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Outstanding
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Publishers Weekly
[A] brilliant blend of true-crime and memoir. [14 Mar 2005, p.52]
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Favorable
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Salon Andrew O'Hehir
A riveting book.
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Favorable
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Boston Globe Amanda Heller
Finkel makes the most of his shot at redemption, crafting from Longo's manipulative confessions a compulsively readable amorality tale.
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Favorable
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Library Journal Bray Root
Finkel's insider information and unique perspective make this book preferable to Carlton Smith's Love, Daddy, and the perspective of the disgraced author is a compelling addition. [1 May 2005, p.103]
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Favorable
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San Francisco Chronicle Darren Everson
The question with this work is not whether Finkel can write. As he simply but suspensefully weaves the story of his deceptions with Longo's, then details their pen-pal relationship while the jailed Longo awaited trial, one must acknowledge that he can. The issue here is more about readers. If they can get over what he did at the Times, and the perverse possibility that he might gain from it, they can really enjoy this book.
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Favorable
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Village Voice Dennis Lim
By the end of this bizarre, gripping book, Finkel may not be especially likable, but he is--and this must count for something--believable.
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Favorable
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The Guardian Blake Morrison
It's a gripping tale, plainly told but artfully constructed, and the twists continue right up to and beyond the climax of the trial.
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Favorable
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The Spectator Alexander Masters
True Story is a thrilling, unforgettable book, but not always for the reasons Finkel hopes.
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Favorable
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Washington Post Steve Weinberg
Rather like watching a train wreck. There is nothing pleasant about it, but there is no turning away.
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Favorable
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Daily Telegraph Jasper Rees
Reading it is like watching a horrific car crash viewed frame by frame.
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Favorable
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The Globe And Mail [Toronto] David Hayes
A strange, and strangely compelling, book. [25 Jun 2005, p.D10]
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Favorable
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PopMatters Rebecca Onion
True Story, a strange amalgam of confessional and true crime, manages to surpass both genres with an original and fascinating clarity of narrative.
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Mixed
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Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling
Ultimately, you just don't dredge up enough sympathy for either of these guys.
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Mixed
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TLS: The Times Literary Supplement Benjamin Markovits
Finkel is good at putting together a sequence of events; less good at getting behind them.
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Mixed
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The Independent Julie Wheelwright
Through his interviews, Finkel reveals much about the personality of a deeply narcissistic man who uses every justification for his actions and who is incapable of telling the truth.
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Mixed
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London Review Of Books Andrew O’Hagan
Finkel’s account of all this double-dealing is riveting, partly because one believes the writer cannot at any point really see the moral horror at the centre of his dealings with Longo.
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Mixed
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The New York Times Book Review Sridhar Pappu
Finkel deserves credit for attempting to tell multiple stories, but he doesn't always succeed.
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Unfavorable
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Kirkus Reviews
The result leaves us feeling used, and certainly no better for having met either figure. [1 Apr 2005, p.398]
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Unfavorable
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Daily Telegraph Jim McCue
To compare this career hiccup with the Longo murders shows a grotesque self-importance.
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