A Hunger to Kill: A Serial Killer, a Determined Detective, and the Quest for a Confession that Changed a Small Town Forever
by Detective Kim
Mager with Lisa Pulitzer
Thank you to Netgalley , Macmillan Publishers, and St.
Martin’s Press for allowing me the opportunity to review Detective Kim Mager’s
riveting book A Hunger to Kill. I don’t read a lot of true crime and
murder books; I tend to make exceptions for certain writers or events—Mark Bowden’s
The Last Stone was one exception, but I just remembered feeling so sad
and upset after reading the book. Although Bowden’s book features a remorseless
killer who withholds or shares information when it is convenient, it was also
heartening to learn about the dogged efforts from the victims’ families and the
investigators to continue to pursue justice. Detective Mager’s A Hunger to Kill shares both of these aspects with Bowden’s book. Yet, one of the most
important differences is that Detective Mager was on the team assembled to
investigate the crimes of Shawn Grate, so we read from her perspective,
learning about her strategic approach to interviewing Grate and eventually
extracting confessions for several murders across the span of a few days. Also
like Bowden’s book, A Hunger to Kill tracks the devasting crimes, and
the events are brutal. The investigation starts out with an abducted woman who
dialed 911 and the rescue team that saved her from captivity. We learn that Shawn
Grate, a drifter from another town squatting in an abandoned house, has
abducted and tortured Jane Doe. Although Jane Doe’s recounting of the torture
is hard to read, I was fascinated to learn about the strategic thinking that
goes into this kind of forensic interviewing. Detective Mager details how she
works to build trust and reassure a victim, while also seeking ways to develop
a trusting relationship with a suspected perpetrator like Shawn Grate. I was
amazed by how she was able to work with both individuals, yet keep a kind of
calm and measured approach, especially with Grate. Most of the book details her
interviews with Grate, and how she was able to pay attention to his mannerisms
and clues about the women he murdered and where he left him. Detective Mager’s
profile of Grate was also detailed and specific; as we learn about his
background and family, I could see how he ended up with certain tendencies. I
condemn his actions, but Grate did grow up in incredibly unstable environments
where little love and attention were shown. Strangely, he talks about freeing
the women he killed, but it seemed more like punishment. He claimed that the
women were seeking to die, and Detective Mager’s interviewing techniques and
analysis help readers understand the kind of failed attribution and victim blaming
that murderers like Grate engage in. It was surprising, but also scary to see
the way Grate thought about human life. As we continue to learn more about him
and the trail of violence he has left throughout his life, we also see how
deceptive and cunning he is, and how he can act out when he doesn’t get his
way. Detective Mager’s recounting of the story takes us all the way through to
the trial and eventual conviction of Grate. I didn’t know about this case, and
I read a little about it as I was reading. It is incredibly sad to learn about
the victims and how Grate preyed upon vulnerable women, especially those he
deemed less than valuable in society. He kept repeating that he was setting them
free or freeing them from pain, but also acknowledging that he wasn’t God. Although
I wouldn’t call this book enjoyable, I found it magnetic. I kept reading to
learn more about what was going to happen next. I was especially interested in
Detective Mager’s interviewing techniques, and how she described the methods
she employed to develop trust and build rapport. It seemed to work as Grate
continued to gradually reveal the crimes he committed and provide some reasoning
for it. While he may not have expressed genuine remorse for his crimes, it
seems that Detective Mager was able to extract a sense of regret or at least
acknowledgement that Grate did something wrong and harmed people beyond his
victims. Nevertheless, we also learn how she put herself and a colleague in
danger being in a room with a killer. This is a riveting book that provides an
inside look into the methods and strategies for forensic interviewing. It’s a
fascinating look behind bars at the criminal justice system at work.
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