"Death in the City of Light" is a true crime book by David King about a serial killer who murdered dozens of people in Nazi-occupied Paris, France during World War II.
The crimes committed by the accused serial killer and physician, Dr. Marcel Petiot, were truly horrible. In addition to being gruesome, his crimes targeted some of the most vulnerable people during World War II - those who wanted to escape the Gestapo.
Dr. Petiot was seen by those who knew him alternately as a charming humanitarian or a creep. Dr. Petiot made a reputation for himself by providing free services to the poor. He was also known to service drug users and was investigated more than once for improperly proscribing medication to addicts.
Petiot effectively used the Nazi occupation of Paris and the French Resistance movement to recruit new victims, prevent too many questions from being asked, and cover his crimes. Once he is discovered and captured, the central question of his trial becomes whether his murders were committed for the Gestapo, the Resistance, or himself.
The book loses a lot of steam when the trial starts about halfway through. Normally I'm fascinated by how a foreign country's criminal justice system and trial process compares to the United States, but this one got too bogged down in details. Also, the author made a point of focusing on the defendant's "witty" remarks in court and the trial audience's delight in him, which was hard to take after learning of all the disgusting things he had done.
More interesting were some of the procedures used in the French criminal court which were very different from a U.S. criminal trial. For example, the first part of the trial was basically dedicated to an interrogation of the defendant by the trial judge and lawyers. By contrast, in the U.S., we have the Fifth Amendment, which protects criminal defendants from ever having to speak in a criminal trial and even prevents the lawyers from commenting on his failure to testify.
Also, several of the victims in the French criminal trial were represented by civil attorneys who actively participated in the trial. They questioned witnesses and presented evidence. In the U.S. court system, criminal and civil trials are completely separate.
One of the things I was most struck by was the apparent lack of order in questioning and argument during the French trial. The defendant and lawyers would speak up, question witnesses, and make arguments seemingly without structure or order. If this is really the way of a French criminal trial, it is hard to imagine how anything could get accomplished with such a system. Especially with so many lawyers involved and given lawyers' love of hearing themselves talk!
As far as foreign true crime serial killer books go, I preferred "The Monster of Florence" by Douglas Preston.
Dr. Petiot was seen by those who knew him alternately as a charming humanitarian or a creep. Dr. Petiot made a reputation for himself by providing free services to the poor. He was also known to service drug users and was investigated more than once for improperly proscribing medication to addicts.
Petiot effectively used the Nazi occupation of Paris and the French Resistance movement to recruit new victims, prevent too many questions from being asked, and cover his crimes. Once he is discovered and captured, the central question of his trial becomes whether his murders were committed for the Gestapo, the Resistance, or himself.
The book loses a lot of steam when the trial starts about halfway through. Normally I'm fascinated by how a foreign country's criminal justice system and trial process compares to the United States, but this one got too bogged down in details. Also, the author made a point of focusing on the defendant's "witty" remarks in court and the trial audience's delight in him, which was hard to take after learning of all the disgusting things he had done.
More interesting were some of the procedures used in the French criminal court which were very different from a U.S. criminal trial. For example, the first part of the trial was basically dedicated to an interrogation of the defendant by the trial judge and lawyers. By contrast, in the U.S., we have the Fifth Amendment, which protects criminal defendants from ever having to speak in a criminal trial and even prevents the lawyers from commenting on his failure to testify.
Also, several of the victims in the French criminal trial were represented by civil attorneys who actively participated in the trial. They questioned witnesses and presented evidence. In the U.S. court system, criminal and civil trials are completely separate.
One of the things I was most struck by was the apparent lack of order in questioning and argument during the French trial. The defendant and lawyers would speak up, question witnesses, and make arguments seemingly without structure or order. If this is really the way of a French criminal trial, it is hard to imagine how anything could get accomplished with such a system. Especially with so many lawyers involved and given lawyers' love of hearing themselves talk!
As far as foreign true crime serial killer books go, I preferred "The Monster of Florence" by Douglas Preston.
Check out my review of "The Monster of Florence" here.
Overall, however, the story underlying "Death in the City of Light" is simply too disturbing and intriguing to ignore.
Overall, however, the story underlying "Death in the City of Light" is simply too disturbing and intriguing to ignore.
(Click the images or links above to check out the books for yourself.)
Also, get your free ebook revealing the Top 7 Mistakes Made by Writers of Crime, Mystery, and Legal Drama.
Also, get your free ebook revealing the Top 7 Mistakes Made by Writers of Crime, Mystery, and Legal Drama.
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