I listened to Catch the Devil almost in one sitting. It is the kind of book that makes you want to keep going, even when you need to step away because the story is so frustrating and, at times, hard to believe.
What made this book especially strange for me was the personal connection to parts of the story. Reading about people I know, places that are familiar, and events I lived through in real time gave it a very different weight. The chapter about the 2019 death warrant was particularly unsettling. It is one thing to read about a death warrant as part of a true-crime narrative; it is another to remember exactly what that moment felt like while it was happening.
The author does a great job making the story accessible without losing its complexity. I appreciated that she included broader context, including some history of the death penalty, rather than treating the case as if it existed in a vacuum. That context matters, especially when a case involves so many layers of pressure, questionable decisions, and a system that can be painfully resistant to correcting itself.
This is not an easy or satisfying read, and that is not because the book falls short. It is because the reality of the case is so outrageous. You keep waiting for the moment when the injustice is finally recognized and repaired. But there is no neat ending, no exoneration, and, as I understand it, no meaningful legal path left to pursue.
That lingering lack of resolution is what stays with you. Catch the Devil is compelling, well-researched, and deeply unsettling. It is a reminder that the truth alone is not always enough to make a system do the right thing.
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