Brendan (History Nerds United)'s Reviews > The Devil Behind the Badge: The Horrifying Twelve Days of the Border Patrol Serial Killer

I run into a lot of books which try and get too cute with the narrative. Just tell the story. No storytelling tricks. No time jumps. Just tell an engaging story. Rick Jervis does this to perfection in The Devil Behind the Badge. Oh, he does something else which all great true crime does. He honors the victims and tells their story. In this case, it's not all roses.

The story is about how Border Patrol Agent Juan David Ortiz took the lives of four sex workers, Melissa Ramirez, Claudine Anne Luera, Guiselda Hernandez, and Janelle Ortiz (no relation). Jervis makes sure to tell everyone's story. For the sex workers, Jervis chronicles their drug addictions, attempts to get clean, and the families who tried to love them through it. For Ortiz, we get the background of a Veteran, fighting off demons, but with some sort of murderous urge he gives into. Jervis tries to answer as many questions as possible about this case, but he also acknowledges that much of it is unknowable.

Quite simply, this is just a journalist giving you all the facts. If you want well-written true crime which doesn't forget the victims, then this book is for you.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Dey Street Books.)