Portland Public Library

Death in the city of light, the serial killer of Nazi-occupied Paris, David King

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 347-357) and index

platesillustrations

index present

non fiction

Death in the city of light

bibliography

696099199

David King

the serial killer of Nazi-occupied Paris

Death in the City of Light is the gripping true story of a brutal serial killer who unleashed his own reign of terror in Nazi-occupied Paris. As decapitated heads and dismembered body parts surfaced in the Seine, Commissaire Georges-Victor Massu, head of the Brigade Criminelle, was tasked with tracking down the elusive murderer in a twilight world of Gestapo, gangsters, Resistance fighters, pimps, prostitutes, spies, and other shadowy figures of the Parisian underworld. The main suspect was Dr. Marcel Petiot, a handsome, charming physician with remarkable charisma. He was "The People's Doctor," known for his many acts of kindness and generosity, not least in providing free medical care for the poor. Petiot, however, would eventually be charged with 27 murders, although authorities suspected the total was considerably higher, perhaps even as many as 150. Who was being slaughtered, and why? Was Petiot a sexual sadist, as the press suggested, killing for thrills? Was he allied with the Gestapo, or, on the contrary, the French Resistance? Or did he work for no one other than himself? Trying to solve the many mysteries of the case, Massu -- an inspiration for Georges Simenon's Inspector Maigret -- would unravel a plot of unspeakable deviousness. When Petiot was finally arrested, the French police hoped for answers. But the trial soon became a circus. Attempting to try all 27 cases at once, the prosecution stumbled in its marathon cross-examinations, and Petiot, enjoying the spotlight, responded with astonishing ease. His attorney, René Floriot -- a rising star in the world of criminal defense -- also effectively, if aggressively, countered the charges. Yet despite a team of prosecuting attorneys, dozens of witnesses, and literally more than one ton of evidence, Petiot's brilliance and wit threatened to win the day. Drawing extensively on many new sources, including the massive classified French police file on Petiot, Death in the City of Light is a brilliant evocation of Nazi-occupied Paris and a harrowing exploration of murder, betrayal, and evil of staggering proportions. - Jacket flapThe gripping true story of a brutal serial killer who unleashed his own reign of terror in Nazi-occupied Paris. Dr. Marcel Petiot was eventually charged with 27 murders, although authorities suspected the total was considerably higher. The trial became a circus, and Petiot enjoyed the spotlight. A harrowing exploration of murder, betrayal, and evil of staggering proportions

German night -- The people's doctor -- Preliminary findings -- Two witnesses -- "100,00 autopsies" -- The woman with the yellow suitcase -- "Beside a monster" -- A delivery -- Evasion -- "Goodbye arrogance" -- Sightings -- The Gestapo file -- Postcards from the other side -- Destination Argentina -- War in the shadows -- The attic -- Frustration -- Nine more -- The list -- Apocalyptic weeks -- "P.S. Destroy all my letters" -- At Saint-Mandé-Tourelle Station -- Interrogations -- Beating chance? -- The Knellers -- The Petiot Circus -- "Not in danger of death" -- Two to one -- Inside murder house -- Black fingernails -- "A taste for evil" -- The hairdresser, the makeup artist, and the adventuress -- Walkout -- Naufrageur -- The verdict -- Timbers of justice -- The loot