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The frank and unvarnished memoir of a life spent stalking death in the Deep South.
Putnam
March 2006
304 pages
ISBN: 0399152822
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction | Non-Fiction Biography
Baton Rouge is a little town with big-city problems. Rich with Creole history, colorful locals, and a strong sense of community, it's also the home of Napoleonic codes, stubborn cops, and a sometimes-troubled leadership. Baton Rouge-which literally means "Red Stick"-lives up to its bloody namesake.
And after more than ten years as a deputy coroner and then as its chief coroner, Louis Cataldie has seen his fair share of unusual and disturbing cases. They range from the bizarre to the heartbreaking: an LSU professor killed by a barn door; the bones of a young woman found scattered in a churchyard; and as many as three serial killers loose at one time under Cataldie's watch. He has worked the scene of one of the Malvo/ Muhammad Beltway Sniper shootings and had a hand in bringing to justice serial killer Derrick Todd Lee in a controversial investigation that was featured in an ABC Prime Time special with Diane Sawyer and Patricia Cornwell.
Coroner's Journal is an unflinching look at a world that television dramas such as CSI can only begin to show us.
 Media BuzzFresh Air - NPR - March 15, 2006
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