“The Unspeakable Crimes of Dr. Petiot” Thomas Maeder - partial read

I got this book a couple of years ago out of morbid curiosity. On a recent trip to California I decided to give it a try. After several hours of reading I gave it up, and now it will go into the recycle box of books to send to the Planned Parenthood book sell. If you’re interested in reading this book, this is a fair warning that you don’t want to read the rest of this commentary.

I am ashamed to say that I like true crime books, but lately I have gotten some duds and maybe that should be a lesson to me. I suspect I acquired some bad books because I had read some good books about 10 years ago, and in looking for more of the same I became less discriminating. That this book was set during WWII made it even more enticing, but my eagerness led me to choose poorly.

The writing left much to be desired. There is no anticipation or suspense. In short order we know what the crime is and who committed it. We are also told that certain facts would never be established, such as the motivation, the method, and even exactly who was killed. What begins then is a tedious detailing of the events of the discovery of the crime scene, the people involved, and, I guess since I quit at this point, the trial and aftermath. At one point I had hope that the book would be reminiscent of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” as Maeder began to describe some of the quirky characters involved. But, I was wrong.

I am sad to say that I was reeled in by the publisher’s description, a few reviews, the sensational nature of the crimes and the hope of a good story. I realize now that I had not heard much of this criminal before because beyond the gruesomeness of the crimes, there is not much else to tell. Maeder’s meticulous research did not translate into a good true crime tale. My usual feelings of guilt for using crime as entertainment are much greater for having bought and attempting to read this book. If I could be truly penitent here, I would, but I know that in the future I will give into temptation once again and more true crime books will make their way onto my bookshelves.