Unanswered Cries: A True Story of Friends, Neighbors, and Murder in a Small Town

While no murder is inconsequential, readers have reason to expect that a book devoted to a killing will highlight some aspect that sets that crime apart, yet this account by St. Petersburg Times reporter French makes no such claim. Karen Gregory, a 36-year-old graphic artist from Gulfport, Fla,, was slain in 1984 as she was moving into the house she was to share with her lover. Stabbed 20 times, her one scream was ignored by neighbors; but French's suggestion of an analogy with the infamous 1964 Kitty Genovese case in New York City is tenuous. The police work was undistinguished; the sergeant who solved the case appears to have been doggedly persistent rather than brilliant. In 1987 local firefighter George Lewis was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. French's compassion for the family and friends of the victim is the most notable element here. Photos not seen by PW. (May)