Helltown

Tony Costa lived two lives: one as a drug dealer who cultivated an adoration from young women and men who purchased drugs from him and heard him speak, the other as a budding psychopath who targeted young women to fulfill his bloodlust. From 1968–69, Costa would murder five women, all of whom he had cajoled with his charm. Four of the women would be declared missing, sparking an intense hunt by local law enforcement in the area of Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Two famous personalities who were living adjacent to the macabre circumstances were authors Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut. Both would be drawn to the media spectacle that would ensue. The rival writers would be affected by the hunt for the murderer and the trial that garnered headlines. Fact would prove to be much stranger than fiction.

Helltown: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod will render even the calmest reader unsettled when the book has been concluded. Author Casey Sherman (The Last Days of John Lennon) continues his excellent work in the true crime realm with his latest effort. The narrative relayed by Sherman is engrossing and never wavers in its intensity.