Without Mercy: Obsession and Murder Under the Influence

An inside look at a bizarre triangle and the killing that resulted from it examines the murder of wealthy Art Venecia and the relationship between the two people accused of the crime--Allan Bryant, a manipulative young homosexual, and Dee Casteel, a middle-aged, alcoholic waitress

An account of two murders, this is also a penetrating look into the mind and heart of an alcoholic. According to Provost ( Across the Border ), Dee Casteel, a waitress at the International House of Pancakes in the Florida Redlands, drank as many as three bottles of Scotch a day. She fell in love with Allen Bryant, live-in lover of the restaurant's owner, Art Venecia, and Bryant used her to help arrange Venecia's murder. After it was carried out, Bryant became concerned that Venecia's 84-year-old mother would "smell a rat"; the two hit men who had murdered the son were hired to eliminate her as well. Afraid that Bryant would kill her, Casteel dictated a confession to her daughter in the presence of a witness; soon afterward the case was cracked. The four collaborators are now awaiting execution. Provost has done a fine job of depicting an unlikely group of killers. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Why did International House of Pancakes (IHOP) waitress Dee Casteel, considered by all who knew her the nicest person one would hope to meet, conspire with IHOP manager Allen Bryant to murder owner (and Bryant's lover) Art Venecia? Provost's contention is that Casteel's alcoholism ruled her life, clouding her judgment, making her unable to understand the implication of her actions. Casteel now sits on death row in a Florida prison. This book is difficult to categorize; although a true crime story, it really is a description of alcohol addiction and its impact on both the life of the alcoholic as well as the people in her life. Recommended for libraries with large true crime collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/89-- Sandra K. Lindheimer, Middlesex Law Lib., Cambridge, Mass.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.