The Monster of Perugia: The Framing of Amanda Knox

by Mark C. Waterbury

The Monster of Perugia – The Framing of Amanda Knox, is a work of literary non-fiction that is unlike any other book about the events surrounding the murder of Meredith Kercher. By framing his narrative in terms of powerful analogies from history and literature, Dr. Waterbury illuminates the dark recesses of a gross miscarriage of justice. This is not only an informative book, it is a “wonderful, good read” in the words of one reviewer. Douglas Preston, bestselling author of The Monster of Florence and numerous other books “The Monster of Perugia is a fascinating book… I highly recommend this well-written, clear, gripping, and ultimately infuriating book." The Monster of Perugia demolishes the forensic evidence put forth by the prosecution, but this book is not just about forensics. Amanda and Raffaele were wrongfully convicted, but Monster of Perugia doesn’t just prove their innocence. It reaches behind the façade of justice slowly taking its course to lay bare the baseless demonization, the incompetent framing, and the unconscionable incarceration of Amanda Knox by corrupt and incompetent powers within the justice system of the small city of Perugia, Italy. “By the end, Waterbury makes us understand what it's like to be an entirely innocent victim of a corrupt system. He tells us the truth and calls us to action.” Thomas Lee Wright, author.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 14, 2011

Reviews

[Teelei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to figure out where to rate this one. Written by a scientist (not a journalist) which was both good and bad. He prefaces that he went in to this with no notion of guilt or innocence. I'm glad he included that or I would have been less likely to believe him as that's where his partiality ended. He does give a lot of evidence and scientific back up as to why he believes in Amanda Knox's (and Rafaelo's) innocence. He starts each chapter by referencing a historic episode, movie, etc (Salam witch trials for example) which can be distracting and it's sometimes is hard to follow as he jumps back and forth in the story/evidence. Overall, seemed to have very strong evidence to support their evidence and guilt of the third man.
God help the Italian justice system.

[Everbright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm fascinated by this case, and this book goes into great detail about the evidence which was used to convict Amanda Knox, most unfairly, as anyone will see. I found it riveting.

[Greg · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Knox case has fascinated me for years and I've read several books. This one was barely readable; it contained nothing new; it relied on Wikipedia for most of the research; and author spent the entire book speculating on what might have been.

Save yourself the trouble and do NOT get this book. It is truly terrible.

[Greg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could give this one less than one star. It is by far the worst book I've ever read. Early on I decided it must be one of those self-published books, because I couldn't imagine a legitimate publisher actually paying to release this book.

The Knox case has fascinated me for years and I've read several books. This one was barely readable; it contained nothing new; it relied on Wikipedia for most of the research; and author spent the entire book speculating on what might have been.

Save yourself the trouble and do NOT get this book. It is truly terrible.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this before her release. Gives more details of the case than their memoirs

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening as to the possible flaws of the necessarily flawless.