Perfect Victim: The True Story of "The Girl in the Box"

by Carla Norton and Christine McGuire

Book Overview

"True crime at its most shocking, most harrowing, and . . . most thought-provoking."-- Booklist In 1977 twenty-year-old Colleen Stan left home to hitchhike from Oregon to California. Seven years later... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877959579
• ISBN13: 9780877959571
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Arbor House Publishing
• Length: 381 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Wow! Well written and detailed.

Perfect Victim goes deep into the story of the girl on the box. You hear from many perspectives involved and get a clear picture of what happened.

Unimaginable...

true story about seven years in captivity full of deprevation, sexual abuse and torture. Colleen Stan is an amazingly strong person to be able to live through her ordeal at the hands of Cameron Hooker. This book starts with her abduction while hitch hiking, ironically she refused a few rides because she felt unsure about them. Along comes they typical American family and she accepts their offer of a ride.The story continues back and forth between her captivity and the investigation/trial after her escape. While reading the chapters about Colleen you often wonder why she didn't try to escape when she was free of the box or when she was allowed certain freedoms. But, I guess that unless we were in her situation we would never be able to comprehend exactly what she was feeling.This book is a great read, however, it's extremely graphic at times and is not for the weak at heart.

This is a hard one to forget.

Wow. I had thumbed through this book one day at a bookstore and could not forget the chilling details I had uncovered. 1 week later I was compelled to buy it. 2 days later I had finished it. This is a hard one to forget.I can not comprehend how any human being can be THIS sadistic. I have read MANY true crime books. This guy makes John Wayne Gacy look like a mercy killer. There aren't words to describe Cameron Hooker's twisted sexual hell he inflicted. Like many people have said, this story is hard to believe. I think part of the reason for this may be that it is just too horrible to accept. Upon completing this well written book, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. I can't believe humans can reach this low.