The Piano Teacher - by Robert K Tanenbaum & Peter S Greenberg (Paperback)

About the Book

This true-crime classic portrays eccentric New York artist Charles Yukl, who taught the piano to aspiring actress Suzanne Reynolds. She became the victim of a brutal murder by woman-hating recluse Yukl, who spent his days lost in fantasies of perversion. As a result of a plea bargain for Suzanne's murder, Yukl soon gained his freedom due to a shocking series of legal errors--and killed again.

Book Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum tells the terrifying and gripping story of Charles Yukl, a mild-mannered piano and voice teacher that killed and abused his students.

Everybody has a dream. For aspiring actress Suzanne Reynolds, her dream ended in a gruesome encounter with eccentric New York artist Charles Yukl. Fooled by his choirboy looks, Reynolds had no idea the man who taught her the piano was a woman-hating recluse who spent his days lost in fantasies of perversion. As a result of the plea bargain for Suzanne¹s brutal murder, Yukl soon gained his freedom due to a shocking series of legal errors -- and killed again.

A riveting dramatization of two horrific crimes and their aftermath, The Piano Teacher brilliantly portrays a madman set on fulfilling his own sadistic and homicidal dreams...and the flawed justice system that gave him the opportunities to do so.

Review Quotes

"Kirkus Reviews"Stinging, intelligent...an unusually provocative and satisfying true-crime chronicle.

"Los Angeles Times"Compelling...horrific ...a nightmare voyage through two of the most gruesome murders imaginable...and an odyssey through a killer's life.

"People"Tanenbaum and Greenberg meticulously reconstruct the murders so that they read like fiction...Their book is worth seeking out.

Flora Rheta SchreiberAuthor of "The Shoemaker"Absorbing...takes the plunge into the dark terrain of a psychotic killer.

Joseph WambaughAn important and frightening true story!

"Kirkus Reviews"

Stinging, intelligent...an unusually provocative and satisfying true-crime chronicle.

"Los Angeles Times"

Compelling...horrific ...a nightmare voyage through two of the most gruesome murders imaginable...and an odyssey through a killer's life.

"People"

Tanenbaum and Greenberg meticulously reconstruct the murders so that they read like fiction...Their book is worth seeking out.

Flora Rheta Schreiber

Author of "The Shoemaker"

Absorbing...takes the plunge into the dark terrain of a psychotic killer.

Joseph Wambaugh

An important and frightening true story!

"Los Angeles Times

Compelling...horrific ...a nightmare voyage through two of the most gruesome murders imaginable...and an odyssey through a killer's life.

About the Author

Robert K. Tanenbaum is the author of thirty-two books--twenty-nine novels and three nonfiction books: Badge of the Assassin, the true account of his investigation and trials of self-proclaimed members of the Black Liberation Army who assassinated two NYPD police officers; The Piano Teacher: The True Story of a Psychotic Killer; and Echoes of My Soul, the true story of a shocking double murder that resulted in the DA exonerating an innocent man while searching for the real killer. The case was cited by Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren in the famous Miranda decision. He is one of the most successful prosecuting attorneys, having never lost a felony trial and convicting hundreds of violent criminals. He was a special prosecution consultant on the Hillside strangler case in Los Angeles and defended Amy Grossberg in her sensationalized baby death case. He was Assistant District Attorney in New York County in the office of legendary District Attorney Frank Hogan, where he ran the Homicide Bureau, served as Chief of the Criminal Courts, and was in charge of the DA's legal staff training program. He served as Deputy Chief counsel for the Congressional Committee investigation into the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He also served two terms as mayor of Beverly Hills and taught Advanced Criminal Procedure for four years at Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, and has conducted continuing legal education (CLE) seminars for practicing lawyers in California, New York, and Pennsylvania. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Tanenbaum attended the University of California at Berkeley on a basketball scholarship, where he earned a B.A. He received his law degree (J.D.) from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. Visit RobertKTanenbaumBooks.com.