Catch the Devil

“Unfolding in cinematic detail, Catch the Devil offers a riveting and disturbing account of the potentially fatal consequences of a criminal legal system that is more concerned with securing convictions than determining the truth and delivering justice.” * —NPR *
Both a chilling profile of an evildoer and a glimpse into a fractured justice system, this enlightens and entertains in equal measure. * Publishers Weekly *
Pamela Colloff is one of our great chroniclers of crime and criminal justice, and in this incendiary, emotionally devastating book, she depicts a justice system turned completely inside out, in which the innocent are incarcerated and the guilty skip free. The conman at the heart of her story, Paul Skalnik, is as chilling and unrepentant as any movie villain. Catch the Devil is a feat of dogged reporting, bravura storytelling, and clear-eyed moral conscience. * Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing and London Falling *
One of America’s finest journalists, Pamela Colloff, has delivered a wallop of a debut book-loaded with moral clarity and astounding detail-about one of the world’s most infernal liars, the scores of lives he destroyed, and the criminal-justice system that still, shockingly, benefits from those lies. * Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road *
Pamela Colloff has ripped the roof off the criminal justice system with this exposé of a jailhouse snitch. You can’t read this book without a feeling of horror that one man could do so much damage; but the real shock is that he was only telling prosecutors what they wanted him to say. * Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower and The Human Scale *
A masterful and riveting anatomy of how a series of institutions colluded with one man’s pathology. I can’t imagine a more damning and poignant account of a criminal justice system that was, fundamentally, willing to be fooled-and the lives destroyed and transformed in that process. * Rachel Aviv, author of Strangers to Ourselves *
You read each page of Pamela Colloff’s subtly written and stunningly reported book with a deepening sense of outrage. How could this happen? How could the justice system be so remorseless, so intractably focused on protocol and career wins at the expense of justice itself? Catch the Devil is an infuriating, illuminating, gripping narrative by one of the heroes of American journalism. * Stephen Harrigan, author of Sorrowful Mysteries *
A mesmerizing, often enraging portrait of a man whose skill at manipulating the judicial system led to untold injustices. Told with all the care, nuance, and dazzling reportage we expect from Pamela Colloff-one of the very best in the field right now-Catch the Devil reads like a literary thriller, rich in atmosphere and lively characters, but its larger resonances give it an extraordinary depth and its timeliness during America’s current grifter era could hardly be greater. * Megan Abbott, author of El Dorado Drive *
Pamela Colloff lights up the criminal justice system with a precision that leaves nowhere to hide. Catch the Devil is an extraordinary achievement, its narrative moving with the taut urgency of a thriller-anchored by the heart and humanity she brings to the pursuit of truth. An unforgettable masterwork from the leading voice in American crime reporting. * Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove *

Pamela Colloff’s writing sits at the perfect intersection of journalism and literature. Catch the Devil is a masterwork, deeply researched and thrillingly composed.
–

* Michael Finkel, author of The Art Thief *
Vividly reported and artfully written, Colloff’s book is an enraging narrative of how one man can manipulate the criminal justice system. It’s also a joy to read thanks to her knack for storytelling and engrossing detail. * Susan Orlean, author of Joyride and The Orchid Thief *
At the heart of Pamela Colloff’s impeccable, infuriating narrative sits a serial jailhouse snitch, Paul Skalnik. A monster of casual depravity, predatory instinct, and resolute amorality, Skalnik plays our criminal justice system like a fiddle, exposing an apparatus far more concerned with clearance rates than actual justice. The tragedy here lies not only in the countless miscarriages of justice in the name of it, but the countless lives obliterated in the process. * Dennis Lehane, author of Small Mercies and Mystic River *
Gripping [….] Reads like a thriller but never sacrifices the humanity of the people Skalnik hurt. It’s a hell of an achievement. * LA Times *
We can’t think of better summer reading than Colloff’s riveting account of how one criminal sold out others to keep himself on the streets. * Town & Country *
Colloff’s painstaking, comprehensive reporting is a scathing indictment of a country where prosecutors are so often politically incentivized to get a conviction regardless of a defendant’s actual guilt. * The Nation *
[A] spellbinding tale of a justice system derailed by biases. * TIME *
By no means your typical true-crime book […] Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, a landmark treatment of true crime, is remembered for the effort he invested in getting to know the two murderers at the heart of the book. Colloff similarly works to understand Skalnik […] Its unusual villain makesCatch the Devil an engrossing read; the public policy implications make it important. * New York Times *
Pamela Colloff is one of our great chroniclers of crime and criminal justice, and in this incendiary, emotionally devastating book, she depicts a justice system turned completely inside out, in which the innocent are incarcerated and the guilty skip free. The conman at the heart of her story, Paul Skalnik, is as chilling and unrepentant as any movie villain. Catch the Devil is a feat of dogged reporting, bravura storytelling, and clear-eyed moral conscience. * Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing and London Falling *
Pamela Colloff is one of our great chroniclers of crime and criminal justice, and in this incendiary, emotionally devastating book, she depicts a justice system turned completely inside out, in which the innocent are incarcerated and the guilty skip free. The conman at the heart of her story, Paul Skalnik, is as chilling and unrepentant as any movie villain. Catch the Devil is a feat of dogged reporting, bravura storytelling, and clear-eyed moral conscience. * Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing and London Falling *
One of America’s finest journalists, Pamela Colloff, has delivered a wallop of a debut book-loaded with moral clarity and astounding detail-about one of the world’s most infernal liars, the scores of lives he destroyed, and the criminal-justice system that still, shockingly, benefits from those lies. * Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road *
One of America’s finest journalists, Pamela Colloff, has delivered a wallop of a debut book-loaded with moral clarity and astounding detail-about one of the world’s most infernal liars, the scores of lives he destroyed, and the criminal-justice system that still, shockingly, benefits from those lies. * Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road *
Pamela Colloff has ripped the roof off the criminal justice system with this exposé of a jailhouse snitch. You can’t read this book without a feeling of horror that one man could do so much damage; but the real shock is that he was only telling prosecutors what they wanted him to say. * Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower and The Human Scale *
Pamela Colloff has ripped the roof off the criminal justice system with this exposé of a jailhouse snitch. You can’t read this book without a feeling of horror that one man could do so much damage; but the real shock is that he was only telling prosecutors what they wanted him to say. * Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower and The Human Scale *
A masterful and riveting anatomy of how a series of institutions colluded with one man’s pathology. I can’t imagine a more damning and poignant account of a criminal justice system that was, fundamentally, willing to be fooled-and the lives destroyed and transformed in that process. * Rachel Aviv, author of Strangers to Ourselves *
A masterful and riveting anatomy of how a series of institutions colluded with one man’s pathology. I can’t imagine a more damning and poignant account of a criminal justice system that was, fundamentally, willing to be fooled-and the lives destroyed and transformed in that process. * Rachel Aviv, author of Strangers to Ourselves *
You read each page of Pamela Colloff’s subtly written and stunningly reported book with a deepening sense of outrage. How could this happen? How could the justice system be so remorseless, so intractably focused on protocol and career wins at the expense of justice itself? Catch the Devil is an infuriating, illuminating, gripping narrative by one of the heroes of American journalism. * Stephen Harrigan, author of Sorrowful Mysteries *
You read each page of Pamela Colloff’s subtly written and stunningly reported book with a deepening sense of outrage. How could this happen? How could the justice system be so remorseless, so intractably focused on protocol and career wins at the expense of justice itself? Catch the Devil is an infuriating, illuminating, gripping narrative by one of the heroes of American journalism. * Stephen Harrigan, author of Sorrowful Mysteries *
A mesmerizing, often enraging portrait of a man whose skill at manipulating the judicial system led to untold injustices. Told with all the care, nuance, and dazzling reportage we expect from Pamela Colloff-one of the very best in the field right now-Catch the Devil reads like a literary thriller, rich in atmosphere and lively characters, but its larger resonances give it an extraordinary depth and its timeliness during America’s current grifter era could hardly be greater. * Megan Abbott, author of El Dorado Drive *
A mesmerizing, often enraging portrait of a man whose skill at manipulating the judicial system led to untold injustices. Told with all the care, nuance, and dazzling reportage we expect from Pamela Colloff-one of the very best in the field right now-Catch the Devil reads like a literary thriller, rich in atmosphere and lively characters, but its larger resonances give it an extraordinary depth and its timeliness during America’s current grifter era could hardly be greater. * Megan Abbott, author of El Dorado Drive *
Pamela Colloff lights up the criminal justice system with a precision that leaves nowhere to hide. Catch the Devil is an extraordinary achievement, its narrative moving with the taut urgency of a thriller-anchored by the heart and humanity she brings to the pursuit of truth. An unforgettable masterwork from the leading voice in American crime reporting. * Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove *
Pamela Colloff lights up the criminal justice system with a precision that leaves nowhere to hide. Catch the Devil is an extraordinary achievement, its narrative moving with the taut urgency of a thriller-anchored by the heart and humanity she brings to the pursuit of truth. An unforgettable masterwork from the leading voice in American crime reporting. * Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove *

Pamela Colloff’s writing sits at the perfect intersection of journalism and literature. Catch the Devil is a masterwork, deeply researched and thrillingly composed.
–

* Michael Finkel, author of The Art Thief *

Pamela Colloff’s writing sits at the perfect intersection of journalism and literature. Catch the Devil is a masterwork, deeply researched and thrillingly composed.
–

* Michael Finkel, author of The Art Thief *

Pamela Colloff is a reporter at ProPublica and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. She is a two-time recipient of a National Magazine Award, winning for Reporting in 2020 and for Feature Writing in 2013.

Her work has been anthologized in Best American Magazine Writing, Best American Crime Reporting, and Next Wave: America’s New Generation of Great Literary Journalists.

Colloff holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Brown University. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and their two children.