The Girl in the Leaves

A must read for true crime fans

very moving

This is an unusual true crime book. For the reader, the suspense is generated by whether an intended victim will be able to escape, not learning the killer’s identity. The author gives away who the bad guy is on the first page. I was compelled to keep reading to discover a girl’s fate rather than whether the police would catch the killer. Neighbors knew there was something wrong with Matt Hoffman’s behavior. Matt lived with his girlfriend and her young son. He seemed nice at first, but then he changed. Matt’s dogs disappeared. He and his girlfriend had a violent argument, and she moved out. The neighbors didn’t know half of what Matt could do. Miles away, Tina Hermann was busy being the single mom of two kids, Sarah, 13, and Kody, 11. One day as the kids came home from school, they were surprised that their mother didn’t greet them at the door. Then they saw the blood. As they moved further inside, they were rushed by a man. Sarah got away and ran to her bedroom. The man grabbed Kody. Before Sarah could escape, the man was in her room and subdued her with ripped-out electrical cords. Sarah was gagged and bound. She didn't know what had happened to her mother and brother. Tina didn’t show up to work, and her boss notified the police to make a wellness check. When the police entered the empty house, the tell-tale signs of blood everywhere alerted the officers to a terrible scene. They didn’t know that Tina’s best friend, Stephanie Sprang, was also missing. She had stopped by Tina’s house. When her boyfriend reported her as missing also, officers learned that now they had two women and two children who had disappeared. Meanwhile, Sarah had been taken to a house, left bound, and gagged in a dank, lightless basement. When the man came to visit her, she realized that everywhere she looked were leaves, bags, and bags of them. She was lying on a bed of leaves. To her horror, her situation was only going to get much worse. The book documents a gripping, suspenseful case where a young girl’s life was in the balance, and the opportunities for her escape were few. It’s an easy book to read, but the subject is the stuff of nightmares. True crime fans should find the book riveting.

The story itself is interesting, but the way it's written is hard to follow. I actually stopped reading it halfway through because of it.

A great book, could not put it down. A terrific true crime book.