A review by herelieshenry
The Spider and the Fly: A Reporter, a Serial Killer, and the Meaning of Murder by Claudia Rowe

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

2.5

The only thing I can really give this book props for is that it succeeds in creating a disturbing tone that is appropriate for the subject matter. However, this book is much more memoir than true crime, and it would have made more sense if this book were advertised about being about the author’s experiences in true crime journalism rather than pretending to be about the actual crimes that took place. The few times the author mentions the victims as people feel one-note and disingenuous. It feels like Rowe wants us to think she cares about the victims more than she actually does care about the victims; not dissimilar to the way she seems to have been incredibly preoccupied with proving to Francois that she wasn’t racist more than she actually seemed to care about not being racist. This book feels very self-conscious of the fact that it’s exposing more about the author than about the subject or the murders he committed, and it just leaves me feeling unsettled.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings