A False Report by T. Christian Miller & Ken Armstrong
Author : T. Christian Miller, Ken Armstrong
Title : A False Report
Published : 06/02/2018
Pages : 3014
Genre : True Crime
Publisher : Hutchinson
On 11 August 2008, eighteen-year-old Marie reported that a masked man had broken into her home and raped her. Within days, police – and even those closest to Marie – became suspicious of her story: details of the crime just didn’t seem plausible. Confronted with the seeming inconsistencies, Marie broke down and said her story was a fabrication – a bid for attention. The police convicted her of making a false report. She was vilified as a liar.
Once again I find my self-reading a book that I knew was going to be difficult to get through from the start. Sometimes I think we need to step away from crime fiction and remember that the things that happen in these books come from the real world. When looking over the true crime section in any bookstore you will come across the who's who of serial killers and no doubt selection on various gangs related to whichever county you call home. This book However shines a light on to a crime that even today people will shy away from and don't really want to talk about. Rape is still the only crime in the world today where the victim is the one who has to prove what took place and defend themselves in a court of law. I can't begin to comprehend how someone processes such an event taking place. All the more so when they finally get the never up to call the police they are told they are lying and as such could be charged with filing a false report.
The authors chose to bring us into this story with Marie and the events that took place in her apartment. It is through her eyes that we as the reader get a first-hand insight into how a police investigation into rape takes place. As her story unfolds in front of you I defy anyone not to feel for this poor girl. With everything she goes through it is hard not to feel such deep anger at the way the system treated her. The way rape is treated in our supposed modern society to me feels like an absolute travesty. I think this is only the second book I have read where at times I wanted to throw it across the room. The first being The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malarek another hard read but also one with similar themes.
This book is however not just Marie's story as heartbreaking as her's is, She is our entry into the life of the man how not only chose to do this to her but countless more. We learn of his path from mindless child to the serial rapist that spans not only decades but also continents. I can not say I felt anything for this man other than complete and utter disdain. He is completely narcissistic and has no remorse for his victims. Even as I write this it makes me feel angry that such a man was left out in the world for so long. In part this is down to how Marie was treated by the police, no one can say for certain that had they looked into to her report a little harder he could have been stopped sooner, but having finished the book I think there is a high probability that they might have.
The writers of this book have managed I think to deliver on what they set out to do with this book. They have laid out all the facts in a clear and succinct manner that will allow the reader to follow all the events that took place. It also shows the failing which allowed such things to go on, and how hard victims or rape have to fight to get their story heard. For all too many it seems like it is easier not believe the victim saying she must have made a mistake and the day after she wanted to undo it by claiming rape, Or as is to often the case it must have been the victims fault, that they bought it on themselves, none of these arguments hold up.
By the time I get to the end of this book, the emotions had taken their toll on me. This is a book truly worthy of any one's time. It will not be easy nor an enjoyable read but I think it will definitely make people think twice before accusing someone of crying wolf when it comes to rape.
Once again I find my self-reading a book that I knew was going to be difficult to get through from the start. Sometimes I think we need to step away from crime fiction and remember that the things that happen in these books come from the real world. When looking over the true crime section in any bookstore you will come across the who's who of serial killers and no doubt selection on various gangs related to whichever county you call home. This book However shines a light on to a crime that even today people will shy away from and don't really want to talk about. Rape is still the only crime in the world today where the victim is the one who has to prove what took place and defend themselves in a court of law. I can't begin to comprehend how someone processes such an event taking place. All the more so when they finally get the never up to call the police they are told they are lying and as such could be charged with filing a false report.
The authors chose to bring us into this story with Marie and the events that took place in her apartment. It is through her eyes that we as the reader get a first-hand insight into how a police investigation into rape takes place. As her story unfolds in front of you I defy anyone not to feel for this poor girl. With everything she goes through it is hard not to feel such deep anger at the way the system treated her. The way rape is treated in our supposed modern society to me feels like an absolute travesty. I think this is only the second book I have read where at times I wanted to throw it across the room. The first being The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade by Victor Malarek another hard read but also one with similar themes.
This book is however not just Marie's story as heartbreaking as her's is, She is our entry into the life of the man how not only chose to do this to her but countless more. We learn of his path from mindless child to the serial rapist that spans not only decades but also continents. I can not say I felt anything for this man other than complete and utter disdain. He is completely narcissistic and has no remorse for his victims. Even as I write this it makes me feel angry that such a man was left out in the world for so long. In part this is down to how Marie was treated by the police, no one can say for certain that had they looked into to her report a little harder he could have been stopped sooner, but having finished the book I think there is a high probability that they might have.
The writers of this book have managed I think to deliver on what they set out to do with this book. They have laid out all the facts in a clear and succinct manner that will allow the reader to follow all the events that took place. It also shows the failing which allowed such things to go on, and how hard victims or rape have to fight to get their story heard. For all too many it seems like it is easier not believe the victim saying she must have made a mistake and the day after she wanted to undo it by claiming rape, Or as is to often the case it must have been the victims fault, that they bought it on themselves, none of these arguments hold up.
By the time I get to the end of this book, the emotions had taken their toll on me. This is a book truly worthy of any one's time. It will not be easy nor an enjoyable read but I think it will definitely make people think twice before accusing someone of crying wolf when it comes to rape.
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