{"product_id":"the-spider-and-the-fly-a-reporter-a-serial-killer-and-the-meaning-of-murder-isbn-9780062497628","title":"The Spider and the Fly: A Reporter, a Serial Killer, and the Meaning of Murder","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of the Washington State Book Award for Memoir\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Extraordinarily suspenseful and truly gut-wrenching. . . . A must-read.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGillian Flynn, author of the #1 \u003cem\u003eNew York Time\u003c\/em\u003es bestseller \u003cem\u003eGone Girl\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this superb work of literary true crime—a spellbinding combination of memoir and psychological suspense—a female journalist chronicles her unusual connection with a convicted serial killer and her search to understand the darkness inside us.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Well, well, Claudia. Can I call you Claudia? I’ll have to give it to you, when confronted at least you’re honest, as honest as any reporter. . . . You want to go into the depths of my mind and into my past. I want a peek into yours. It is only fair, isn’t it?\"—\u003c\/em\u003eKendall Francois\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn September 1998, young reporter Claudia Rowe was working as a stringer for the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e in Poughkeepsie, New York, when local police discovered the bodies of eight women stashed in the attic and basement of the small colonial home that Kendall Francois, a painfully polite twenty-seven-year-old community college student, shared with his parents and sister.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrowing up amid the safe, bourgeois affluence of New York City, Rowe had always been secretly fascinated by the darkness, and soon became obsessed with the story and with Francois. She was consumed with the desire to understand just how a man could abduct and strangle eight women—and how a family could live for two years, seemingly unaware, in a house with the victims’ rotting corpses. She also hoped to uncover what humanity, if any, a murderer could maintain in the wake of such monstrous evil. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReaching out after Francois was arrested, Rowe and the serial killer began a dizzying four-year conversation about cruelty, compassion, and control; an unusual and provocative relationship that would eventually lead her to the abyss, forcing her to clearly see herself and her own past—and why she was drawn to danger.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003ePoughkeepsie, New York, 1998.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEight women had gone missing over the past two years and few were looking for them. The police had a lead—Kendall Francois, a large, awkward African American man that detectives had largely written off because he didn’t fit the familiar serial killer stereotypes. One evening, Francois shook the region to its core by confessing to a prosecutor that he had eight bodies stored in his home. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe town became consumed with a desire to understand how this man could have committed such brazen crimes. Claudia Rowe, a young reporter living in Poughkeepsie, wanted to understand too, with a desperation that stunned her. Over nearly five years and through a series of letters, phone calls, and visits that consumed her life, Rowe engaged with a killer in a dizzying conversation about cruelty, compassion, and control. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA search for the origins of the darkest parts of human nature, a beautifully written tale of a reporter’s relationship with her subject, a coming-of-age story that forces a deep reckoning with ourselves, a sociological dissection of class, race and crime, \u003cem\u003eThe Spider and the Fly\u003c\/em\u003e is a multifaceted reading experience that will chill you to the bone.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“This book astounded me. Claudia Rowe catalogues her obsession with a serial killer so mesmerizingly that before I knew it, I too was obsessed - with both of them and what outcome such a dangerous odyssey could possibly have. But this is not merely a recounting of a descent, it is equally a memoir of discovery through the lens of potential evil.  I literally could not put it down.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlan Cumming, author of the New York Times bestseller Not My Father's Son\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Claudia Rowe catalogues her obsession with a serial killer so mesmerizingly that before I knew it, I too was obsessed...But this is not merely a recounting of a descent, it is equally a memoir of discovery through the lens of potential evil.  I literally could not put it down.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlan Cumming, author of the New York Times bestseller Not My Father's Son\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Part psychological thriller and part gut-wrenching memoir, \u003ci\u003eThe Spider and the Fly\u003c\/i\u003e crosses boundaries on nearly every page. It is chilling, self-revelatory, and unforgettable.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eROBERT KOLKER, author of the New York Times bestseller Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Extraordinarily suspenseful and truly gut-wrenching, \u003ci\u003eThe Spider and the Fly\u003c\/i\u003e is not just a superb true-crime story but an insightful investigation of the nature of evil, the fragility of good, and the crooked road that can turn human beings into monsters. A must-read.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGILLIAN FLYNN, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Gone Girl\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Rowe’s engaging prose means the pages practically turn themselves.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Readers seeking a literary look at the psychology of a criminal will find much to hold them rapt.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Gripping.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePoets \u0026amp; Writers\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Must-read.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"William Morrow Large Print","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888325161189,"sku":"NP9780062497628","price":26.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062497628.jpg?v=1730228833","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-spider-and-the-fly-a-reporter-a-serial-killer-and-the-meaning-of-murder-isbn-9780062497628","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}