Under the Knife: A Beautiful Woman, a Phony Doctor, and a Shocking Homicide

I am not quite half way through this book; i think it is well written (so far) and obviously Dean Faiello has a sociopathic personality; he simply indulges his wants and desires without any concern for others; my question, though is how could a successful woman like Maria Cruz go to someone's apartment ( he worked out of a friend's apartment) and expect to get safe medical care? the man didn't even have a medical office; that fact just blows me away; perhaps it was a cultural gap, since she wasn't born in the U.S., she didn't understand that legitimate practicioners don't practice in an apartment. I don't know what it was; it is a sad, tragic and gruesome tale and should impart one lesson: no medical procedure is without risk and should always be undertaken in a legitimate medical facility with people who have verified credentials. Rest in peace Maria

This book was a shocker, something out of a horror movie. It amazes me that this person was able to fool so many people. Great read Diane.

The tale of Dean Faiello, the fake doctor who let a woman die because of his incompetence is the story of a deeply self-enchanted man. As another reviewer here has noted, Faiello is a narcissist happy to blithely torched the lives of anyone if it makes his life easier. Whether taking the life savings of a former lover, all but stealing the legacy of another, or putting a patient who's OD'd on lidocane into a suitcase and burying her in his garage, Faiello is never troubled by a conscience or even simple human compassion. And like many such trainwrecks, he's a fascinating subject. Fanning tells his story and that of his victims effectively. She's clearly on the verge of joining the first rank of True Crime writers along with Ann Rule, Tommy Thompson and others. It's disappointing and frankly frustrating to me that after Fanning's stellar effort on Written in Blood where she elevated an insta-book to a worthy addition to the True Crime canon she still doesn't have a hardcover deal. I'm delighted by St. Martin's commitment to the genre but let's face it, they aren't giving their writers the luxuries of time and resources to really explore their subjects. It's even more frustrating when Court TV anchor's Catherine Crier's far less insightful efforts are in hardcover. Crier's books aren't bad but they're certainly not better than Fanning's last two. I, for one, would love to see what Fanning could do given the time, support and the right story. Back to the book - this is an absorbing, fast read. Well worth the time of any True Crime fan.

Fanning is showing remarkable talent in this latest book relating the story of Dean Faiello, an electrolysis technician turned practicing, non-licensed physician. As a result of only playing doctor, he takes the life of beautiful Filipino-born Maria Cruz when she seeks treatment from Faillo for a rare, yet not fatal, disorder of the tongue. What is extremely interesting in reading about this particular case is the numerous acts of manipulations Faillo was able to complete successfully; and many of them on individuals that no one could ever suspect would be capable of falling for such foolishness. As a general rule, narcissism rules among killers; however, I believe that Fiallo takes the cake of them all!