Name: The Road Out of Hell
ISBN: 9781402768699

Anthony Flacco

Jerry Clark

Documents the harrowing murders committed by decorated war veteran Gordon Stewart Northcott on his chicken ranch outside of Los Angeles between 1926 and 1928, describing the traumatic experiences of his nephew, Stanford Clark, who was held captive and forced to participate in at least 20 killings.

Sanford Clark and the True Story of the Wineville Murders

The Road Out of Hell

This really just reads like trauma glorification. It is so hard to believe that any of the events happened in the way described, and I think the issue isn't so much the facts, because we can find out what the facts are, but how it is told. We're diving deep into this young boy's mind when it just seems like he wouldn't be thinking so deeply in some of those situations. We focus, for some reason, on his sister getting rid of admirers on her trip to visit her brother over her just showing up. It gets almost comical when she gets in the car with the Uncle and the "banter" back and forth just pulls you right out of it. I'd say it's almost comical.

Are these things what was really said, or are they just polished for a younger audience after the hindsight of what actually happened?

I think this book failed to rise above glorifying the violence to tell us more than we could have known from reading primary sources or other more historical texts. I quit reading it, so take the review with a grain of salt, but I'm so sick of reading about these weird, poorly acted scenes with dialogue that just doesn't seem to fit. It feels like a B rated movie.

From 1926 to 1928, Gordon Stewart Northcott committed at least 20 murders on a chicken ranch outside of Los Angeles. His nephew, Sanford Clark, held captive there from the age of 13 to 15, was the sole surviving victim of the killing spree. Here, crime writer Anthony Flacco-- using never-before-heard information from Sanford's son Jerry Clark --tells the real story behind the case. Forced by Northcott to take part in the murders, Sanford carried tremendous guilt all his life. Yet despite his youth and the trauma, he was the star witness at Northcott's trial, leading to his execution. Perhaps the most shocking part of all is the extraordinarily ordinary life Clark went on to live as a decorated WWII vet, a devoted husband of 55 years, a loving father, and a productive citizen. Flacco shows how Sanford was able to detoxify himself from the evil he'd encountered and emerge intact.

The Road Out of Hell Sanford Clark and the True Story of the Wineville Murders

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