The Serial Killer's Apprentice by Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman

At just fourteen years old, Elmer Wayne Henley, Jr. met the man who would ruin not only his life, but obliterate the lives of so many other boys and young men: Dean Corll, a serial killer also known as the Candyman. Henley joined another teen, David Brooks, in Corll's orbit and the two ultimately helped procure boys and young men for Corll, murder the boys and young men, and cover up the murders. Corll thought he had both boys under his thrall, but that changed on August 8, 1973. On that day, Henley fatally shot Corll to free himself and two other teen captives. 

But how did this happen? How did Corll manage to pull Henley and Brooks into his horrific world? How was Corll able to take at least 28 lives before Henley turned the tables? The Serial Killer’s Apprentice examines this case carefully. Through impressive detective work and heart wrenching interviews with Henley himself (Brooks is deceased), Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman show how a combination of Corll's "mur-dar" (a predator’s instinct for exploitable kids), adverse childhood events of all perpetrators, homophobia, a larger syndicate of predators, and faulty policework (at best) or coverups (at worst) led to this tragic series of events.

While difficult to read at times due to the nature of the crimes, Ramsland and Ullman ultimately provide a story of how predators operated then and how they continue to operate now.

The Serial Killer's Apprentice by Katherine Ramsland and Tracy Ullman, Crime Ink