Here are some reviews from Audible's website of the In Broad Daylight audiobook:
Publisher's Summary
Edgar-Award winning author Harry MacLean is bringing the New York Times best-seller In Broad Daylight back to print in a keepsake trade paper edition that also includes "The Story Behind 'In Broad Daylight.'" In Broad Daylight tells the story of the killing of Ken Rex McElroy on the main street of Skidmore, Missouri, in July 1981. McElroy, an illiterate hog farmer, had terrorized all of northwest Missouri for over 20 years, until the town, and even law enforcement, was terrified of him. McElroy was shot as he sat in his truck in front of the tavern. Over 45 men witnessed the shooting. Despite two eyewitness accounts and three grand jury investigations, no one has been prosecuted for the crime. In Broad Daylight won an Edgar Award for Best True Crime. It was also made into a movie starring Brian Denehey, Cloris Leachman and Chris Cooper. It was re-released as an e-book on Amazon July 2012 on the 31st anniversary of the killing. St. Martin's Press published the last print edition in 2006. In "The Story Behind 'In Broad Daylight,'" MacLean tells how he researched and wrote the book. He tells of guns being drawn on him, being bitten by a dog, and a confrontation with the killer on the killer's ranch.
In addition to updates on characters from the book (including who is still alive and who has died), the book answers many questions about the killing itself, such as who was involved, and what has become of them. MacLean describes the breakthrough events when key characters agreed to speak with him, and he realized he would finally get the story. The author also discusses the nature of the moral consequences of the killing for the town and those involved in the crime.
©1988 Harry N. Maclean (P)2014 Harry N. Maclean
You have to hear it to believe it
I really enjoyed listening to this book, and found it difficult to break away from it. The remarkable thing about this story is that an entire town could loathe a man so much that some men could shoot and kill him in broad daylight in front of many people, and not a single person would say who did it. In this book the author does a great job of helping us understand how the townspeople felt, and why they felt so powerless to stop Mr. McElroy.
I would strongly recommend this book to people who enjoy reading true crime (a genre I love). The narrator did a great job of telling the story, without getting in the way of it. It was enjoyable to listen to. - Brock
Good Listening
What made the experience of listening to In Broad Daylight the most enjoyable?
I enjoyed the story, I read a short story on the incident but this story was detailed and i was able to get a better view on how everything worked up to the day it the crime happened and what happened to the town after.
What about Dave Clark’s performance did you like?
I like the way it was written, I didn't find any slow area's that dragged. The book was balanced
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
This book was better listening to it in parts. - Letitgo4u
Very well researched and I loved it
it was good audio book . from the writing to the narration of kept me interested. - Nate
Great story
totally loved it could not stop listening felt like I was right there on the streets of Whitmore the description of the victim made it so real. - Missy
Real life tale of justice
I remembered this story from somewhere in my childhood. But the telling of it in such great detail of how so many were bullied and threatened by one man is amazing. a really gripping tale. - Mike H.
Good book and story
Even though you know the ending it still keeps your interest till the end Good narration also easy to listen to. - William S.
Good reality crime.
Excellent narrator. Suspense the whole time. A small town where the justice and moral are in dire straits. - Lars E.
Excellent
Great listen. Narrator is perfect. I googled Skidmore Mo and town looks as though it never recovered. kinda spooky when you know exactly where a man died and see it on Google earth. Details are excellent, really gives an amazing account of the incident. True Crime is my favorite genre and this is for sure one of the best. - Shane S.
The best true-crime audiobook ever
What did you love best about In Broad Daylight?
Compelling story, extremely well-written and superb narration
What does Dave Clark bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He's totally vested in the narration. You forget you're listening - you become a part of the story
Any additional comments?
Not to be missed...I was hesitant about committing 14 or so hours to a story I already knew the ending of...but I thoroughly enjoyed it and hated for the book to end. I've already started my second listen... - W.E. Horner III
Absolutely amazing journalism
The level of work and commitment MacLean put into understanding the subject went above and beyond my expectations. I can tell MacLean was really passionate about wrapping his head around this story and finding the truth, to the point where he dedicated years of his life to living in Skidmore so people would open up to him. This amazing story would have been lost with Skidmore had it not been for MacLean's dedication. - Orion X.
Gripping and poignant.
The story is exhilarating and devastating at the same time. I feel for all involved. The narrator was great! - Greg J.
Great!!
I love books like this. Full of information that fills various gaps in knowledge I had before reading.
10 Star Book
This is almost an unbelievable accounting of what can happen in a small town. I come from a small town and I can relate to almost every person. The narrator brings them to life so vividly. I highly recommend this one! I’d give it 10 stars if I could! - Jeri T.
The World May Never Know
Great book, easy to follow along with. It definitely makes me wonder about other small towns and their forms or of justice and if there are other stories like this. - Ignatious N.
Fascinating Read!
In Broad Daylight captured my attention all the way till the end. What a bizarre true story! - Kelly L.
great listen!!
The audio book is much easier to follow than the Kindle version. The narration made all of the difference! - Jamie S.
Yellow-bellied Cops Made Good People Murderers
Best audible book I’ve listened to. A PERFECT example of cause and effect via biased, cowardly lawmen and law enforcement, which came down on the victims, rather than face their own cowardice. - John
This was a great book that I could not put down
I just happened to find this book by accident and for the moment I started reading it I could not set it down the writer of a strong superb job. I then got on the Internet to look up additional information on the key players and found it very interesting. - Jim F.
Shocked i had never heard this story before
This was a great listen. I finished it in 2 sittings and just couldn’t turn it off. Even had to be a keep it playing when taking the dog for a walk just to hear what the crazy sob was going to do next. If this wasn’t real life, it probably would have been to unbelievable to be enjoyable because you would be thinking “oh, that is convenient, he got off another change to move the plot along, like that would ever really happen”. Crazy stuff.... - MrAurora
good
fascinating story, worth a read, still remember bits of it a couple years later. Writing didn't blow me away but the events are worth learning. - Philip
When the system fails
Interesting story. Makes you wonder about government and its failures. Taking the law into your own hands has to be, and is always an option when the system doesn't do what it was designed to do. Really liked this story. - Anonymous
AMAZING, UNBELIEVABLE STORY!!
In the book the characters were difficult to keep up with, the narrator was slow, monotoned and a bit boring (I increased reading speed to 1.20 to get through the book) and some times there just seemed to be an overload of information. However I was amazed that something like this could actually be true and happened in REAL LIFE! I enjoyed this book despite my opening comment and I recommend it to others. - Pamela H.
Very well researched. Definitely worth a listen.
The narrator was the perfect fit for the style of story. It felt informative. You definitely feel for the town the more you here about the story. - R. Sepulveda
Missouri law
Where does In Broad Daylight rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
one of the best
What did you like best about this story?
I live in Kansas city, Ks and was not aware of this event in 1982; learned to always obey Missouri law, it is to soft on crime
What does Dave Clark bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Felt the fear of loathing of the people of Skidmore for this bully
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Move away from Missouri - Delpha T.
Thieving lying rapist
Ken McElroy was a disgusting lying thieving rapist who got what he deserved after decades of running loose like the rabid animal he was. Shooting and killing ken was justified after the inept cops and scared judges failed the good folks of Skidmore. No sympathy for the devil himself ken McElroy. - William R.
Great story
its a great deep into detail story of the occurrence of that time. it zones off here and there but nothing too much. overall its a great book. - Jesus A.
Story of a Bully
Definitely a story of a Bully, loopholes in the justice system, and pushing a town to it's limit. - PL
Very detailed
This book is very interesting and very detailed. A bit too detail that I got kinda lost when the story goes into the town the each person history. Besides that it was a good book. - Calikatt
Listening for information
good listen, good source for research he did so much. I listen for research and he has done it all. loved it. - Jeena
AWESOME READ!!
I loved this book!! I'm from Missouri and I had never heard this story before. it really intrigued me. I will be reading this book again! - Tori
WOW
Found this very interesting! Definitely worth your time. Shows what can happen when good people are pushed too far and have to do bad things. - Brad P.
Loved it!! Well done!!
This guy NEEDED to die! This should be a more common occurrence in the world. - Anonymous
Fascinating story
The book covers not only the history of the town and players but also the aftermath of the murder as well. The story was engaging enough that I could listen for hours at a time. - Jesse
A listen that'll make your blood boil
I'm not ashamed to say that "Buzzfeed Unsolved" brought me here. By the end of Ryan and Shane's discussion of this case, I was most intrigued. I had wondered, "[H]ow bad could this Ken guy have been for an entire town to keep mum about his killer(s)?" This book answered that and many other questions. What most impressed me about the author's ability to write was how he didn't paint Ken as this inherently rotten human being, but he made him seem quite affable. Ken had had many friends and apart from his violent tendencies, he was able to attract and court women. His children appeared to love him dearly. Inspite of this, Ken did bad things. A lot of terrible things. And this book details them with such care, that one is easily able to chart the beginning of the end for him. Moreso than Ken's horrid ways, it was the lack of legal protection that was frustrating. Added to this, was Skidmore's general behaviour towards Ken's victims. Both of these things bolstered Ken in his belief that he was "bulletproof", a god among men. Thus, to a large extent, one wonders whether Skidmore didn't in fact birth and raise its own demon only to suffer the consequences of slaying it. That question is left for the reader to answer. I fully recommend this book to all True Crime lovers, like myself. - Anonymous
Lawlessness breeds lawlessness
A town with no options learns to regret taking the law into their own hands but they rightly feel no guilt. - James G.
Vigilante town
The story was very long and had a lot t of players. This was a true sad story which made it more interesting. sometimes you just have to take care of things yourself when those in charge aren't. Reminds me of Trump building his casinos and refusing to pay the contractors. He drug it out in court so long the poor workers had no chance. Karma is real. - Anonymous
Great hook to keep you in
Couldn't set this down. I was involved and felt as if I was in that time and place throughout. - Schroeder
Great story about doing what had to be done
can't believe the whole town was involved and did the right thing to be safe. memorable story not to be forgotten. - Anonymous
Super listen
Never had heard of any of this until I started this audiobook. Loved it. - Byron K.
Murder of a bully, small town remains hush hush
I am from Maryville and and wanted to hear this story. I have met some of the people mentioned in this book. what a unique and horrible situation. - Matthew H.
Best book ever
This book tells a story in-depth that has been misrepresented by all others that have tried to spin it. Thank you Harry MacLean. - Danny J.
Great story.
I had read the book when it came out. I was good to go back and listen to it. - E. Murphy
Terrifying but awesome book
I remember when this all happened and the TV movie came out. I always wondered what happened afterwards and this book answered all my questions. - Danielle B.
Interesting story
Very well researched and told. Book went off on tangents that was not relevant to story. I really didn’t care about the use of combines and pumpkin festival happenings. The story of Ken Rex was very compelling. - Anonymous
Fascinating story
Very interesting. Paints a good picture of a small town struggling with a difficult issue. Also identifies failure of the legal system to protect. - Anonymous
Awesome True Crime Story
Would you consider the audio edition of In Broad Daylight to be better than the print version?
Haven't read the print but loved the audio.
What was one of the most memorable moments of In Broad Daylight?
What a man can get away with in a town for so long.
Which scene was your favorite?
When the town had enough and shot him.
What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?
I would have to say, how incredible long people are willing to put up with something.
Any additional comments?
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audio book by the author, narrator, or publisher. - M. Wesson
Thought provoking
Well researched & detailed. However, it did tend to get bogged down and drag in those details at times. Thought provoking. The truth is always stranger than fiction. The law enforcement agencies & the justice system certainly failed to protect that community. If backed into a corner what would you do........ - Kat K.