Death In The City Of Light: The Serial Killer Of Nazi-Occupied Paris (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
This book is pretty much as exciting as true crime can get. I can't even begin to fathom that this stuff actually happened.The only reason I didn't give it five stars, however, was the author tends to go on long rants about people and occurrences completely unrelated to the story such as Albert Camus's writings and the picassos play. Additionally I felt like every chapter the author was introducing At least half a dozen new characters, which got really confusing. A serial killer in Paris hides his nefarious deeds by melting into the chaos of the Nazi occupation.The book opens with the discovery of a human slaughter house in the heart of Paris. A thick black smoke had gone up over a property belonging to Dr Marcel Petiot and his neighbours called in to the fire department, fearing his building was about to go up in flames. From there, the author, David King, traces the life of Dr. Petiot alongside the rise of Nazi Germany and it's occupation of Paris. King goes through the ephemera of the case, the people involved, and the outcome of particular lives and the case itself.I felt that King's transitions from the case against Petiot into the sections regarding the Nazi's reign in Paris weren't as smooth as they could have been. I really enjoyed reading "Devil in the White City" by Erik Larsen and had thought that this book was by the same author (maybe I should check next time!). Larsen handled going between the two worlds of his tome better than King.Given that, this book is a very interesting read. The author details facts about Nazi control of Paris that may not be widely known. What you may think is a slam-dunk case against Dr. Petiot turns out to be fairly confusing (for the jury, at least - the crime have been spelled out for the reader). There is a puzzling search for the motive of the crimes - I thought it was pretty obvious from the beginning as to why the murders were committed. The author also gives us, in the epilogue, his opinion as to what happened and why (I think he's spot on).
What do You think about Death In The City Of Light: The Serial Killer Of Nazi-Occupied Paris (2011)?
Interesting true story - a bit too long - the first half of the book was very absorbing
—jocie
A tragic story. Well written allowing a glimpse into the history of this horrible era
—Neva
Very slow moving... Hard to get into- try to read it again later
—Mari
Interesting topic but ultimately a little disappointing.
—fboo3
