Author Richard Bruns’ chronicling of a serial killer’s fifty-year-old murders in Tucson, Arizona is riveting. Riveting and unique because it is told from the inside out. Though Bruns was trashed by a sensationalized press who publicly labeled him an “accomplice”; in actuality, he was nothing more than what we in law enforcement call “a percipient witness.” He had no involvement in the horrific murders, and he committed no crimes. Mr. Bruns’ writing comes from the abyss found in a hard life lived well. Highly recommended. Read it.

A haunting story from the past, written by someone who lived it.”

Everything about I, a Squealer is unique, from its disturbing theme to the staccato, first-person narration. My best advice is to read it with the lights on.

Good folks are rarely permitted behind the dark curtain of crime into the inner sanctum of evil where deeply flawed souls lurk. That’s what makes Richard Bruns’ intimate true-crime memoir so striking and memorable. It is a journey along the razor’s edge of morality inside the criminal psyche, where few answers are black-and-white, but all deathly gray. Take a deep breath before you start.

I, a Squealer is a gripping and compulsive read that takes you on a twisted ride through the mind of a serial killer and the sinister murders he committed. Hold on tight.

I have never read a story quite like I, a Squealer. This is a true story written in 1967 by Richard Bruns, a young man who became friends with a man in his neighborhood who later committed multiple murders as a serial killer nicknamed ‘The Pied Piper of Tucson.’ I, a Squealer is a first-person look at Bruns’ battle with his conscience, his fears and the stigma against ratting on a friend -- a powerful and intimate exploration of one man’s moral dilemma.”

In 1965 the charismatic serial killer Charles Schmid, the ‘Pied Piper of Tucson,’ gathered around him a group of teens to whom he bragged about his killings and sometimes even showed them the bodies of his victims. One of them was Richard Bruns who eventually went to the police and later testified against Schmid. After the trial and conviction of Schmid, Bruns wrote his inside account of the murders but never published it. Now, fifty years later, Bruns’ shocking manuscript has been released to the public giving us for the first time a valuable look into the ‘Pied Piper of Tucson’ Serial murders in 1964-1965.

It is refreshing to find someone who believes that the Schmids of this world, tragic though may be their contributions to life, are potential assets not insects. If people were to carefully study and chronicle these misfits, we might learn something. I beat that drum best I could in the Desalvo (Boston Strangler) case, but no one was listening. Same applies to Schmid.

I read I, a Squealer with a great interest as it provided me with a view of a serial killer’s behavior and interactions with others that, as a forensic scientist, I do not glean from a crime scene. The personal account given by Richard Bruns of his companionship with serial killer, Charles Schmid, offers a powerful insight into the complexities and uncertainties he endured with this evil person. This book is well-written and Bruns shares many fascinating details of his interactions with the “Pied Piper of Tucson.”

Nothing I’ve read about Charles Schmid brings him and his crimes to life in the way this book does. Bruns’ account of how he summoned the courage to come forward and confront this charismatic and frightening man is gripping and moving. I, a Squealer is a riveting and beautifully written memoir, full of suspense, touches of poetry, and sharp, well-observed details that provide a new and illuminating perspective on a terrible crime. It is both a cautionary tale, told by someone who was dangerously close to a disturbed killer, and a chilling evocation of a dark moment in our history.