Finding Amy: A True Story of Murder in Maine

by Joseph K. Loughlin, Kate Flora, Kate Clark Flora

Book Overview

Combining the drama of a true crime story, with the detail of a police procedural, Finding Amy chronicles the investigation into one of the most shocking murders in recent Maine history.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425218651
• Release Date: December 2007
• Publisher: Berkley
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.9" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

gripping, realistic, really Maine

Being wicked close to having been a Mainer all my life, I remember how murders back in the 1950s and 1960s held everyone's attention because we were a small state, way off in the northeast corner and relatively unpopulated. Mainers just didn't do each other in; get hammered on Saturday night and whack the heck out of each other, yes, but murder someone? Well, that was rare. Fast forward to the next century. Murder is more common, but every so often one happens that simply captures the attention of everyone in the state. Amy St. Laurent's death was such an event. You could tell from the newspaper accounts that it was really eating away at the law enforcement folks who were involved. Finding Amy isn't so much a who-dunnit as it is a gripping account of how the crime affected a considerable number of very dedicated law enforcement officers. As such, it is superbly done and does a very good job of helping the reader get inside the heads and more importantly inside the hidden feelings of those cops who pretty much stopped having a life while they were 'finding Amy.'

Finding Amy

I just finished Finding Amy and I have to tell you - it was a great piece! I was reading two other books (about mobster Whitey Bulger) but had to put them down completely when I started Finding Amy. This book captured my attention and kept it right until the last page. It was pretty unique to read about colleagues in your profession - many who you know and have worked with - and to read about their dedication and tenacity to bring this killer to justice. The book was well written, informative, and told from a cop's point of view - all the while reliving the story as it happened. Congratulations on your endeavor - your hard work certainly paid off! Well done!

Couldn't put this book down

Finding Amy succeeds as a work of suspense, as you live through the day-to-day agony and frustration of the investigating officers as they piece together the crime despite flaky witnesses and hard-to-find physical evidence. But it also hits home as a tribute to an innocent victim who truly found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. I thought I knew all there was to know about this case, but the book proved me wrong. Flipping page after page of riveting details, I actually found myself reading while walking through the house on my way out the door. Such was my inability to put in the bookmark and resign myself to finishing this great read later. It also made me cry, and more than once.

You can't make this stuff up...

What a great read --- made all the better by the fact that it is all true. I started the book on Saturday and finished it last night. I am not normally attracted to non-fiction crime books but this book grabbed me right from the beginning. I was particularly impressed by the journal entries Captain Loughlin made while he was working the case. His compassion and concern for the victim and her family is very moving. The writing is clear, straight-forward and elegant. This book is profoundly moving all the more for being real. It has everything --- a truly innocent victim, an extremely perverse killer, an intelligent and dedicated police force. Fiction should be this good!

Great true crime

Finding Amy is a gripping story that brings to life the search for Amy St. Laurent and the process of bringing her killer to justice. Flora's narrative is woven in with Loughlin's behind the scenes insights in a way that forges a connection between the reader and the victim's family, the detectives, and Amy herself. I found the book impossible to put down and will never forget the compelling story it tells.