I have reviewed The Evil I have Seen by Robert Davidson for Reader’s Favorite.
Evil has lurked among us since the beginning of time, but very few actually witness its gruesome and gutwrenching display of cruelty. In his career as a detective, Robert Davidson (aka Robbo) saw more monstrosity than most of us. In his memoir, The Evil I have Seen, Robert Davidson has put forth six such gruesome true crime cases. This memoir is not for the faint of heart; it is not fiction so the reader does not have the luxury of waving away the disturbing cruelty of the culprits, crediting it to the author’s imagination. Case after case, the audience stands face to face with the worst and the most innocent of the humans, wondering how could someone do that. Although each case was as unsettling as the next one, the one titled Jeff’s Friends was beyond heartbreaking.
You cannot look into the empty eyes of death staring back at you as many times as I did and say you were not changed by what you saw.
– An excerpt from The Evil I have Seen by Robert Davidson
Twenty-seven-year-old Jeff Rodgers, diagnosed with an educable mentally impaired syndrome, was brutally murdered by his “friends.” The idea that his friends killed him was bad enough, but the fact that he called his father to save him moments before losing his life was absolutely heartrending. The author makes the readers sit down and feel the pain of Jeff’s parents as they come close to finding their boy, only to lose him forever. Silently, they plead for a miracle, as a search party goes to find Jeff, but, in the end, it becomes painfully obvious that this is a lost cause. The police round up the suspects and begins the questioning. Like a crime thriller novel, the readers are intrigued by the investigation, as the police look for clues. However, this is no crime novel; this is real life and that is the scariest part. Somebody lived through it.
A certain rage welled inside George as he recalled the fear in Jeff’s voice. He heard his son all over again pleading, “Daddy, come get me. They hurt me.”
– An excerpt from The Evil I have Seen by Robert Davidson
The Evil I have Seen by Robert Davidson is one of those books that will live with the readers, and even haunt them, for a long time. Through his own admission, Robert Davidson struggles with the evil that he had seen even today. Each crime story, though presented with hard facts and pieces of evidence, is heavy with the author’s emotions. The audience watches as the author switches gears from presenting facts and logic to reflecting on the victim’s suffering, the culprit’s soulless act, the lifelong heartache of the victim’s friends and families, and the everlasting impact on the detective. The author’s words are filled with a contagious passion. When he says, It’s not something we talk about — people in law enforcement — our nightmares, our anxieties, our fears of making a wrong decision in a split second, the readers feel a palpable sense of dismay. Robert Davidson is an authentic writer whose sentiments rise out of the pages and touch the hearts of his readers. I highly recommend The Evil I have Seen by Robert Davidson.
Evil doesn’t always look evil.
– An excerpt from The Evil I have Seen by Robert Davidson
Readers’ Favorite Book Award Contest – Enter Today!
Wish to request a book review/ beta reader? Click here
Disclosure: Mojito with a Twist is a professional book review site that receives compensation from the authors. However, the compensation has no impact on the fairness and honesty of the review. I present only an unbiased opinion of the book that I read. Mojito with a Twist is independently owned and the opinions expressed are entirely mine, except for a few guest posts, which are explicitly marked as guest posts.
