MASQUERADE: A True Story of Seduction, Compulsion, and Murder

by Lowell Cauffiel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 8, 1988

A clinical psychologist becomes obsessed with a young prostitute, is killed and dismembered by her boyfriend-pimp. Sordid and sensational material, but here given surprisingly ho-hum treatment. Successful psychologist W. Alan Canty lived in an exclusive Detroit suburb with a young wife, formerly his professional protÉgÉe. Locally famous for pioneering work on autism (that later proved to be almost entirely fraudulent), he seemed to be a workaholic. However, many of the hours supposedly devoted to clients were actually spent on Detroit's sleazy Cass Corridor, picking up prostitutes and getting a kick out of hanging out with drag-addicted lowlifes. Then in 1983, Canty met Dawn Marie Spens, a highschool dropout drug-addict from a middle-class background, and became her sugar daddy. Spens didn't provide much in the way of sex. Instead, she and her boyfriend, John Carl ""Lucky"" Fry (a former biker with a prison record, a drug habit, and many tattoos including White on one arm and Power on the other), cajoled and bullied Canty out of more than $100,000 within 18 months and also precipitated the mental breakdown that left the doctor briefly hospitalized. When Canty cut back on the cash, Fry killed him with a baseball bat and cut up the body for disposal. Though he denied premeditation and claimed he'd flown into a rage after Canty insulted and shoved him, a jury convicted Fry of first-degree murder; he's now serving a life sentence. Spens got ten months in the county jail, plus three years' probation. There's not enough complexity in this numbingly detailed account to justify a book: Fry and Spens seem motivated only by the desire for drugs and the money for more drugs; the material on Canty is not organized to show a man headed toward destruction; no fancy police or legal work was needed to find and convict the killer; and, ultimately, the fact that a psychopathic junkie killed someone is about as exceptional as Dog-Bites-Man. Long on facts, then, but short on drama and insight; a squalid story of violent death that fails to intrigue or enlighten.

Pub Date: Aug. 8, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1988

Categories: NONFICTION