Finding Amy: A True Story of Murder in Maine

by Joseph K. Loughlin, Kate Clark Flora

Combining the drama of a true crime story with the detail of a police procedural, Finding Amy chronicles the investigation into one of the most shocking murders in recent Maine history. Twenty-five-year-old Amy St. Laurent was attractive, intelligent, and responsible. One October evening, she went out to show a friend from Florida the exciting nightlife of Portland's Old Port section. She played pool. She danced. And then she disappeared. The police investigation into her murder riveted the state of Maine for months.
This inside account of the investigation alternates between Kate Clark Flora's objective tale of dedicated police work and the dramatic recollections of then-Lieutenant Joseph K. Loughlin, who oversaw the case.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Mystery

265 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2006

About the author

JOSEPH K. LOUGHLIN is a twenty-four-year veteran of the Portland (Maine) Police Department.

Reviews

[Bridget · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book after seeing a documentary on Amy's story and I wanted to know more. Since I love to read, I found this book on Amazon and decided it looked like a good read. I like the fact it's written by two people, from two perspectives. One perspective is by a Deputy Chief involved in the crime investigation, and the second is by former assistant attorney general. I enjoyed reading much of the book. I really enjoyed the parts describing facts about the case, the investigation, the victim and perpetrator details...all the who, what, when, where, why's of all of that. I also liked reading the parts where trial and conviction info was given.

But there were too many parts of the book I ended up skipping over. I skipped over paragraphs that went into details of the police's internal dialogue and actual communication between police personnel. I really think it was not needed to make the book any better. To me, it felt like fluff. That's just my opinion though, someone else reading might enjoy those parts of the book.

Also, when I read crime books, its always because I've seen a documentary of the case and I want to know more! I want more details than what I saw on TV. The book didn't provide any additional details, which was unexpected. The book was more internal dialogue between the police, DA's office, etc.

Because of all this I gave it 2 stars.

[J.H. Moncrieff · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

While the foundation of this book was solid, it suffered from too much detail. The cop's recollections and impressions are presented in italics, and often repeated information that had already been given. I wish they'd just been incorporated into the story.

I feel for the victim and her family, but an almost too-good-to-be-true picture was painted of Amy, as if she were an angel who never did a thing wrong, and her shining spirt was leading the investigation and guiding the cops at all times. It got to be a bit much.

Extraneous details about the cops' lives during the investigation and verbatim discussions between the officers bog this book down and slow the pace to a crawl.

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had way to much information.

[Sandy Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought the book, Finding Amy, by Joseph K. Loughlin, after hearing about the murder mystery of a missing 25 year old Amy St. Laurent, from the Old Port in Portland in October 2001, on a television show. I found the case quite intriguing and being from Maine, I follow many of these cases as I am a member of "Trial and Error" and we are a group of individuals who have been working for the release of another man here in Maine, Dennis Dechaine, who has spent 22 year incarcerated for a murder he did not commit and DNA evidence has proven he had nothing to do with the crime.

The book was very good at presenting all the facts as it was written by two police officers, Loughlin being the Lieutenant of the Criminal Investigation Department at the time. The chronological tale for the search of Amy keeps your attention throughout the book and grabs your compassion for Amy and her family. If you think you knew everything about this case you will know more after reading this book! For people who knew the story and those who didn't, this book is a great story to read to find justice!

[Laurie Tomchak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good example of the true murder genre, a little hard to follow at times because of the insertion of Loughlin's first person reactions in italics, which often made the story of the prosecution of Amy's murderer go backwards in time. But otherwise a good hearted narrative that focuses on the impact of a murder on the victim's family.

[Jenn Kovacs · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe one of the worst books I have read to date. Feel horrible for the family and what they went through, but book was miserable.

[Jan Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My heart goes out to Amy’s family as well s anyone who suffers such a terrible loss. The police, detectives, and prosecutors did a wonderful job.

[Christine Whittington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy St. Laurent was abducted from the Old Port club area of Portland. Her body was found more than a month later buried near the home of the man who would eventually be convicted of murdering her. Detective Loughlin and Kate Flora alternate telling the story of her disappearance, discovery, and the prosecution of the murderer--Flora's text and Loughlin's journal at the time. Loughlin's adoration of the victim, Amy St. Laurent, gets a little cloying at times. She was no doubt a lovely, generous, and loving young woman, but the reader can only hear this so many times before wanting to skip to the police procedural sections, which are really the meat of the story. Loughlin's perception that Amy is guiding the search from beyond reveals an interesting side of a hardened police officer, but I tired of that after a bit. It is fascinating to think that so many of these police offers apparently felt a strong connection with "Our Amy," adored her equally beautiful mother, and were driven to find her and her murderer because of her angelic nature. The consensus seemed to be that she was murdered because she said "no" to her murder. One wonders how the book would have been different if she had not been beautiful, brilliant, and principled. The [mostly male] police officers have a protective, paternal reaction to Amy's abduction and murder, indicating that she was the "kind of girl who you would be proud to have raised." This attitude is touching but, on the other hand, leads them to make disparaging descriptions of not only the accused--before he was found guilty--but his mother. Loughlin notes in his journal that the mother of the accused murderer "looks like Linda Blair in 'The Exorcist'" and her "stringy red hair wraps around a crazy face with thick eyeliner."

The technical details about the search, discovery, investigation, trial, and post-trial proceedings are the excellent part of the book--5 stars for that--and the reason it will appeal to true crime enthusiasts. Traditionally competitors, the state police, city police (of two cities), and eventally, the state warden's service (called "hillbillies" by the city police), aided by K9 and cadaver dog handlers and death investigators from the state medical examiner's office find Amy's body, unravel the story of the murder, and convict the perpetrator (despite his never confessing to the police and no physical evidence). The guy, Russ Gorman, does seem to be bad news and is still behind bars despite appeals. The tediousness and bureaucracy of legal proceedings is well-reflected in the book and make for slow reading at times. The contrast between the kind and beautiful Amy beloved by police and family and the descriptions of the varieties of maggots in her body by forensic scientists on the stand is jarring, but that is, in fact, crime work.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good true crime novel about a murder in Maine. It’s one of those murders that has stuck with me over the years because it happened a few minutes away from my house, and I was eighteen at the time so old enough to know what was going on.

Portland, ME is, for the most part, a safe place to grow up. The fact of the matter is, though, that no place is 100% safe. There are always going to be people out there looking to take advantage of vulnerable women (and men too for that matter). And as a result, I find this book to be a very important one. Amy was, by all accounts, a much loved, kind, gentle soul who, in an effort to be hospitable to a guest, made a series of choices that ultimately led to her being the ideal prey for a psychopath. The reason she was out on the town was because some guy she met in Florida whom she didn’t know that well was visiting the area, and she was showing him around. She knew he was interested in her, but she had no interest in him. She went with him in his car. She left her phone and her jacket in his car so that when they were separated, she had no means of calling for help. She walked off from him to hang out with some guys that she knew even less. She went to a “party” at the apartment of these strange men. What's troublesome is that this is the kind of thing that women do all the time. It’s so incredibly dangerous, but we normalize it and treat it like it's just a fun Friday or Saturday night out. Women (and men) get intoxicated, hang around with shady people they don’t know very well, if at all, and go off alone with them. And most of them don’t end up buried in a shallow grave. But how many of them are victims of assault or rape? I think it is so important that we remind young people that this kind of threat is very much a real one and that it can happen anywhere so be careful of the people who you choose to spend time with. Be careful of the substances you choose to put in your body. Make sure you have people with you who will look out for you so that you’re not at the mercy of strange men who have no mercy. If your friends or family can't be with you, and you're feeling on edge, stay home! It breaks my heart that a lovely human being with so much to offer the world and so much potential had to die when all she was looking for was a good time.

I’m glad the killer was caught and got what he deserved, but what I got out of this book is that guys like Jeffrey Gorman hide in plain sight. Even in relatively safe areas, they are lurking. So take care of yourselves and hold your loved ones close!

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just moved to Maine, the Amy St Laurent case particularly interested me. Before I go on, rating true crime books is very difficult. How can one rate an obituary? Some are written better than others but that most certainly doesn't detract from the tragic loss of life. Back to the review.
Portland is an enchanting city bordered by water on one side and filled with quaint shops alongside cobblestone roads. Twenty five year old Amy St Laurent knew the area and enjoyed the vibrant night life. She was smart, compassionate, confident and beautiful. When she disappeared after a night on the town in 2001, it brought together local police, state police and the Maine wardens. All lived and breathed this case as if Amy was their own daughter. If not for their unrelenting belief that Amy would be found, her killer would surely have escaped.
This book is a quick and simple read but full of heart and anguish. Written by Deputy Chief Joseph K Loughlin and Kate Clark Flora, it reminds us that even in the safest of places, there are evil people waiting for their victims. May Amy's spirit live on.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

The tragic tale of a local young woman, Finding Amy hits close to home. I remember seeing the fliers posted all over town when Amy St. Laurent went missing. Her face was everywhere ... on the sign posts in the Old Port and on our local news. But it's been several years now since her murder and I didn't recall the details. Unfortunately by opening this book to the photo spread in the center, I ruined the excitement of unraveling the mystery way too soon. I knew where Amy's body was found, who murdered her and what happened at the trial. Maybe I should have known better than to look. Still, as far as true crime goes, this was a mediocre read.

[Angela Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a true story about a girl from Maine who was murdered after a night out with friends. The book went into detail about the night she disappeared and the efforts the Maine State Police put forth in finding the missing girl. As a native of Maine and this girl having worked with my own dad, I found this book to be of great interest to me. It hit rather close to home as the story takes place very close to my own hometown. The author deatiled the entire story from the girl's personal life to the night of her disappearance to the trial of the man who murdered her. For anyone who enjoys reading about true crimes that have been committed, this is one book I would recommend.

[Carol Merrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really got to me in that it took place in my "neighborhood" (Scarborough, Westbrook, Portland). I remember when this happened and it was so disturbing to see the posters everywhere, for so long. I was so taken by the police for becoming emotionally involved when they were trained not to. If not for there dedication and the cooperation of the Maine Warden Service, she may never have found.

[Lisa Millett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional and heart breaking

This true crime book is different in that it is told partially from the viewpoint of a police officer who was a big part of the case. It is detailed, heart breaking and truly every emotional. It shows the true dedication of the investigating team, collaboration of multiple departments and true agony yet determination of the family of the victim. This is a must read for all true crime aficionados.

[Ana Menendez-tuckman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This true crime story was intriguing and would have earned a higher rating if the copious, melodramatic, repetitious paragraphs in italics had been left out. These were the confusing and histrionic first person comments of one of the authors. The rest of the book was concise and logically provided the facts in finding the victim and convicting the murderer.

[Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having studied under some of the law enforcement who investigated this case, I had to buy this book. It's a great inside view on how frustrating an investigation can be. Well-written (co-written with Kate Flora) by one of the detectives on the case. An intense murder investigation!

[Jenny Mandeville · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an incredible true story about what they went through to Find Amy and bring her family closure. Reminds you that things like this happen everywhere. This story will surely stick with me for awhile. So very sad.

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a true crime buff - this one was co-written by one of the actual dectectives one the case - his actual notes are included and make it a chilling read

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

True story of the investigation of the murder of a young women in Maine. I found it compelling and a touching tribute to Amy.

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good one, about the disappearance and search for Amy St. Laurent.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent work done by the detectives, forest rangers, and regular people desperate to find Amy.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finding Amy is a true story, told by those involved in the investigation. Knowing the people involved in this story made me reluctant to read it for years, but I'm glad I did. If you are a fan of true crime, this is an easy to read book that flows well. I did feel at times that unnecessary details were shared about those who aided in the investigation (such as real names of some who testified but were not involved at all in the crime), but the end result was a great story of partnership between law enforcement agencies from across the state of Maine. I wish they had an afterward about the great things being done by the Amy St. Laurent Foundation since this crime - there is much to be said about the work being done to increase safety and self defense skills of young women throughout the area!

[Casey Maddock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Initially was into this book because I’m a southern Maine native and also a woman in my 20s. I usually love true crime media especially when it doesn’t sensationalize the crime/criminal, but this book went so far in the opposite direction that it was painfully pro-police. Talk about a bunch of guys patting themselves on the back for doing their jobs. I wanted to know more about who Amy was, not this “good girl” “smart girl” caricature that the detectives made her out to be. I also got really sick of the narrative that the case was so groundbreaking because the cops from the various agencies… got along? Why should I be impressed that you successfully collaborated when you all have the same goal?

[Ruth York · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of the tragic disappearance and murder of a young woman in Maine's largest city. Unfortunately, it highlights the depravity in some people. It also shows an inside view into how long it can take for investigators to search for answers in a case, how they are bound by the law to follow a set of rules, and how a trial works, and the difficult parameters prosecutors must follow, that defense doesn't. The writing isn't the best, but the tale the writing tells is, while not "good" (how can a story of the loss of the life of a promising young woman be good?), it is good in that the ideals of Amy St. Laurent might live on.

[Bri Barkley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed hearing the police side of a murder investigation. You don't really think how it affects them and how personal these cases become to them. I also liked how certain law jargon was explained. I've heard the words numerous times being a true crime fan but actually having it laid out in layman's terms was really helpful. Unlike other true crime books, this one didn't dwell on the trial for 100 pages which was also nice. Short and sweet but enough to where you can picture the whole thing like you're there.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow…

I had no idea the amount of work that goes into an investigation. At every stage there is a lot! And even after the body is found, the amount of work to bring a suspect in and then prepare for trial is incredible. If you want to read a book that really dials into what it takes to tackle a case, this book is for you.

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 1 out of 5]

The solution to this tragic abduction/murder is pretty evident early on, which I suppose explains the padding and repetition. Also tiresome: the author's abrasive, defensive, territorial, and passive-aggressive personality.

[Tabbitha Rivera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally enjoy true crime however this one was a bit of a tough read. It was a little dry. I enjoyed the investigation part tremendously but found myself getting bored through the trial part. It was an okay read.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Pretty thorough account of the entire investigation into the murder of Amy St. Laurent in 2001 in Maine. Not one of the more interesting cases I’ve read about, but it was well-written and held my interest.

[Mary Kamrath · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is interesting, however. There was too much description. I felt the book became quite long and overdone. I did like that there were two different points of view, written in two different fonts so they were easily separated.