Torture Mom: A Chilling True Story of Confinement, Mutilation and Murder (True Crime)

Great book but hard to read about the poor girl who was tortured. Cried a couple times for her. Very sad and the worst part is the Gert only did 20 years for her crime.

I threw the book out after I finished it because it was so scary and awful that anyone like that exists. Well-written but so shocking

Although I feel like the book was not nearly long enough, it was still a wonderful, heartbreaking book. I've seen the movie(very graphic) and the book follows it to a certain extent. I love true story books.

It seems like the author just copied and pasted from a Wikipedia article. I feel a lot of details were left out.

I have read several of this author's books about true crime and i must say, I'm very impressed with all of them I have read thus far. The writing is superb and the author does a great job of grabbing the reader from the very beginning. Although some of the content is difficult to read, the books help in understanding the psyche of these criminals and the various factors (environmental, genetic, socioeconomic) that have played a part in their development. Must-reads for true crime buffs!

This book was so twisted I could not put it down. I read it and immediately watched the movie "an american crime" i highly recommend both but get ready for an emotional response because Sylvia's story is nothing short of horrific. Rest easy beautiful girl.

💔 Torture Mom was a horrifying book and that’s an understatement to say the least. There were times where my stomach would turn and I’d gasp to why anyone in their ever living mind could do something to a child or even a person at that. Makes you realize that some people are truly messed up and the way that excites them is borderline terrifying. At some points during the book I had to take breaks because that’s just how brutal it was. My heart goes out to the child who went through it all and what she gained in the end.. (I don’t want to spoil it). 💔🧐 A nothing thing I found disappointing was the community around the action. Not one person thought to come in and do something or to try and help the child. Instead, they just turned their back and acted like nothing was wrong. 🧐⚠️ This book is a recommendation if you can stomach it. Torture Mom isn’t for the weak. Read at your own risk, I guess one would say. I gave four stars because although it was a good read, there were some things that I believe could have been maybe worded differently. ⚠️#Terrifying#Brutal#StomachTurning#TrueStory#RyanGreen#TwentyOfFifty#Bookstagram

This is a well written book. It doesn't take long to read, but I had to put it down several times to do something else. True crimes can be hard to read st times, especially when a young and innocent teen girl is tortured by the "Mom?#@$" who has taken in the teen sister who are the recipients of abuse right from the start. The number of torturers are shocking and the apathy of the neighbors and other people in the community that never called law enforcement was awful. Child protection services were out only once and the girls were conditioned to lie in order to prevent more violence to them.Sylvia and Jenny were abandoned by their parents who were working with the carnival. They ended up in Gertrude's care. The abuse was terrible and if you don't like vivid violence, then find another book to read and stay away from true crime stories. Gertrude and her other torturers she created received unreal short prison sentences. Gertrude really deserved the death penalty. How she ended up getting out on parole is ludicrous.This is truly a chilling story. Ryan Green has written a horror story that is all too true. If you aren't saddened and angry at the treatment that Sylvia especially suffered then you must be a psychopath yourself. Just my opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. It's an eye opener, it's shows what happens when the gang mentality kicks in.

I was distraught reading this book and the terrible things that happened to Sylvia.Even an animal would not treat their young this way. SO SO sad.

Ok

I was given a free ebook copy of this book in return for an honest review.Some say that truth can be stranger than fiction. This is definitely so in the case of this book, which deals with truths so harrowing, that they are far stranger and painful than fiction to read. The author writes very engagingly, and with added insights into the main characters in this book.Sylvia and her sister Jenny Likens are left in the "care" of Gertrude Baniszewski, while their parents work the carnival circuit. The two girls are both normal, average, nice girls. However, it soon becomes obvious that Gertrude has taken a strong and psychotic dislike to Sylvia. Gertrude does everything in her power to ensure that Sylvia is mercilessly tortured, both physically and mentally. She seems to have an almost hypnotic power over her own children and the many neighbourhood children who frequently visit the dilapidated house; she actively encourages them to take part in hurting and humiliating Sylvia. When help does finally arrive, it is, alas, too late.Reading this true account in such engaging and descriptive words broke my heart. It made me wish I had been an angel or a super hero back then; so that I could have rescued poor Sylvia and her sister Jenny.

It is at times tough to read because of the story but well written. It's a crazy story and it seems like they got off light.