By CATHERINE DONNELLY
On behalf of The Unruly Cactus
Gripping from page one, this true crime story unfolds on Cape Cod in the 1960’s, during a gruesome murder spree in which young girls went missing in alarming numbers and only some of the bodies were found and identified along the way. The tale of how the cold-blooded murderer, Tony Costa, happened to be one of young Liza Rodman’s de facto babysitters, is presented in a surreal, almost dreamlike way.
The years had clouded Rodman’s memories of the time but were beginning to surface in haunting nightmares that demanded resolution. It started with therapy, then in confronting her mother about the situation of the past that could have put her in dire jeopardy, and then in becoming obsessed with the charismatic menace, Costa, who threatened her existence. The result is this intimate and masterful book.
As the reader takes in the story, the hurt, longing and horror are dished out in small but unrelenting portions until the tale is inexorably woven. We get constant examples of the children central to the story who were rejected, neglected or even abused. Costa, the elder by a few years, is prescribed heavy drugs by an unscrupulous doctor while little Rodman is foisted upon him by her distracted and disinterested mother.
Much of the details about Costa, that were shielded from young Rodman, were gathered by Jennifer Jordan, investigative journalist. In this way, the gauzy memories of that time and place were made clearer and created a unique insight into the place, time and events that gripped a nation in the turbulent 60’s and 70’s.
Together, the co-authors did a good job of explaining how young children could be so vulnerable as to be left in the charge of a disturbed young man, how young women kept disappearing in droves across the country making them hard to track down, and how a serial killer was made. It is the definition of a perfect storm.
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