Nightmare in Napa: The Wine Country Murders

by Paul LaRosa

Halloween night in idyllic Napa, California: two young women roommates- a transplanted Southern beauty queen and a popular engineering graduate from the Napa area- are brutally stabbed by an intruder who entered the house through a first-floor window. A third roommate heard the horrific commotion but never saw the killer. News of the tragedy sent shock waves throughout the peaceful region as wall as the nation- but while investigators pursued every angle from a satanic cult to a disgruntled suitor, the murders of Leslie Mazzara and Adriane Insogna remained unsolved. Until someone came forward with a shocking confession- who was close enough to the women to escape suspicion. Someone who knew the victims too well.
Complete with up-to-the-minute trial information and the stunning crime scene breakthroughs that turned the case around, here is the full story of the Nightmare In Napa.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Mystery

375 pages, Hardcover

First published April 24, 2007

About the author

I'm so happy with the reviews of my memoir "Leaving Story Avenue, my journey from the projects to the front page." Here are just a few:

The NY Times: "A captivating and vivid memoir..."

Ken Auletta of The New Yorker magazine: "A poignant and funny memoir...."

The Newark Star Ledger: "Paul LaRosa nails the twilight era of American newspapers with the aplomb of the award-winning journalist he became."

Tom Robbins, investigative journalist: "LaRosa has a great ear, a great eye and a great sense of self-effacing humor...a marvelous tale of a fast-disappearing part of New York."

Of the 17 reader reviews on Amazon, 16 of them are 5-star and the other is a 4-star review.

Thanks everyone.

Paul

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is now the second book I've read of Paul LaRosa's 48 Hours Mystery series, and I hope he'll keep writing more, because they are very good! He writes with an easy-to-read, fast-flowing style, and yet gives very detailed accounts of the crime as well as the lives/personalities of the victims, perpetrator, and friends and family members who loved them. I read "Nightmare in Napa" in practically one sitting yesterday and then watched the 48 Hours Mystery show this morning. It's interesting to actually be able to watch inverviews with all the key players after reading about it. The book gives a lot of additional details that weren't able to fit within the 1-hour show.

The crime: On Halloween night 2004 in the small town of Napa, California, someone entered a house shared by three college-aged female roomates and brutally stabbed two of them in their upstairs bedrooms. The third roomate, in the downstairs bedroom, was awakened by the commotion but escaped unharmed, never laying eyes on the intruder.

Note to readers: If you don't already know the outcome of this case, don't look it up online or watch the 48 Hours episode before reading the book!! You'll enjoy the suspense and whodunit aspect. About halfway through the book, I recalled that I'd actually seen the 48 Hours show a while back and remembered the outcome. It was still just as interesting to read the book (and watch the show again), but I would've enjoyed it more if I didn't already know.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like to read true crime books and watch shows like 48 hours mystery and this book was no exception. Unlike Death of a Dream, I did not know anything about this double murder, so it was hard for me to put this book down. I do not think that I have ever read a book quicker than this one. I started it about 2 days ago in the late afternoon and I finished it last night before I went to bed (so, it took me only 24 hours to read it). (I even found myself reading it while at red lights...and there are a lot in Houston) I wanted to know who the killer was and what the motive was for committing this awful crime. And let me tell you, when I found out who it was, I was shocked!!! I could not believe that it was someone who was so close to the victims. If you like to read this genre of books, I definitely recommend this book! Another A+ for Mr. LaRosa.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you enjoy reading about true crime, you will probably enjoy Nightmare in Napa. Reading the book is very similar to watching the show (48 hours) in that it is fast-paced, to the point, and very descriptive without being gory.

The author provides so much background information on the victims, the reader really gets a sense of how the murder affected their families and friends. - And what a shock it was when the murderer confessed.

I can't know how accurate this documentation is, but it's certainly effective in portraying the tragedy of such a crime.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay...so I like a little true crime here and there! But I have noticed that after I read these kind of books that I start hearing little noises in the night....

This was a good read, I thought. I had watched the "48 hours Mystery" about this crime, so I decided to read the book for the "full story."

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery readers will enjoy this book. It kept you guessing and really showed an in-depth view into the personal stories of the victims, their families and the suspects. For me, it was a bit too much background information on the friends and boyfriends, etc. But overall, I liked this book.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a true crime junkie you could tell by looking at all the books Ive read. This was a good book and kept me guessing as to whom the murderer was.

[Marianne Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly written. You don't know who did it until the very end. What a riveting book.

[Jackie_Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a disturbing crime.... you TRULY don't really know people

[Mariem · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only thing I can say about it is that is shocking and Interesting at the same time..

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

After having won this book through First Reads (Happy, FCC?), I finally read it. It went by really quickly; I started it on my train downtown yesterday and finished it today between classes. Despite how quickly I got through it, I don't really want to say that I enjoyed it. It was a very non-linear telling. LaRosa chose to discuss everything in bits and pieces, which sometimes required that he retell a detail previously revealed two or three times. He'd talk about Leslie's mother, and then talk some more about her 70 pages later, requiring that he rehash half of what he already told the reader (me, in this case) the first time. And while I understand that this is how the Napa police department and the 48 Hours Mystery crew were receiving the information (that is, piecemeal with little sense of plot or timeline), that isn't really how I want to read a book. I can follow when it changes in thought, but I don't feel like I should have to. I guess I'm just a lazy reader.

Due to this set-up, I find myself suspecting that I won't particularly like the true crime genre, though perhaps I'm selling other true crime writers short. However, I wouldn't say that reading this was a waste of my time, per se; I just don't feel particularly enhanced or influenced by the experience of reading it. If you like true crime, or murder mysteries, or slightly convoluted non-linear tellings, then I'm this little item is sure to appeal to some aspect of your reading tastes. But as a sci-fi/fantasy/realistic fiction type of gal, I found this novel somewhat underwhelming.

I received a free copy through FirstReads in exchange for an honest review.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very quick paced book. 99% of the true crime I've read has been by Ann Rule and she sets a high standard. This book was not the in-depth coverage I believe Ms. Rule would have given the case. I'm still left wondering about the motive of the killer. The reasons given (very briefly) would describe eighty-percent of the population; yet, most people don't go out and brutally and fatally stab 2 women to death.

Not a bad read, but I'm left wanting more.

[Jan]

This book came up as a Goodreads recommendation. I am curious about the case it is refering to since I live in "The Wine Country" of Northern California. I like murder mysteries but we'll see. This one may be too close to home.

[Armando Nieves · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads like a TV special of 48 hours mystery, a 2 hours special, there is a lot of information about the case, it has more details that you"ll ever find in the TV show.
I found it very entertaining, a very easy to read. Recommend it.

[Laren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sure the author is very good at showing the news on "48 Hours", but this skill didn't translate well to the book.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book!!! I am into mysteries and this book rates pretty high to me. I enjoyed every word in this book.

[Mindy Rocha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - such a sad story.

[Yosaggregator2]

testGoodreads

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine, solid account of the Wine Country Murders, which I had never heard of.

[Cody]

this was a good book. I like how its a 48 hours mystery

[Robyn Dones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 2008

[Gary C. · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know what's funnier than Paul LaRosa calling me a hack publicly on GoodReads? Paul LaRosa rating all of his own books five stars on GoodReads! LMAO!

[Marsmannix · Rating 1 out of 5]

TOTAL DRECK. SEE MY REVIEW FOR TACOMA.

[Cyndi Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed this true crime story. read fast and was hard to put down

[Roro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sad story but very fast read. Some parts were repetitive.