Editorial Content for Postmortem: What Survives the John Wayne Gacy Murders
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
The dedication at the beginning of POSTMORTEM reads: “For all the boys.” On the next page, Courtney Lund O’Neil quotes the Simple Minds song “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” and includes the interesting tidbit that the high school used for the movie The Breakfast Club was in Des Plaines, Illinois --- the same town where serial killer John Wayne Gacy lived.
How ironic that a film about teen angst and arrested youth development should take place in the same area where so many young lives ended at the hands of one of the nation’s most notorious serial killers. What makes this book stand out is that O’Neil happens to be the daughter of the young woman who was mainly responsible for pointing the police in Gacy’s direction, which resulted in his prosecution and death by lethal injection.
"The entire court case is covered in a way that will place you directly there, and O’Neil pens a fascinating book that is as hard to look away from as a car crash on the highway."
The narrative is also unique, told in a style reminiscent of great historical fiction, in which the events and characters are at times depicted as if they are in a fictional work. Jumping back and forth in time, it puts us right in the mind of Kim Byers, who was a friend and co-worker of Rob Piest, the teenager who ended up being Gacy’s final victim. As O’Neil, who also writes herself into the story, steps on the grounds where Gacy’s house once stood, it literally will send chills up your spine. The fact that dozens of bodies of young men were found there leaves a horrifying vision of what true evil is --- an evil that is set amidst the once-innocent suburbs of Des Plaines.
The utmost credibility is given to all the passages involving Kim as blurbs from her personal journals are included. One day, at the pharmacy where Kim and Rob worked, Kim witnessed Rob stepping outside to speak with the contractor who had been doing work at the store. He was never seen again. However, it was more than just Kim’s eyewitness testimony that put the police on to Gacy. It was a cold day, and Kim had taken Rob’s parka to wear at work. Not only was that very same coat discovered at Gacy’s house by police, a piece of paper was also found there --- the receipt for Kim’s photos that she inadvertently had slipped into the pocket.
POSTMORTEM is told from the point of view of the victims and those who were directly impacted by Gacy’s evil, rather than from the killer’s perspective, which also makes for a different kind of true crime read. The entire court case is covered in a way that will place you directly there, and O’Neil pens a fascinating book that is as hard to look away from as a car crash on the highway. It is not to be missed, and true crime fans will be rewarded in spades by a story that leaves the reader content in the fact that justice was served.
Teaser
On a December night in 1978, Courtney Lund O’Neil’s mother, teenager Kim Byers, saw her friend, Rob Piest, alive for the last time. At the end of his shift at the pharmacy where they both worked, 15-year-old Rob went outside to speak to a contractor named John Wayne Gacy about a possible job. That night, Rob became Gacy’s final victim; his body was later found in the Des Plaines River. Kim’s testimony --- along with a receipt belonging to her found in Gacy’s house, proving that Rob had been there --- would be pivotal in convicting the serial killer who assaulted and killed over 30 young men and boys. Though she grew up far from Des Plaines, Courtney has lived in the shadow of that nightmare, keenly aware of its impact on her mother. In search of deeper understanding and closure, Courtney and Kim travel back to Illinois.
Promo
On a December night in 1978, Courtney Lund O’Neil’s mother, teenager Kim Byers, saw her friend, Rob Piest, alive for the last time. At the end of his shift at the pharmacy where they both worked, 15-year-old Rob went outside to speak to a contractor named John Wayne Gacy about a possible job. That night, Rob became Gacy’s final victim; his body was later found in the Des Plaines River. Kim’s testimony --- along with a receipt belonging to her found in Gacy’s house, proving that Rob had been there --- would be pivotal in convicting the serial killer who assaulted and killed over 30 young men and boys. Though she grew up far from Des Plaines, Courtney has lived in the shadow of that nightmare, keenly aware of its impact on her mother. In search of deeper understanding and closure, Courtney and Kim travel back to Illinois.
About the Book
In the vein of the bestselling I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK, this compelling work of true crime explores the aftershocks of "Killer Clown" John Wayne Gacy's crimes with a uniquely intimate slant, as the daughter of a key witness probes her mother's personal experiences and the legacy of murder within a family, a community and the American psyche.
On a December night in 1978, Courtney Lund O’Neil’s mother, teenager Kim Byers, saw her friend Rob Piest alive for the last time. At the end of his shift at the pharmacy where they both worked, 15-year-old Rob went outside to speak to a contractor named John Wayne Gacy about a possible job.
That night, Rob became Gacy’s final victim; his body was later found in the Des Plaines River. Kim’s testimony --- along with a receipt belonging to her found in Gacy’s house, proving that Rob had been there --- would be pivotal in convicting the serial killer who assaulted and killed over 30 young men and boys.
Though she grew up far from Des Plaines, Courtney has lived in the shadow of that nightmare, keenly aware of its impact on her mother. In search of deeper understanding and closure, Courtney and Kim travel back to Illinois. POSTMORTEM transforms their personal journey into a powerful exploration of the ever-widening ripples generated by Gacy’s crimes. From the 1970s to the present day, his shadow extends beyond the victims’ families and friends. It encompasses the Des Plaines neighborhood forever marked by his horrific murders, generations of the victims’ families and friends, those who helped arrest and convict him, fandom communities and many others.
Layered and thought-provoking, POSTMORTEM is a complex story of loss and violence, grief and guilt, and the legacy that remains long after a killer is caught.
Audiobook available, read by Leanne Woodward
