The Crimes of Josef Fritzl
by Stefanie Marsh and Bojan Pancevski
HarperElement
HK$100
It was inevitable that another book about Josef Fritzl would be published, to include chapters on the Austrian's trial and the new life of Elisabeth, the daughter he imprisoned for 24 years and who bore him seven children as a result of rape. Apart from those additions, however, The Crimes of Josef Fritzl contains much already covered in Monster by Allan Hall. The new book points out there has been no investigation into how it had been possible for Fritzl to have committed such deeds for so long; neither has it been determined whether there might have been negligence by officials who had known the Fritzls. It includes the findings of an engineer who tested the cellar's acoustics from the ground floor of their house: cries for help, apparently, would have been 'very audible'. Also interesting is the account of Elisabeth's relationship with her mother Rosemarie. Two months after they were placed in the care of a clinic, Rosemarie was asked to leave because of tension between the pair. This won't be the last book to be published on Fritzl; it may be worth waiting for a volume with significantly more new material.