The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer, Liza Rodman

★★★★

Part memoir, part investigative true crime, this was a well-written story of a 1960s childhood spent on the Cape - with a serial killer. As a fan of the Cape in summer, I found myself drawn to Liza’s recounting of her childhood and how she did not shy away from the grit of the 1960s that made the Cape a haven for the othered. Liza’s memoir chapters of the book were actually my favorite part.

However, halfway through the ravings of Tony - a pillhead, physical abuser, misogynist, layabout, murderer - I began to question WHY I was reading this. What about this guy was worth reading about? Why does HIS story matter? Why are we obsessed with people like him? Why do we like true crime? Is it the whodunit of a mystery, is it the empathy for the victims? I resigned myself to finishing the book, but it was a reckoning that questions the value of adding more true crime to my bookshelves.