Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and Its Private Consequences

Pelonero's background as a playwright bleeds into her attempt at true crime account of the 1964 Genovese murder, losing credibility from the outset with scenes that have clearly been dramatized. Given that Genovese died shortly after the assault without revealing what had happened, how can Pelonero purport to represent her thoughts and feelings right before the attack, and not lose readers hoping for the "true account" the subtitle promises? This lapse is even less justifiable considering the tragedy already includes many dramatic components%E2%80%94a quiet neighborhood becoming the unlikely locale for a savage crime and the widely held notion that the victim could have been saved with minimal effort by her neighbors. The prose is bloated with hyperbole: for example when Pelonero writes, "To call his parents' marriage stormy would be an understatement, unless said storm were a series of massive tornados touching down frequently and without warning, twisting violently along a frenzied though familiar course that uprooted all in their path, leaving a wake of bruised feelings, the occasional black eye, and old wounds so constantly reopened that they never had the opportunity to begin healing much less fade." Readers looking for a definitive account of this tragic slaughter may want to look elsewhere. (Mar.)