Death of a Dream (48 Hours Mystery) [Mass Market Paperback]

Paul LaRosa (Author), Erin Moriarty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2008

A BEAUTIFUL GIRL WITH AMBITIOUS DREAMS -- DID FOLLOWING HER HEART COST HER LIFE?

Award-winning journalists from TV's 48 Hours Mystery go inside the case that shocked even jaded New Yorkers: the murder of aspiring dancer Catherine Woods.

She was a gifted midwestern beauty, the daughter of Ohio State University's marching band director: to dance on Broadway. Soon after high school graduation, Catherine left Columbus for New York City, determined to be a star. Three years later, she was dead -- murdered in cold blood in her East Side apartment. The shocking revelations that emerged from the police investigation made tabloid headlines: few knew that the struggling artist paid her bills by dancing in a topless club. But there was another hidden facet to Catherine's life -- a shattering love triangle with two men, one of whom would ultimately be convicted of her brutal stabbing death. It's a chilling account of obsession, violence, and the surprising, minute evidence on which the entire case hinged. For a talented young woman reaching for the top, and the heartbroken family she left behind, it is truly the death of a dream.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The real-life brutal murder of Catherine Woods, a beautiful exotic dancer, in November of 2005, fed tabloid headlines. 48 Hours correspondents La Rosa and Moriarty serve up a true crime account of her story and that of Paul Cortez, who was convicted of the crime the following year. Dubbed the Stripper Beauty, Catherine was 18 when she moved to Manhattan from Columbus, Ohio (where her father directs the Ohio State University's marching band). Her dreams of Broadway were tested by a rape. On returning to New York, she soon had an Ohio pal, David Haughn, living with her on the Upper East Side, but began dating others, including Cortez, then 24, an educated band musician and yoga enthusiast who disapproved of Catherine's dancing topless for hefty take-home cash. La Rosa and Moriarty deliver a compelling account of her horrifying murder and the subsequent investigation and trial. Their version of events allows readers to draw their own conclusions as to whether justice was served. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Paul Larosa is an Emmy Award-winning producer for the CBS newsmagazine 48 Hours. He won a Primetime Emmy for the acclaimed CBS documentary 9/11, and has also won a Peabody Award, a Christopher Award, and an Edward R. Murrow Award. For sixteen years he was reporter for the New York Daily News, where he was the co-winner with Anna Quindlen of the Meyer Berger Award given by Columbia University's School of Journalism. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their two children.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416546618
• ISBN-13: 978-1416546610
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #765,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars, April 4, 2009

By 

Therese Hercher - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death of a Dream (48 Hours Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

As a decades-long true crime aficionado, I appreciate both the style and content of this book. The authors resist sensationalism, thereby allowing us to see all characters on both sides as human beings. Though readers of this genre don't expect authors to be totally impartial, we don't want their personal biases jumping off the pages either. We prefer balance and objectiveness, especially at the outset. LaRosa's ability to provide that is the hallmark of classic whodunits. Death of a Dream engages us from beginning to end. Five stars!
Rose Hercher Wright

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not much of a book, March 27, 2008

By 

Smith (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death of a Dream (48 Hours Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you know little or nothing about the Catherine Woods' murder case, you might find this book marginally more interesting than I did. But if you were informed about the case, of a beautiful Ohio girl who moved to New York and was killed by a guy she had dated, then you'll be bored and even annoyed by "Death of a Dream." There's basically no new information here, and the writing goes from mediocre to terrible. Don't bother.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Death of a Dream, August 3, 2009

By 

MoodyBlue - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death of a Dream (48 Hours Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

Catherine Woods comes to New York with a dream to make it as a dancer on Broadway. While studying dance she takes a job as a stripper to help make ends meet. She lives with an ex-boyfriend while dating another. One November night she is brutally murdered. Is it the ex-boyfriend that says he just left to get the car, or is it her new boyfriend that isn't too happy with her current job, and who happens to be in the neighborhood when she's murdered? I remember the story of Catherine but didn't pay too much attention, because it read like tabloid fodder. Mr. LaRosa takes the reader down a path that allows you to get to know Ms. Woods and those involved without all the "in your face" drama that the media hits you with. The book also leaves you wondering if they have the right man. I look forward to the next true crime book by Mr. LaRosa.