Behind the Mask: A True Story of Obsession and a Savage Genius (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

By Stella Sands

Book Overview

"Forty-year-old William Coday lived the quiet life of a scholar. He spoke six languages and held degrees in history, literature, and library science. As a librarian in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he was known to be unfailingly kind and helpful. But you can't always judge a book by its cover. When Coday failed to show up for work one day, a concerned colleague looked for him at his apartment -- only to discover the body of Gloria Gomez. Coday's ex-girlfriend, Gomez had been bludgeoned to death with 144 blows by two hammers and a knife. Police at the scene had little doubt that Coday was the killer. But other, darker secrets from Coday's past had yet to come to light. In one of the most shocking crime cases and legal appeals in Florida history, an extraordinary courtroom battle began. What the jury did not know was that Coday, when he lived abroad, had beaten another ex-girlfriend to death; the courts there had deemed him insane. Who was William Coday: Mentally unstable? Or perfectly capable--and guilty--of murder in the first degree?"--Page 4 of cover

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312944705
• ISBN13: 9780312944704
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: St. Martin's True Crime
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

Behind The Mask

Its very sad that a person who was given so many gifts of intelligence felt the compulsion to commit such brutal murders. The human brain is so complex its hard to understand the inhumanity of these people. The question that haunts me is who is to blame? Truth is stranger than fiction and these stories are intriguing and it was written very well.

Drawn in for Keeps

I'm not a major true crime fan, but I was hooked on this story from the first page. I think it was partly the story itself--a gentle and learned man in the library with a secret truth--partly the author's in-depth detail, and partly her lean writing. Without wasting a syllable, Sands keeps the intrigue going throughout the entire tale. She quotes just the right amount from trial transcripts and the 'novella' that Coday, the defendant, wrote. I also enjoyed learning the legal thinking behind trial strategies the lawyers employed, and in fact, recommended the book to my son who is a young public defender. If all true crime books read like this one, I might just become a fan.

Beautiful Writing

I loved this book. The writing was out of this world. Twice I arrived late to work because I was reading in bed. i love stories about geniuses-gone-awry. And I loved how beautiful the writing was. That's not a given in true crime. Sometimes good writing seems like an afterthought. But with this book, if the riveting plot and characters don't pull you through alone, the writing will. It's that good.

Riveting, Disturbing, and Thought-provoking

"Behind the Mask" kept me awake half the night with its twists and turns. At the outset, it's about the senseless and brutal killing of Gloria Gomez by her ex-boyfriend William Coday, a seemingly mild-mannered librarian in Fort Lauderdale, FL. But the murder is just the tip of the iceberg. As the case unfolded, there were revelations about Coday's secret criminal past and the failure of the justice system to hold him to account for his previous actions that left my stomach in knots. What's more, Coday wrote his own creepy "novelistic" account of the murder that's judiciously and juicily quoted--and which essentially served as his confession. The death penalty trial that followed put the reader in the position of being the jury---presenting all the evidence for and against executing Coday. The trial is surprisingly gut-wrenching, and I was in nervous suspense as I turned the pages toward the final (surprising) outcome. If you're into the legal side of things, as I am (I'm a huge "Law & Order" fan), you'll especially appreciate what a great job the author does in illuminating the characters of the attorneys on both sides of this disturbing case, along with their strategies.