A Dark Night in Aurora

Inside James Holmes and the Colorado Mass Shootings

By: William H. Reid MD MPH

Narrated by: William H. Reid MD MPH

James Holmes killed or wounded seventy people in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Only one man was allowed to record extensive interviews with the shooter. This is what he found.

On July 20, 2012 in Aurora, Colorado, a man in dark body armor and a gas mask entered a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises with a tactical shotgun, a high-capacity assault rifle, and a sidearm. He threw a canister of tear gas into the crowd and began firing. Soon twelve were dead and fifty-eight were wounded; young children and pregnant women were among them. The man was found calmly waiting at his car. He was detained without resistance.

Unlike the Columbine, Newtown, San Bernadino, and Parkland shootings, James Holmes is unique among mass shooters in his willingness to be taken into custody alive. In the court case that followed, only Dr. William H. Reid, a distinguished forensic psychiatrist, would be allowed to record interviews with the defendant. Reid would read Holmes’ diary, investigate his phone calls and text messages, interview his family and acquaintances, speak to his victims, and review tens of thousands of pages of evidence and court testimony in an attempt to understand how a happy, seemingly normal child could become a killer.

A Dark Night in Aurora uses the twenty-three hours of unredacted interview transcripts never seen by the public and Reid’s research to bring the listener inside the mind of a mass murderer. The result is chilling, gripping study of abnormal psychology and how a lovely boy named Jimmy became a killer.

©2018 William H. Reid (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved

Very well told

This was a fascinating look at the psychological study of the killer and how the case was presented in court. Told of the deaths in the theater in a respectful way. Very unbiased.

Very Informative

Excellent review of mental capacity of the defendant. This literature demonstrates the way the media lies by omission when reporting on cases of national interest. I was particularly impressed by the epilogue and the author’s discussion of mental illness and crime, another topic of ridiculous political rhetoric IMO.

Informative

There’s a lot of interesting information here that I didn’t know before. I like that it’s read by the author. I don’t like nonfiction that’s read by someone else. I’d rather just read it in that case.

Good listen

Great detail and storytelling. Very informative. A real look into the mind of James, and what went on after.

Captivating

Really well written and well performed. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a mass murderer.

PHENOMENAL!

If you're a formal or informal student of human behavior, you will love this book.

Pleasantly Surprised

Pleasantly surprised with the quality of the author's reading performance. The author provides keen insights into every aspect of this horrific event.

Very informative

Some parts of the book are very hard to listen to. The author did a great job reading the book. I missed all the news coverage and trial except for the first week. The book goes from childhood to him after trial. I found it unbiased and had lots of detail.

Important Book

I don’t know how anyone can listen to this book and say we don’t have gun and mental healthcare issues in this country that need urgent solutions. The narration is a little stiff in places but overall I liked hearing the author tell the story. A horrible and tragic story for all involved.

Good story, good listen

Surprised by how little I actually knew about the case. Found this a really-good listen, as told with quite a lot of details from a clinical perspective versus glorifying the act or the gore. Many unanswered questions at the end, though I think that's kind-of the point of the book... sometimes there just aren't answers.