This book presents a very detailed look at a part of history that took a back seat to the World War raging through out the 1940's. With all the death and destruction occurring in France attributable to the war, it is almost unimaginable that a serial killer ran amok in Paris at this time already so filled with sorrow and misery. French citizens were under constant scrutiny during the occupation from many sources including German military, German Gestapo, spies, French Gestapo, French Resistance, and neighbor watching neighbor. It is hard to imagine that a man could murder an estimated 25 to 50 people and still carry on an every day life of a doctor. Dr. Marcel Petiot's preferred method involved convincing his victims, often his patients, that he could spirit them out of occupied France to freedom in Argentina. Many of his victims were Jews who were being pursued by the Nazi's. Dr. Petiot was eventually accused of murdering 27 people. There may have been many more, but the police could only identify 27 with any certainty as the bodies were dismembered and disposed of in a lime pit or burned. This appears to be a case of the criminal often outsmarting and being one step ahead of the police. He left little or no direct evidence that he had committed the murders. He appeared to be completely amoral, with no regret for having taken the lives of so many people. This book is a mesmerizing study of a man who puts himself above the law and his fellow citizens in order to gain personal wealth. Throughout the book there is a lingering question of whether Dr. Petiot will get away with these murders. The seeming ineptitude of the Paris police leaves open the question of whether the doctor will go free or go to the guillotin. No matter your opinion of our justice system, the scenes of the French judiciary system of the late 1940's, will leave you thankful for our current laws and procedures. While not as fast paced as an adventure novel, this book has the impact and immediacy of nonfiction. This book provided for review by the well read folks at Shelf Awareness and the Crown Publishing Group.