Finding Amy - by Joseph K Loughlin & Kate Clark Flora (Paperback)

About the Book

A dedicated policeman and a former assistant attorney general unveil the investigation into the 2001 murder of Amy St. Laurent that changed the city of Portland, Maine, forever. Includes photos.

Book Synopsis

A dedicated policeman and a former assistant attorney general unveil a woman's murder-and the investigation that changed one Maine city forever.

Review Quotes

"Loughlin's recorded entries about the case -- his thoughts, emotions and reactions to the investigation -- amplify Flora's straightforward but potent narrative as detectives search for the grave, find it (about halfway through the book) and build a case against a leading suspect. This is a feast for proceduralists, giving countless small details of the work-a-day slogging involved, an effort that leads the department to make good on the mystery, catching Amy's murderer, and making the case stick."--Publishers Weekly

"Readers of true crime will find this chronological tale of the search for Amy and her killer especially compelling because of the personal account of Loughlin, who was lieutenant of the Criminal Investigation Department when Amy disappeared. Loughlin's journal, woven into Flora's painstaking recreation of the work of the detectives, highlights the intense discussions that took place among the key players and gives readers a look at the slow, steady progress of real detectives on a real case. There are no 'CSI solutions' that wrap up the case in a conveniently short time. There are no magic findings of DNA. What takes place in this true story is the passionate belief that they will find Amy, bring her killer to justice, and give closure to her family and to the people of Maine." --Foreword

"This is one of the best true crime stories to be published in recent years...This book should reaffirm the public's faith in the police, prosecutors, and Maine's judicial system."--Brunswick Times Record

"Few true crime books get behind the scenes and explain how homicide detectives do their jobs the way Finding Amy does."--Bangor Daily News

"The tale is brimming with insights about police procedure, jurisdictional disputes, and politics. Over and over again, real life trumps fiction. For instance, after a five-hour standoff, the suspect surrenders one of his guns for a soda, the other for a cigarette. Put that in a novel and no one would believe it . . . The reader is never allowed to lose sight of the humanity of the victim, a young girl who accepted a ride from the wrong guy, then had the temerity to say no and mean it."--Boston Globe

"This one is a triumph and a joy -- no showy-made for TV-ness -- just the reality of the way crimes and those who do them should be taken to account. This one is the real thing."--Courier Gazette, Rockland, Maine

About the Author

Joseph K. Loughlin is a former assistant chief of police for the city of Portland, Maine. He served as the interim chief and retired from service in January 2010 after 30 years of police work. He has the historic distinction of achieving and serving in every single sworn rank within the Portland Police Department. Loughlin is a graduate of the FBI National Academy command training program in Quantico, Virginia. He holds a master's degree from the University of Southern Maine and was acknowledged as a distinguished alumnus. Loughlin is the author of Finding Amy, a nonfiction account of the Amy St. Laurent homicide case in 2001. He has authored multiple editorials and magazine articles on the realities of police work.

Kate Clark Flora is the author of 14 mystery and true crime books. Death Dealer, her most recent true crime, was an Agatha and Anthony finalist. And Grant You Peace, a Joe Burgess police procedural, won the 2015 Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. Her other titles include the Thea Kozak mysteries and the starred-review Joe Burgess police series. Flora is a founding member of the New England Crime Bake conference and a founder of Level Best Books, where she worked as an editor and publisher for seven years, and has served as the international president of Sisters in Crime. In an earlier life she was an attorney, protecting battered kids and chasing deadbeat dads for the Maine attorney general's office, and representing the Maine Human Rights Commission. Flora teaches writing at Grub Street in Boston.