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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Misses the mark, August 21, 2007
This review is from: Nightmare in Napa: The Wine Country Murders (48 Hours Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
Superficial and pedantic reporting of a tragic double murder of two young women in Napa back in 2004. The book reads like it was slapped together in a rush to production by the producers of 48 Hours Mystery, who are making it their flagship entry into the true crime genre. It's not a police procedural, it's not a courtroom drama. Most of its 375 pages is a minutia-filled reconstruction of the reactions of every conceivable person who knew them to learning of the murders of Adriane Insogna and Leslie Mazzara. When we finally get to the heart of the story, at least three-fourths of the way through the book, the author offers little insight into the devastating event. If you saw the 48 Hours Mystery episode, there's no need to read this book.
The many reconstructed conversations with bit players in the drama are annoying in their blend of fact and fiction; the author has know way to accurately know what these individuals were saying, much less what they were feeling or thinking. More annoying is the insertion of the producers into the story in a self-serving way. With the 20-20 hindsight of a Monday morning quarterback, we learn that when two of the CBS producers met the killer before he had been identified, they had a creepy feeling about him. We learn that one of the producers took one of the victims' mothers out to the baseball game, and it was "all you could ask for ... the night ended on a high."
Unfortunately, author Paul LaRosa downplays angles that could have made this story of interest to a larger audience. How did the killer manage to slip under the police radar, despite a massive manhunt involving 50 officers, more than 1,300 interviews, and 218 DNA samples? (When he finally went to police to turn himself in after almost a year under their noses, the door to the station was locked and he had a lengthy wait before they could find someone to let him in!) Who was this man, and why did he do it? We get a few simplistic theories, but nothing satisfying from a psychological perspective - perhaps because no one who could have provided insight would talk to 48 Hours.
Despite its sensationalist front cover (a young woman sipping from a glass of blood-red wine), the book may interest people with personal ties to either of the young women who lost their lives. It also may interest people with ties to the Napa area (although I heard that a planned book-signing in Napa had to be cancelled due to overwhelming community opposition). But for people without those ties, there are many more insightful and well-written true crime books out there. (In Cold Blood stands out as the time-tested classic, but there are plenty of contemporary ones as well.)
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22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed, May 13, 2007
This review is from: Nightmare in Napa: The Wine Country Murders (48 Hours Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
With rare exceptions, books in this genre are not literary classics. In Cold Blood is the most famous exception. You do expect, however, that true crime books will reliably follow the formula and tell an interesting story in a reasonably gripping way. This book fails even that minimal test. The organization is choppy, jumping from family reactions (e.g. chapters 7, 8, 10, 12) to victim background (e.g. chapters 9, 11, 15, 17), to the investigation (e.g. chapters 13 and 16). Just when you think you're into the investigation for good starting with Chapter 26 (because that section of the book is called "The Investigation") you run into yet more chapters about victim background and family reactions. The identity of the killer is not revealed until the end--a risky strategy that requires the rest of the story to be taut and suspenseful. It is neither. Then there are four short, tacked-on chapters at the end mentioning--but not resolving--the question of motive and briefly describing the sentencing of the killer. Sorry, can't recommend it.
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, June 2, 2007
This review is from: Nightmare in Napa: The Wine Country Murders (48 Hours Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)
I know from personal experience that the author, Paul LaRosa, reads all the reviews for his books. He cares about what people have to say about his work. It is for that reason that I feel regret for the review I am about to write. I also know from personal experience that when a book review on Amazon is deemed negative or critical of the book, more often than not, the review is rated "unhelpful" by other readers. It is for this reason that I anticipate most readers will find this review, however thoughtful or honest, not helpful.
NIGHTMARE IN NAPA was disappointing and lacking in depth. While the crime itself was tragic and frightening, there was little information about the man who committed the crime. All outstanding True Crime books I have read are exceptional because they explore more than the crime itself... they tell the story of the murderous individual behind the crime. No one who was willing to comment on the crime or its victims really knew the murderer at all. The reader is left with empty wonderings and the unsettling feeling that there is so much more that needs exploration. Perhaps the book was written too soon. Time has a strange way of helping salve wounds and allowing fearful or confused persons to talk.
The two victims were lovely young girls who led very normal lives. Their families were loving and functional. There was no real controversy involving either of the girls or their families. Therefore, it is astounding to me that a full 5 chapters were devoted to Arlene Allen and her feelings about her daughter, Adriane Insogna. It is to be expected that a mother grieves desperately for the loss of a child. However, this is not, in an of itself, always interesting to the reader. I do not mean to sound unsympathetic or without feeling... because I am a kind person, but these chapters were repetitive and dull. One sensitive chapter about a mother's grief would have sufficed.
There were a number of different individuals touched by the murders who stated they were very displeased with the ongoing, two-dimensional portrayal of the victims by the media. It would also appear the author was sympathetic to those who voiced these concerns. Yet, on the back of the book, Leslie Mazzara is once again described as a "Southern beauty queen." As so many who knew Leslie commented, this is an inaccurate statement about the woman Leslie was. She was not a pageant professional. She entered one local contest on the advice of a friend. Consequently, it seems rather unfair to chastise the media for their shameless attempts to garner attention by using the term "beauty queen" and then allow this very description of Leslie Mazzara to be placed on the back cover. You cannot have it both ways.
Additionally, I could have done without the phonetic spellings of some words and phrases. For example, "wanna" for want to -- "gonna" for going to -- "gotta" for got to -- and phrases such as "Whatcha doin'?" This was unnecessary, distracting, and overused.
On a more positive note, I did like the author's interpretation of the motive for the crime. While the public may never reallly know what drove an ordinary man to commit two senseless murders, I do believe Mr. LaRosa provides an insightful explanation of the individual factors that may have culminated in the brutal stabbing deaths of two young women. While identification of a motive does not excuse murder, it does provide a framework for understanding. Mr. LaRosa provides intelligent commentary and speculation about this difficult to define crime.
For those of you who have not read Mr. LaRosa's first book, TACOMA CONFIDENTIAL, you should.
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