Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell

Terrible events, fascinating story.

I stumbled onto Doc accidentally, not knowing anything about the true crime genre or realizing that Jack Olsen is considered "the dean of true crime authors." I enjoyed it so much that I'm a little worried the whole genre will be ruined for me! I hope I'll be able find more true crime books as good as this one. Needless to say, I'll start with more Jack Olsen.

Kevin Pierce's narration was superb. Given the content of this book, I think it was risky to have a male narrator, but Pierce's delivery of the devastating stories and intensely personal testimonies of Lovell's women was consistently sensitive, nuanced, respectful. Pierce narrated several other Olsen books, so I'll listen to those next.

A couple tips for listening to this book:
- Listen on 1.25x speed if it feels slow.
- There are A LOT of people and families to keep straight. If you want to stay on top of the details, consider how you'll track them before you start listening. Every time a new person was introduced, I saved a bookmark with their name and a quick description. These notes were helpful when I needed to remind myself who someone was, who their relatives were, how they knew Dr. Story, etc.

63 of 65 people found this review helpful

Cringe Worthy!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I found it a very interesting book but would hesitate to recommend it - not the sort of book I would want people to think I seek out. I just bought it because it was on a sale and it sounded so bizarre I wanted to find out how such a thing could happen - the crimes of that doctor are so vast and sordid.

What other book might you compare Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell to and why?

I've only read a few True Crime books but I would say this one compares rather well. The research seems meticulous and the people involved are well developed.

Which scene was your favorite?

When the women first realized what's been happening to them - it's hard to imagine they could be that naive over the years but there is enough background development that it becomes credible.

If you could give Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell a new subtitle, what would it be?

The one it has pretty much says it all.

Any additional comments?

Prepare to be appalled if you read this book. Once you start it's hard to put it down.

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

could not switch this off

This is one of the most gripping books I have read, as well as one of the most disturbing. A first response might be 'how could that happen?' but it soon becomes apparent that it could and did. But, more than the crimes, this book exposes the best and the worst of religious faith, and the devastation wreaked by bigotry, rumour, blinkered vision and, in some cases, hatred. The book is beautifully written, perfectly constructed, and competently read (as always) by Kevin Pierce. A book which is hard to switch off, and hard to stop pondering.

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

I could not put this down

What made the experience of listening to Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell the most enjoyable?

The unbelievability of it and the fact that it was completely historically real. To call this a tragedy would be vastly understated.

What about Kevin Pierce’s performance did you like?

His performance sucked me into the book in a way that was entrancing. His voice acting is phenomenal.

Any additional comments?

Listening to this book is like watching a train come barreling down the tracks toward you while you're blinded, paralyzed, unable to move. When you jump out of the way at the last second you realize that you've been holding your breath the entire time. At times hard to hear, this book is riveting and devastating. Be prepared to cry, both in despair and with joy.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Flat Out Disturbing.

I've read a fair few true crime books now. I've read about Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jonestown, a whole bunch of the real 'big ones'. And I can honestly say I found none of them nearly as disturbing as this book.

The scope of John Story's crimes is just mind-boggling. As I listened to this audiobook I found myself shaking my head, gasping, saying 'Oh my God', reacting in very physical ways to what I was hearing, and this from a book that contains maybe half a dozen curse words. The narrator tells the story in his usual calm voice (this is the third book I've heard him narrate), and the story is still absolutely horrifying.

And the really weird thing is, despite the amount of damage this man did as well as the SUSPECTED damage he did, I found it almost impossible to find anything about him online! Women everywhere should know about men like John Story, and they should learn from the many, many mistakes made by the women in the town of Lovell. Naivety is a dangerous thing. So is silence.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Well researched story of incredibly arrogant md

Would you listen to Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell again? Why?

This is such a disturbing story of how an arrogant doctor could prey on the innocence of so many women even when confronted with the facts. Jack Olson really delves into the characters, and we discover the innocence of the LDS women who are somewhat ripe for the scheming of such a devious character.

Have you listened to any of Kevin Pierce’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, I listened to Kevin Pierce narrate "Son", another Jack Olson story of a disturbed and criminal man who preyed on women. He does a nice jib of telling the story without adding drama where there doesn't need to be any, and making the facts sound more factual than sensational.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The most extreme reactions I had was anger and contempt. How could this educated, religiously moral man be so contemptuous of a group of females as to rape them without conscious? He was the father of daughters. He put himself and his family on a pedestal, and he never tried to apologize to the many women he had wronged because he seemed to think they deserved it, after all, he was a good man, a church leader, a valued member of the community.. His wife and daughters could never accept that this rapist was the same man they knew, and he was able to hide it so that some of the women he showed such contempt for actually defended him before the truth all came out. . He was totally in denial through it all, never admitting his role as a rapist. I felt terrible for the women in his life that couldn't accept the facts.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Just Beginning To Read Jack Olsen...

and listened to Doc after listening to the twenty one hours of Son: A Psychopath And His Victims nearly nonstop. Olsen does in Doc exactly what he accomplishes in Son: in a terse, tight, Hemingway style, he paints a vivid, living background and then peoples it with living, breathing individuals, good, bad, ugly, letting the story come to life of its own, teasing out each fact, each personality, each vital detail. The stories are purely factual, but they are nothing like police reports; they are even less like tabloid stories. They are crime stories, Capote-style, just as they should be. Doc comes highly recommended from this reader.

29 of 34 people found this review helpful

A + for true crime fans

This is a disturbing look into a true psychopath. Dr. Story’s unbelievable arrogance and brazen rape of these poor women. I could feel the anger rise in me many time throughout the book, the women we treated terribly by all parties. When a book can spur emotions it's a plus.

Highly recommended

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

Misuse of Christianity is not Christianity, or religion.

Having grown up with a religious child molester, I was finally able to separate the baby from the sewage, thank God. This book is a great help to anybody with any sense to see that evil people are adept at using religion to shield themselves. "Oh, but he would never do anything like that!" Yeah, well he might be more clever & has the advantage of knowing the truth & preemptively able to cover it. I know because I saw it, yet it is so damn difficult to overcome. Especially within a religious context of authority. Extremely well nuanced book.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Beyond Maddening

Would you consider the audio edition of Doc: The Rape of the Town of Lovell to be better than the print version?

I did not read the printed version

What was most disappointing about Jack Olsen’s story?

Disappointing is not the word. I wasn't disappointed. The writing is fine ... a tad slow at times but overall fine. The narrator is excellent. I've heard him on several audio books and he never disappoints. The story itself, (which just is what it is) is absolutely horrific and maddening. Just plain maddening.

Which scene was your favorite?

There's no favorite with a story like this one. But what stands out in particular is that every victim save one, went back over and over and over and over and oh my god why didn't they STOP when they knew something was amiss?????

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Religion makes some women mind numbingly submissive to the point that it's time to dismantle the entire male dominated structure. YES .... that's a long tagline but gosh. I mean, really!

Any additional comments?

Going into it, the reader knows that the subject matter isn't going to be easy to take. The brief description of the book tells you to be prepared to be disturbed. So I was. But I wasn't exactly prepared to end up so very angry angry angry at the doctor/pervert AND at the victims AND at Mormonism in general. With each chapter I felt more and more as if these poor victims would NOT have tolerated this pervert doctor AT ALL had they not been so entrenched in a male dominated / female subjugated group like the Mormons. They appeared to be clearly trained by their religion to lay down and take it (whatever the IT may be). These women never lost their voice because they never had it to begin with. They were never allowed their voice. And if that's how 'heavenly father' wants women to be, then count me out. It's an abusive, unfair, unkind, and UNWISE way to live life IMO. This is the only rationale I can come up with for why these women went back to this sicko over and over (X100) when they knew something was so terribly wrong. I understand the concept of being naive early in the ob/gyn game as a patient. Been there/done that. But this went on for YEARS as in DECADES for some women. And frankly, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that going to the doctor for an ear infection or for strep throat does NOT require a pelvic exam. Just maddening. Drop kick this guy into prison, wake these women up from their cult induced stupor and get as far from religion as you can.

37 of 49 people found this review helpful