The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer (Mass Market Paperback)

by Robert K. Tanenbaum (Author), Peter S. Greenberg (Author) "IT WAS AN UNSEASONABLY WARM FALL Monday night in New York City..." (more)
Key Phrases: criminal route, complaint room, instant offense, New York, Charles Yukl, Karin Schlegel (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This true crime tale presents a stinging indictment of the judicial system at its worst, freeing a killer to kill again. Tannenbaum (No Lesser Plea, Badge of the Assassin) and Greenberg, a syndicated columnist and TV producer, examine Charles Yukl's childhood: son of musical parents, he had an icy, perfectionist mother determined to make him a great pianist and a distant, uncommunicative father. He grew up to become a maladjusted loner who hated women. And when, working on the fringes of show business in Manhattan, in 1966 he murdered one of his pupils, Suzanna Reynolds, he was given a light sentence and served only five years. He went back to the entertainment world and repeated the pattern, killing another pupil in 1974, Karen Schlegal. Convicted and eligible for parole in 1989, Yukl hanged himself in a prison hospital in 1982.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
In 1974, Charles Yukl, a New York City clerk who dabbled in music and photography, murdered a female acquaintance in his apartment. Yukl was on parole, having been convicted of a similar killing in 1966. Tanenbaum, who coauthored Badge of the Assassin ( LJ 4/1/79), was Yukl's prosecutor. The book's subtitle is rather misleading given Tanenbaum's opposition to the idea that Yukl should be found "not guilty by reason of insanity." Yukl, who committed suicide in prison, was deeply disturbed but his drives receive only perfunctory attention in this brief, dated story. It is, however, competently written and will interest true crime buffs. Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743432991
• ISBN-13: 978-0743432993
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #327,192 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Riveting and chilling, January 3, 2000

By	"ab234" (Bridgeport, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer (Paperback)

Though I read this book several years ago, I still remember it vividly and hope this review inspires someone to buy it. I don't normally buy books like this; in fact, I picked this one up from a freebie table at work because I needed to read something on the train home, and boy, was I in for a surprise! The author leaves you hanging at the end of each chapter, luring you into the next until you're done before you know it. My heart pounded from the suspense and ached for the victims. This will be well worth your money.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Non-fiction at its best., October 22, 1999

By	Andrea Sonn "qaid3" (East Windsor, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer (Paperback)

The authors give a chilling and factual account of themis-steps involved in seeking justice for a murderer of two youngacting students in the late sixties and early seventies in NYC. After being convicted for the first crime he is released from prison after 7 years, only to kill again less than 2 years later. After serving only part of his sentence for the second crime another technical error is poised to set him free again on parole. He is unaware of this and commits suicide in his cell. The authors paint a detailed and involving portrait of this psychotic serial killer, as well as the courts, the police officials, and the D.A.'s office. Issues of the insanity defense, the Miranda warning, the legalities of a valid confession, and the general atmosphere of the NYC justice system, are all raised in a thought provoking manner. Although written much earlier, this book is an excellent companion to Judge Harold Rothwax' book, "Guilty", in which he discusses the same issues and their deleterious effect on truth and justice in the courts.

19 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Piano Teacher The True Story of a Psychotic Killer, May 1, 2000

By	PaoChang Vang (Duluth of Minnesota (USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. It was intense, and very explainitory. It started with the terrible murder that happened in 1966 and the murder that happened after his parol in 1974. Then it went into Yukle's up bringing. It explained the lifestyles of his parents. They were both very good musicains. They taught Yukle music from a very young age and they were very strict with him. His mother was a perfectionist, and expected him to play every thing perfect. She would make him sit at the piano until he did. When his brother was born they weren't as strict with him. They let him do and be who he wanted. Soon his parents were divorced. He and his brother lived with their father and his new wife. He didn't see his mother for years after that. Yukle and his father weren't very close at all. His father was very cruel to him. He always made Charles feel unworthy. Yukle was a loner and kept to his music, the one thing he was very good at. His grades in school weren't that great except for music. He quit school to go into the army. He was still a loner there to. He was court marshalled and sent back home. He went back to school and met a young girl in band that he really liked. He moved to Chicago to go to school for photography. He felt like a different person behind the camera. Things didn't work out with the girl back home and soon he met his wife; she was one of two women that he was able to talk to, but he was never able to completly open up to her. It talks about the police reports and the events leading to his conviction. It was all very intresting. I like reading true stories rather than fictional, and this one kept me reading until the end.