I don’t know, but maybe someone is already in jail we need to use a bit more discretion in how much we trust them. This is basically the crux of Pamela Colloff’s excellent Catch the Devil. Paul Skalnik is a fraud, thief, sexual predator, pedophile, and serial bigamist. He was also the favorite pet of Florida detectives and prosecutors who were trying to kill as many alleged murderers as possible. I don’t know if it’s the heat or the humidity, but Florida’s justice system sure likes killing folk.
After Colloff does a thorough job of showing just how disgusting Skalnik is, she tells the story of how he was at least one nail in the theoretical but maybe literal coffin of Jim Dailey. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I won’t give you any more details. However, you can probably guess how the story is going to go.
Colloff makes this story a lean page turner. A journalist by trade, Colloff expertly makes this read like a novel while giving you exactly what you need without any fluff. There are no extraneous threads, no ill-placed characters, and no diatribes. I especially appreciated the last aspect. While there are some quick asides and rhetorical questions, Colloff trusts her readers to see what is happening and why it is bad for all of us. When you tell the story of how the least trustworthy man on earth can be called upon in a court of law and be believed, well, we have problems.
You don’t have to be a true crime or non-fiction lover. This one is for everybody.
(This book was provided as an advanced reader copy by Knopf.)
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