Sands, Stella. Behind the Mask: A True Story of Obsession. New York: St. Martin's True Crime, 2009.This true crime story is about a coworker of mine from Queens Library named Bill Coday who brutally murdered two of his ex-girlfriends. He was a really charming guy, and most of the librarians had crushes on him. It's hard to believe from his more recent photos, but he used to be quite a looker. (I guess they don't let you work out in solitary.) I hung out with him a few times and he was trying to get me to transfer to his branch library in Corona Heights. Thank God I didn't.
Please say a prayer for the victims' families. It must be extremely painful for them to hear about the release of this book. While I believe in freedom of the press, I know from personal experience that it is almost unbearable when a family tragedy becomes fodder for news stories.
Bill committed suicide about a year ago while he was on death row. Perhaps we should say a prayer for his family, too. Even though it's not their fault, they must feel horribly ashamed.
