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AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
"Wow. The story is incredible (and sent me off on an afternoon of looking up news stories). Readers of true crime will find this to be one of the more expertly written books they can find. The writing style and voice trust the reader and the story moves along quickly."
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11th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards, Narrative Nonfiction, Honorable Mention, judge's review.
READER REVIEWS
“Fascinating, shocking, saddening and eye-opening, I found I couldn't put this book down. The depth of the author's research, her unique perspective as a former prosecutor of crimes against children and her skill as a reporter and writer make for a hugely compelling page-turner.” ***** Goodreads, November 3, 2023
"An eye-opening read: This book is great--thought provoking, eye opening, and really well written. A real insider's view on a harrowing situation, or several harrowing situations. I really appreciate the author's work.” ***** Amazon, November 1, 2023
“This gripping tale of two missing teenage girls in Oregon City, Oregon becomes a fascinating examination of three generations of murderers in one family and their crimes. The author, Janine O'Neill, wove in her own experiences in Oregon as a prosecutor of sex crimes, a reporter, and a mother which makes it even more compelling. In addition, she did hours of thorough research to try to understand the grotesque behavior of these men. You won't be able to put down this well written true crime book!”
***** Amazon and Goodreads, October 21, 2023
REVIEWS from other authors
"Does serial killing run in families? Close to Home, Janine O'Neill's exhaustive investigation of the murder of young girls in Oregon and the three generations of a family of serial killers, will convince you it does.
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"In Close to Home, O'Neill draws on her long experience as a prosecutor and journalist to investigate the extraordinary saga of child disappearances, abuse, and murder. 'Genes are not destiny,' one researcher tells O'Neill. But when combined with sexual abuse and neglect, they can create a perfect storm - and a serial killer.
"O'Neill is obsessive about attempting to understand child abuse and incest, neglect, molestation, and the human brain. She doesn't 'just' conduct interviews and obtain case files - she dissects years of a family's drama to try and understand why a family of men turned to killing girls.
"For lovers of true crime shows and fans of deep dive, immersive books, here is one they will not soon forget.
Rebecca Morris
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Rebecca Morris is the New York Times bestselling author of Boy Missing: The Search for Kyron Horman and other true crime books.
Close to Home
Sexual Abusers and Serial Killers, Memoir and Murder
On January 9, 2002, twelve-year-old Ashley Pond left her family’s apartment in Oregon City, Oregon, to catch her bus to school. She vanished.
Published: August 2023
Publisher: Luminare Press
ISBN: 978-1643885483
Ashley Pond loved her single-parent mother, but she hated her drinking, and the father figures in her life had come and gone. So she had learned to rely on other relatives, other adults and her friends.
Recently, however, her life had become even more complicated: When she disappeared, many people believed she’d simply run away.
But I had prosecuted crimes against children in Oregon City for seven years. I knew, with absolute certainty, that a twelve-year-old in that community would never vanish under the circumstances Ashley reportedly had unless something had gone terribly wrong.
Then another girl vanished, and the son of a self-proclaimed serial killer identified himself as the prime suspect in both disappearances. I became obsessed with the story—so obsessed I eventually quit my fulltime job as executive director of a crime victims law center to set off on a multistate search into the past with one overriding question: Could anything be scarier than what the public believed had happened to these girls?
The answer, I learned, was yes.
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