That Lonely Section of Hell
The Botched Investigation of a Serial Killer Who Almost Got Away
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4.2 • 19 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Former police detective Lorimer Shenher's “inside account of the Pickton serial murders is both a horrifying and compelling read. "—Peter Vronsky, author of Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters
In this searing personal account, ex-police detective Lori Shenher (who transitioned to in 2015, and is now known as Lorimer) describes his role in Vancouver's infamous Missing Women Investigation and unflinchingly reveals his years-long struggle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of working on the case.
From his first assignment, in 1998, to investigate an increase in the number of missing women to the harrowing 2002 interrogation of convicted serial killer Robert Pickton, Shenher tells a story of massive police failure—failure of the police to use the information about Pickton available to them, failure to understand the dark world of drug addiction and sex work, and failure to save more women from their killer.
That Lonely Section of Hell passionately pursues the deeper truths behind the causes of this tragedy and the myriad ways the system failed to protect vulnerable people.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Shenher's account of the investigation into the disappearances of sex workers from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside captures the frustration, self-recrimination, anguish, and helplessness she felt as head of Vancouver Police Department's (VPD) Missing Persons Review Team, during the three long years it took to bring Robert Pickton in for questioning in what proved to be one of Canada's most notorious serial murder cases. Despite receiving what appeared to be credible leads from informants implicating Pickton in 1998, Shenher could not convince her colleagues, or local RCMP officers, to act on leads and investigate, though women continued to disappear. Insufficient and uncooperative staff, racism and other prejudice, and a practice of ruling out possibilities before investigating them slowed the team's progress. It took a toll on Shenher. Nightmares, uncontrolled anger, drastic mood swings, and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder eventually drove her from the VPD. Moving letters she wrote to the memory of five victims reflect the deep personal regret and remorse she felt at not being able to save these women from their fate. Shenher's highly readable book provides important insights into a horrifying case and the reasons that it remained unsolved for far too long.
Customer Reviews
Thanks for the Feedback
Hi Penelope,
Thanks for your feedback. I’m sorry you found the book so disappointing. I’m responding because yours is the first negative review of the book I’ve seen or heard and I’m sincerely sorry you didn’t get something out of reading it. I think it’s more a 4. :-)
I wish you all the best.
Lori Shenher
That Lonely Section of Hell
This book could be so much better
I wanted to read about Robert Pickton not some persons anxiety issues.
That Lonely Section of Hell
This book had a great deal of promise but faded into a self-pittying, whinny and redundant bore. No one in charged of editing? Keeping it readable? I went from loving this woman to being repulsed by her self-centeredness. I still think she has talent but needs to turn herself over to the advise of competent editor. Three stars is generous considering the last half of the book was a write-off.