Saturday, April 9, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: Angel Face: The True Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox

Title: Angel Face: The True Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox


Author: Barbie Latza Nadeau

Publisher: Beast Books

RRP: $19.99

ISBN: 9780984295135

Release Date: March 2011

Description:

Despite all the airtime devoted to Amanda Knox, it’s still hard to reconcile the fresh-faced honor student from Seattle with the sexually rapacious killer convicted of the November 2007 murder of her British roommate. Few Americans have heard all of the powerful evidence that convinced a jury that Knox was one of three people to sexually assault Meredith Kercher, brutalize her body, and cut her throat. In Angel Face, Rome-based Daily Beast senior writer Barbie Latza Nadeau – who cultivated personal relationships with the key figures in both the prosecution and the defense – describes how the Knox family’s heavy-handed efforts to control media coverage distorted the facts, inflamed an American audience, and painted an offensive, inaccurate picture of Italy’s justice system. An eye-opener for any parent considering sending a child away to study, Angel Face reveals what really went on in this incomprehensible crime.

Review:

In 2007, Amanda Knox, an American student, was accused of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher, a British student, in the swinging college town of Perugia, Italy. The case was covered heavily in both the American and the European press. It's been an interesting case to follow. This book tells the story of the case from the point of view from one of the reporters charged with covering it. It really doesn't add anything new to insight into the case though.

There is a pro-prosecution bent, which is only a problem if you haven't followed other coverage. I have heard enough of the pro-Knox camp that I know which pieces of evidence are in dispute and why. I only spotted one error: I don't think it's ever been proven whether or not a receipt for bleach was ever found by police. Also the author occasionally states her opinion as if it is fact, such as about the disputed character of prosecutor

No comments: