MAGNETIZED :: Carlos Busqued

A version of this review previously appeared in Shelf Awareness and is republished here with permission.

Questions about why serial killers do what they do evoke answers as varied as the new mysteries they generate. Carlos Busqued, Argentine radio producer, engineer and professor at the University of Córdoba, had the opportunity to spend more than 90 hours with imprisoned serial murderer Ricardo Melogno. In Magnetized, Busqued compiles the transcripts of their conversations along with details of the crimes and Melogno's troubling history.

Busqued recorded interviews with Melogno in 2014 and 2015, relating to "a series of brief, strange, and almost restrained murders" in Buenos Aires in 1982. During a one-week period, the bodies of four taxi drivers were found slumped in their seats with .22 caliber bullet holes in the temple. The only items taken were vehicle registrations and victim IDs. The police were stumped. A week later, Melogno's brother turned him in.

Melogno, then 22, was an enigma. Described as unimpressive, "a regular, skinny kid," he expressed no motive or rationale for killing and felt nothing afterward. His affect resulted in a complete lack of consensus on his psychiatric status. The Federal Capital declared him unfit for trial due to insanity; the Province of Buenos Aires tried him and sentenced him to life in prison.

In his own words, Melogno describes his violent upbringing and his mother's use of religion as a weapon. Busqued, nominated for the Premio Herralde for his debut novel, Under This Terrible Sun, provides a chilling glimpse into the psyche of a killer wrapped in a meek facade.

STREET SENSE:  Those curious about what goes on in the mind of a (one particular) psychopath will find these interviews riveting.

COVER NERD SAYS:  The color (used to hate orange, now I am attracted to it, go figure) and striations attracted me here, as did the subtitle. The title and imagery didn't become clear until reading, but other than wishing the title fit a bit better, I took no issue with those factors. A serial killer and a speeding car were sufficient to intrigue me.