Into The Water by Diane Fanning

To authorities she spilled the shocking details of a night of horror. It was the lead they'd been desperate for in a multi-state manhunt for an elusive serial killer. Where the witness took them was to the last man anyone would have suspected.

Richard Marc Evonitz was beloved by friends and family. He was handsome, intelligent, and compassionate. Serving a spotless eight years in the U.S. Navy, he was a town hero who lived in harmony in an exclusive South Carolina neighborhood. The only ones who saw Evonitz's dark side were his victims. They were helpless teenage girls who, one by one, were subjected to his twisted sexual fantasies of kidnap, rape, and murder-until his double life came undone by the brave cunning of his last young victim. But as authorities and the media descended upon him, Evonitz had one more shocking surprise in store for everyone-a stunning final act of violence and reckoning that would turn a bright sunlit morning blood red.

I have now read six books written by Diane Fanning and I must say they were all impressive.This one “Into The Water” is about Marc Evonitz (his first name is actually Richard but because Richard was also his uncle’s name the family decided to call him by the name Marc right from the beginning)who raped and murdered three girls, two of which were sisters. He was caught when his fourth and last victim managed to escape and identified him to law enforcement. The book details how this child cleverly kept her wits about her and bid her time until she could make good her escape.Reading about this child’s story and who at such a young age managed to work out a strategy of escape was absolutely awe inspiring.

Diane Fanning starts the book with a chapter on the final actions of Marc Evonitz and then proceeds into the history of his parents,how they met and subsequently married. The books offers great insight into Marc’s childhood and possible reasons as to why he turned out the way he did. I love true crime writers who go into details about a criminal’s early life.By doing this they satisfy my need to try and get into the mind of the criminal and find possible explanations for his later criminal behavior.Unfortunately I have read horror stories of some people’s childhoods and those same people do not become serial killers. Marc Evonitz’s childhood was definitely not a fairytale and yet his sisters turned out okay. This boggles the mind. What specifically short circuited in his brain that he would end up doing these evil murderous deeds? I suppose we will never find the absolute agenda that leads to the creation of a serial killer so I will just have to carry on reading true crime stories in order to find answers and reach some conclusions which make sense to me.

This book was also interesting in that it overlapped over other crime news that were happening at the same time and Diane Fanning is excellent in bringing those details in and working them into the main story effortlessly.I as a reader, felt that I had a very good idea as to how the locals were feeling and had a lot of sympathy for the investigators and their immense workload at that time.

One thing I am not impressed with (and it is really trivial) is the title of “ Into The Water”. Tell me if I am wrong but to me “Into The Water” signifies fun as when we jump in and splash and so forth. This book title is so because the victims were either found in the water or near a bed of water. I might be finicky here but this title then obviously is referring to the serial killer throwing the bodies “into the water” .This is a bit too much for me. This title offended me because it turned a phrase that is usually enjoyable into a window where I now see these poor children being killed and thrown into the water.I think a title like A Watery Grave or Dead In The Water would have been more appropriate.I know both of these titles are taken already but I am not a writer so I am assuming a writer could come up with something more appropriate. By the way this is in no way Diane Fanning’s fault as writers are sometimes bullied into choosing different titles by their publishers. So there you have it. If I have to go by Diane Fanning’s brilliant writing and the way you can feel through her words that she truly cares for the victims and the families left behind,then I would say this title was not her choice.

To summarise,another great book by Diane Fanning.I do believe I have now read all of her true crime books.I am going to keep track of any of her future projects via her website so I can be first in line for her next book.

To access some more reviews on this book please use links below
Into The Water By Diane Fanning- Kalahari Books for South African readers
Or below for access via Amazon
Into the Water

I read this book in March 2009 and it has 244 pages(including acknowledgements and afterword) and 8 pages of photographs.

Country: United States of America
Format: Mass market paperback
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 9780312985264
Publication date: September 2008
Length: 172mm
Width: 107mm
Thickness: 18mm
Weight: 132g
Pages: 224
Illustrations: Illustrated