Masquerade

by Lowell Cauffiel

Book Overview

Teen-age hooker and drug addict Dawn Spens and her pimp boyfriend John Lucky Fry thought Dr. Al Miller was the most generous sugar daddy they could ever meet. But to an upper middle class community in Detroit, he was respected Dr. Alan Canty. Cauffiel brilliantly unravels Canty's double identities, ending with his lurid murder at the hands of Lucky Fry.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821728334
• ISBN13: 9780821728338
• Release Date: December 1989
• Publisher: Zebra Books
• Length: 472 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Book

As a True Crime addict this book was great. Well written, well researched and just a really great story. I ended up googling and looking the people up and ran into the book written by the wife. It was even better! This book never got bogged down by unnecessary information or opinions of the author. It was well told and rather chilling when you realize what a monster this guy really was. Highly recommended.

One of the best

You must have this in your true crime library if you are a serious collector. Amazing quality of research and writing.

Detroit's Own "Blue Velvet"

Mr. Cauffiel does an excellent job describing the ghetto that is, and has for a long time been Detroit. "Masquerade" was like our own little real-life "Blue Velvet". If you always thought that psychiatrists usually get into the business because they're half-nuts themselves, this book will reaffirm that notion. I think the story would make an excellent movie. Dennis Hopper as John Fry?? Angelina Jolie as Dawn Spens? Samuel L. Jackson as Mark Bando??? As far as "Where Are They Now?" The other reviewer was mistaken. Fry was not "released" in the usual sense of the word. He was "paroled" to the hereafter......he died in prison of that ...disease, Hepatitis C. John Woodington retired from the Detroit PD and is doing accident investigation work. Mark Bando retired after 25 years with the Detroit PD and is an accomplished writer, having authored 4 published works on the 101st. Airborne Division and the 2nd. Armored Division in WWII. Sell your Ambrose books and buy Bando's. ...Don't miss the "forum" section. Maybe Bando could do a "Masquerade" tour of the Detroit ghetto? Kind of like that guy in NYC does "Seinfeld"? ...

A superb account of a tragic crime.<p>

. Masquerade is the best true-crime book about Detroit that I've ever read, and I've read most of them.Cauffiel weaves a riveting account of one of the most bizarre murders in this city's recent history, naming names, pinpointing locations, and painting a vivid portrait of Motown's seamy underbelly and drug culture.Gripping and gritty, and very well executed.

Double life gone awry

This is much more than a routine "by-the-numbers" crime story; it's a compelling psychological thriller that conjures up images of Hitchcock and Freud, and yet, it's horrifying because it's unfortunately all too real. Alan Canty was a psychologist with all the right credentials; nevertheless, he considered himself a fraud, not least because of the emotional baggage he carried throughout his life. "Masquerade" is a very appropriate title, since Canty spent most of his life "playing roles", as adolescents do, "testing" different character types, usually James Dean or the "hip criminal insider". Author Cauffiel gives vivid descriptions of Alan's early life with his indulgent mother and distant father, who was a criminologist. The implication is that Al's fascination with the seamy, dark world of psychopaths was partly out of identification with his father, and was partly stemmed out of rebellion. Decades later (at age 50), with a bright, loving, beautiful wife and a grand Tudor in Grosse Pointe, Al made the fatal mistake of seeking thrills in the heart of the Cass Corridor, where he encountered an 18-year-old prostitute named Dawn Spens. Dawn and her boyfriend, a pimp nicknamed "Lucky" Fry, would prove to be an endless source of fascination for Canty because of their lawless, greedy lives; a fatal attraction indeed. What makes the book such a page-turner is the manner in which it's written. Cauffiel fills the book with mere snippets of chapters that are tantalizing. Characters from every walk of life are introduced, from Al's wife, mother, and patients to the circle of prostitutes and drug fiends that make up Lucky and Dawn's crowd. One young woman, Lucky's ex-girlfriend Cheryl, has a story interesting enough to rate her own book. Others, such as Al's wife, Jan, show astonishing courage and strength in a crisis. Cauffiel pulls no punches with any of the main characters. Al Canty is showcased in all of his obsession and selfishness, as well as his understanding and generosity. His need to control and play the "Henry Higgins" role to a succession of young proteges stemmed from his deep insecurities; most of his life he apparently continued to believe that perhaps he wasn't really necessary to anyone. However, even in spite of his treatment of Jan, and his indulging Dawn in heroin and other drugs, Canty is shown to be a pitiable figure. His self-esteem came from "hangin'" with criminal types and playing the great benefactor, literally showering the perpetually ungrateful Lucky and Dawn with money. Dawn is shown to be a manipulator and a tough, hard-as-nails con artist; several of her evaluators, including Jan Canty, saw only the frail, drug-abused young adolescent with liver disease that she appeared to be at the trial. John "Lucky" Fry looked and behaved like the textbook description of a psychopath; throughout the book, he is shown to be consistently self-centered, with no empathy for others and no conscience w

I'VE READ THIS BOOK 3 TIMES IN 5 YEARS! IT STILL SHOCKS ME!!

A "TRUE" true crime story leaves a lasting impression on the reader, Lowell Cauffiel's MASQUERADE does just that. Through extensive knowledge of the facts and a gift for storytelling Mr. Cauffiel unravels the bizarre life of Dr. Al Canty. Growing up I lived on the same block as Dr. Canty in Grosse Pointe Park. I am also familiar with the neighborhoods of Detroit where Dr. Al Miller played his games and can tell you Mr. Cauffiel's descriptions of these is right on the mark. I now know what went on in the quite house on the corner. BEWARE!!! After reading this book you will wonder what your doctor does after-hours!!!