of the offense for which Collins was convicted is the same date of the last known murder in Michigan of Carol Ann Gebhardt.What gives? Why is the murderer given a pseudonym in the book? How did it escape my attention - as apprently, I am the only one - that "James Armstrong" is really John Norman Collins? Can someone help me out? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

This book was recommended to me by a fellow Michigan native. We had heard of this story, but these events happened quite a few years before we were around. Taking that into consideration, I still find myself struggling with how the author sexualized the victims based on his perception of attractiveness, as well as his need to point out the skin color of any character who was not white. Unless it is pertinent to the story somehow, it just comes across as tasteless and out of date. We must do better than this!

Very gripping story telling. Who needs fiction when you can read true crime thats been written so well? Keyes uses fictitious names which is in respect to those who suffered but I’d forgotten by the end of the book that he’d done that so was confused when I tried to research the killer by the incorrect name. Unbelievable that John Norman Collins wasn’t tried for all the other murders he committed including a 13 year old child. He literally got away with murder. What stood out to me was the quiet acceptance and composure by some of the parents of their daughters’ deaths in a time when the term “serial killer” didn’t exist. Everything seemed to go unquestioned. The parents of the first murdered girl were advised not to look at their daughter’s body so probably never knew the extent of the horror she endured before her death. Maybe it was better they didn’t see anything but on the other hand, the quiet reserve and acceptance of what had happened was Disconcerting. It meant that word didn’t get around after the first murder about the shocking horror that had happened which might have helped prevent some of the murders that followed.

Brilliantly written.Couldn't put it down.Felt as if I was there.Highly recommend this to all true crime readers.

Excellent book would recommend. Can’t understand how he didn’t stand trial for all the Murders but is in prison for life nonetheless

Well written but a bit drawn out over the hair clipping evidence. Felt there was more that could have come to light. We’re there any further murders!

remembering this book from the first time I read it just as captivating cannot understand why he did not stand trial for all the murders. what you see is sometimes not what you get.