Customer Reviews

Masquerade

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
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In a way, I'm glad I moved out of Detroit before I read Lowell Cauffiel's true crime book, "Masquerade." I spent most of my career working, going to school, and socializing in and around Cass Corridor, which is where this book's characters spent their lives getting high, turning tricks, pimping, and oddly enough, practicing psychology.

Detroit's Cass Corridor is an urban slum, made up more of apartment buildings, pay-by-the-hour hotels, and deteriorating storefronts than free-standing houses. Of those who live there, 73 percent are black, 49 percent have graduated from high school and almost all -- 98 percent -- are renters. It encompasses Detroit's biggest drug houses, the most hookers, the best Chinese restaurant, the world's largest Masonic Temple (where we used to go see performances of the Metropolitan Opera on Tour), and a gaggle of Wayne State University students who want to live close to campus and are too poor to look elsewhere. If you stand out in the middle of Second Avenue, the street that runs right through the Corridor (careful, you might get solicited by a cruising john), and look north, you will see what one local radio station insists on calling the 'Golden Tower' of the Fisher Building.

This book is about a single murder in 1984 that stood out amongst Detroit's 600+ murders that year because of its brutality, and because of the odd character of the victim, who was a successful psychologist and marital counselor.

The murder itself is an anti-climax and occurs near the end of the book. There is no mystery about who is going to kill whom. The meat of "Masquerade" lies in the interactions between pimp, hooker, and sugar daddy. How did a psychologist with a thriving practice in the 'Golden Tower' of the Fisher Building and a six-bedroom, six-bathroom Tudor in Grosse Pointe Park become so involved with an ordinary streetwalker and her pimp, that he spent over $1,000/week on their drug habits? How did he manage to keep his life in Cass Corridor a secret for over a year from his psychologist-wife?

I can't remember the last time I read with such fascination about lethal relationships and the destruction they wrought on seemingly good marriages and friendships. Everyone involved ended up with nightmares, even the jurors.

Many chapters begin with an ironic quotation from the lectures and books of the murder victim or his psychologist-father. Even though it isn't a whodunit, you're likely to form an obsessive-compulsive relationship with "Masquerade" once you begin reading it.

The book does sag a bit as it inches toward the murder, and it is depressing as hell to read, but I've already searched the internet to see if I can get another fix from this author.

Mr. Cauffiel does an excellent job describing the ghetto that is, and has for a long time been Detroit. "Masquerade" was like our own little real-life "Blue Velvet". If you always thought that psychiatrists usually get into the business because they're half-nuts themselves, this book will reaffirm that notion. I think the story would make an excellent movie. Dennis Hopper as John Fry?? Angelina Jolie as Dawn Spens? Samuel L. Jackson as Mark Bando??? As far as "Where Are They Now?" The other reviewer was mistaken. Fry was not "released" in the usual sense of the word. He was "paroled" to the hereafter......he died in prison of that ...disease, Hepatitis C. John Woodington retired from the Detroit PD and is doing accident investigation work. Mark Bando retired after 25 years with the Detroit PD and is an accomplished writer, having authored 4 published works on the 101st. Airborne Division and the 2nd. Armored Division in WWII. Sell your Ambrose books and buy Bando's. ...
Don't miss the "forum" section. Maybe Bando could do a "Masquerade" tour of the Detroit ghetto? Kind of like that guy in NYC does "Seinfeld"? ...

This is much more than a routine "by-the-numbers" crime story; it's a compelling psychological thriller that conjures up images of Hitchcock and Freud, and yet, it's horrifying because it's unfortunately all too real. Alan Canty was a psychologist with all the right credentials; nevertheless, he considered himself a fraud, not least because of the emotional baggage he carried throughout his life. "Masquerade" is a very appropriate title, since Canty spent most of his life "playing roles", as adolescents do, "testing" different character types, usually James Dean or the "hip criminal insider". Author Cauffiel gives vivid descriptions of Alan's early life with his indulgent mother and distant father, who was a criminologist. The implication is that Al's fascination with the seamy, dark world of psychopaths was partly out of identification with his father, and was partly stemmed out of rebellion. Decades later (at age 50), with a bright, loving, beautiful wife and a grand Tudor in Grosse Pointe, Al made the fatal mistake of seeking thrills in the heart of the Cass Corridor, where he encountered an 18-year-old prostitute named Dawn Spens. Dawn and her boyfriend, a pimp nicknamed "Lucky" Fry, would prove to be an endless source of fascination for Canty because of their lawless, greedy lives; a fatal attraction indeed.

What makes the book such a page-turner is the manner in which it's written. Cauffiel fills the book with mere snippets of chapters that are tantalizing. Characters from every walk of life are introduced, from Al's wife, mother, and patients to the circle of prostitutes and drug fiends that make up Lucky and Dawn's crowd. One young woman, Lucky's ex-girlfriend Cheryl, has a story interesting enough to rate her own book. Others, such as Al's wife, Jan, show astonishing courage and strength in a crisis.

Cauffiel pulls no punches with any of the main characters. Al Canty is showcased in all of his obsession and selfishness, as well as his understanding and generosity. His need to control and play the "Henry Higgins" role to a succession of young proteges stemmed from his deep insecurities; most of his life he apparently continued to believe that perhaps he wasn't really necessary to anyone. However, even in spite of his treatment of Jan, and his indulging Dawn in heroin and other drugs, Canty is shown to be a pitiable figure. His self-esteem came from "hangin'" with criminal types and playing the great benefactor, literally showering the perpetually ungrateful Lucky and Dawn with money. Dawn is shown to be a manipulator and a tough, hard-as-nails con artist; several of her evaluators, including Jan Canty, saw only the frail, drug-abused young adolescent with liver disease that she appeared to be at the trial. John "Lucky" Fry looked and behaved like the textbook description of a psychopath; throughout the book, he is shown to be consistently self-centered, with no empathy for others and no conscience whatsoever. Even his affection for children, such as his nieces and nephews, does not inspire caution or responsible behavior on his part.

Maybe another reason this is such a fascinating story is because of that famous saying, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." Canty's tragic death forces everyone to take a look at their own lives, and to wonder if there is anything they can possibly do to prevent a similar tragedy.

In a way, I'm glad I moved out of Detroit before I read Lowell Cauffiel's true crime book, "Masquerade." I spent most of my career working, going to school, and socializing in and around Cass Corridor, which is where this book's characters spent their lives getting high, turning tricks, pimping, and oddly enough, practicing psychology.

Detroit's Cass Corridor is an urban slum, made up more of apartment buildings, pay-by-the-hour hotels, and deteriorating storefronts than free-standing houses. Of those who live there, 73 percent are black, 49 percent have graduated from high school and almost all -- 98 percent -- are renters. It encompasses Detroit's biggest drug houses, the most hookers, the best Chinese restaurant, the world's largest Masonic Temple (where we used to go see performances of the Metropolitan Opera on Tour), and a gaggle of Wayne State University students who want to live close to campus and are too poor to look elsewhere. If you stand out in the middle of Second Avenue, a street that runs right through the Corridor (careful, you might get solicited by a cruising john), and look north, you will see what one local radio station insists on calling the 'Golden Tower' of the Fisher Building.

This book is about a single murder in 1984 that stood out amongst Detroit's 600+ murders that year because of its brutality, and because of the odd character of the victim, who was a successful psychologist and marital counselor.

The murder itself is an anti-climax and occurs near the end of the book. There is no mystery about who is going to kill whom. The meat of "Masquerade" lies in the interactions between pimp, hooker, and sugar daddy. How did a psychologist with a thriving practice in the 'Golden Tower' of the Fisher Building and a six-bedroom, six-bathroom Tudor in Grosse Pointe Park become so involved with an ordinary streetwalker and her pimp, that he spent over $1,000/week on their drug habits? How did he manage to keep his life in Cass Corridor a secret for over a year from his psychologist-wife?

I can't remember the last time I read with such fascination about lethal relationships and the destruction they wrought on seemingly good marriages and friendships. Everyone involved ended up with nightmares, even the jurors.

Many chapters begin with an ironic quotation from the lectures and books of the murder victim or his psychologist-father. Even though it isn't a whodunit, you're likely to form an obsessive-compulsive relationship with 'Masquerade' once you begin reading it.

This book does sag a bit as it inches toward the murder, and it is depressing as hell to read, but I've already searched the internet to see if I can get another fix from this author.

This book is great. I had bought the original copy from the drug store and had read it so many times, it was falling apart. So I taped the binding up and gave it to my boyfriends mother, who lives just up the street from where Dr. Canty was killed. The house where Alan Canty was killed isn't there any more. Been demolished for a few years now. The apartment building behind it, has also been torn down.I had done an exhaustive search on the 'net looking for any new and relevant information about John Fry and couldn't find anything. I did an offender search with the MDOC(Michigan Dept of Corrections) and I got his offender number by sending an email to them. His number was 129784. He was released on 9/15/1995. Can't believe they would let anybody out who did such a horrendous crime. Killing, dismemebering and scattering the body parts. His(the Dr's) head, hands and feet were put in a valise and buried up in Alanson, MI. The one detective Marylyss Landeros ran for Detroit City Council at last election. She lost. Dawn Spens lawyer,Robert Ziolkowski, is now a Judge of Recorder's Court.John Fry's distant cousin, Linda Sue Stennett, I saw one day down at the Secretary of State, although I don't know her personally. She's tall and got blonde hair.Don't know the whereabouts of the other people in the book.Hope this helps anyone who wants to know the whereabouts of these people. Wish I could find out about the rest.

This is one of the best true crime books I've read in ages. Lowell Cauffiel is certainly thorough with the details but that's what makes this book shine. I've always been a little interested in this case, I've lived in the Detroit Area for quite a few years and this case certainly made a splash when it happened. I've always felt bad for Jan Canty and have always felt that she was the ultimate victim. This book kind of reaffirmed [to me] that there's a dark side in the field of psychotherapy.... I wonder what Dr. Phil does with his double life.....
This is an interesting book and it's depressing as hell as you delve into the lives of the lowest forms of life that exist in the shallow end of the gene pool. It's a must read for anyone who lives in the area, especially if they recall this case when it made the headlines.

I grew up in the Metro Detroit area and have read this book multiple times since I discovered it. I read it about once a year, actually! I just finished it again recently and I am still left wondering what ever happened to the people involved with this case? There is not much information to be found on ANYone and yet I still find myself wanting, and attempting to look for, more info every time after I finish RE-reading this book. I know someone said John Fry died in prison of hepatitis or something....and I think I did recently find that Dawn ended up in Canton, MI...

I know the people involved probably just wanted to put this whole thing behind them, but I would LOVE to see some sort of follow up "City Confidential" type story on this with interviews from some of the major people in this book like Jan and Cheryl and John and even Dawn if she would do it.

And with all the dumb storied, poorly acted movies floating around out there, isn't a story like THIS even worth at LEAST "based on a true story" Lifetime Movie? I'd love to see it, this story is more interesting than fiction!!

Lowell Cauffiel has written a great 5 star book. It is the story of Dr. Al Canty who took a walk on the wild dark side and did not come back.

His mutilated body was found in different sites all over Detroit.

Dr. Al traveled form Grosse Point Park where he lived in a 4000 sq ft home with 6 bedrooms and 6 baths to Cass Corridor, a slum where he meets whore Dawn Spens and her pimp John Carl "LUCKY" Fry. These people are the lowest of the low lives.

Al supports their expensive drug addiction and their lawless life style. Before long Dr. Al has given them every cent he has. It is estimated that he gave them over $140,000. His life completely falls apart. He has told so many lies to so many people he can not keep his stories straight.

When there is no more money and he wants out Lucky kills him.

Al's whole life was a MASQUERADE. You will meet his lovely wife, his controlling mother,some of his patients and some friends. It turns out none of these people knew him at all. It leaves them all confused and sick at heart.

Dawn was given 10 months in jail and Lucky life in prison. One reviewer said he died in prison 9-15-95.

As an avid reader in the true crime genre, I am greatly impressed with Lowell Cauffiel's work. His books are all extremely well written accounts that reflect extensive research and a keen insight into the psychological make-up of not only the principal subjects, but peripheral players in the drama as well. Cauffiel takes his true crime accounts to a higher level than most of his peers. Typically, I find myself thinking that no one else could have told the story better than Cauffiel.

Masquerade is no exception. Describing the case itself as "fascinating" would be an understatement. Detailing the sordid story of how outwardly conservative Dr. W. Alan Canty became obsessed with prostitute Dawn Spens, Cauffiel's book expertly uncovers the events that ultimately led to a violent showdown between Canty and Spens's pimp Lucky Fry.

Although pigeonholed as a psychologist and a prostitute on the surface, both Canty and Spens turn out to be much more than what they seem. Canty is a seemingly happily married, highly successful psychologist from a good family, whose greatest vices appear to be overindulging in coffee and a tendency to be a workaholic. Simmering under the surface, however, is a strong urge to explore his hidden, more base desires. His poor wife, Jan, also a psychologist, has no clue about her husband's secret life; she truly believes they have a blissful union.

Prostitute Dawn Spens, meanwhile, is a former honors student from the suburbs gone bad, a hard core junkie and opportunist of the first order. When she teams up with pimp/boyfriend Lucky Fry they become a force to be reckoned with, and one that comparatively sheltered Dr. Canty is ill prepared to handle.

After Canty and Spens meet at the outskirts of the "Cass Corridor" and begin "dating," karma takes its inevitable course. Canty is caught up in an obsession so intense he cannot resist its pull. Depleting his own funds to a greater and greater degree, Canty finds his finances and his life spiraling ever downward. Spens and Fry use his funds primarily for drugs, and enjoy the rewards of increased monetary gain derived from very little actual effort. They become reliant on his support at nearly the same time Canty is coming to his senses and attempting to escape their clutches. Tragically he comes to this realization far too late. He wants to return to the security of hearth and home; they want the gravy train to be unending.

Finally the inevitable happens. Canty winds up stone cold broke, and wants to make a clean break before he loses his very sanity. This will never do for Fry and Spens; they have come to rely on Canty's largesse and expect the handouts to continue. If anything, their greed for more money and the drugs it will buy only increases over time. Any diminution of these funds (or even worse, a stop to them altogether) is enough to make Lucky's temper climb ever higher. Ultimately it all comes to a head in an unexpectedly grisly way.

Congratulations to Lowell Cauffiel for a deeply compelling morality tale; your literary talent and insights make me fervently hope you will write many more true crime books to come!

I have read MANY True Crime books and this one is one of my favorites. I highly recommend it.