Lethal Lolita: A True Story of Sex, Scandal and Deadly Obsession

by Maria Eftimiades

Describes the trial of Amy Fisher, a seventeen-year-old girl charged with attempting to kill the wife of a man with whom she allegedly had an affair

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

281 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 8, 1992

Reviews

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sooo I liked learning the details of this cruel story, but the writing was trash. The timeline kept jumping within the same page at times let alone per chapter, and the POV changed constantly. Ok so are we dealing with the “present” (since this book was written when she was arrested) or are we dealing with the past? Author, we are on the same page could you make up your mind please? BUT having said all of that, which is why I gave it two stars, I was intrigued by the plot. Amy and I are pretty close in age. I remember this happening. And I remember all of the interviews, seeing Mary Jo’s racked face and listening to Joey’s bag o’lies. So I visited Wikipedia to get the details not in this book. I don’t think Amy had anywhere to go but down. Her life was ruined from the day she met Joey. And she has no self-respect. Really unfortunate story.

[JJ Wall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy Fisher was a child who did a HORRIBLE thing but she was also damaged, abused, and influenced. I’ve always thought she was treated unfairly but reading this account from 1992 in a 2019 state of mind and world hammers that home for me even further.

It blows my mind that Joey wasn’t held more accountable from the start and that it took so long to get a statutory rape charge against that child abuser.

[Elisabeth Brookshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this

I had to read this because I've read Mary Jo Buttafuoco's book twice and both of Amy Fishers. I wanted a third party perspective. This book is well written with details I hadn't read before but it ended as soon as Amy got out on bond. There is so much more to the story. It needs to be updated and rereleased and I bet a lot of people would like to read the second half. Amy Fisher is in her mind forties today and Joey Buttafuoco has been in and out of the press for various crimes, misdemeanors, and terrible publicity stunts. After reading everything I finally came to the conclusion that a sociopathic nut job took a troubled young girl and made her life 100% worse. Then, in a terrible denouement, an innocent woman's life was shattered. The collateral damage was astounding. If someone would have stepped in early on when they had concerns about Amy and Joey none of this would have ever happened.

[Michele Brack · Rating 5 out of 5]

#51 A book about a difficult topic

This was another one of those books that's been siting on my shelf for a while and I needed an excuse to check it off my list.

I can honestly say that I was not very aware of the particulars of this case, I mean, you hear the names and the headlines with clever quips, but I was just too young to get into it when this was happening. So, essentially, I went into this with little to no idea of the details.

Everyone contradicts everyone else! The only one who I am certain is telling the truth is Mary Jo! Everything else is completely and utterly muddled.

[Bryan D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in a charity shop around a month ago, the title intrigued me, I wasn't expecting such a fast paced, well written account of the atrocious crime that occurred in broad daylight.
As far as I see it the real victim was Mary, the cold assault upon her is terrifying, considering her attacker was a seventeen year old girl!
I just checked on Google and Amy Fisher brings up her details immediately. Here's a scay cautionary tale indeed.

[Sandra Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written

Very well researched and well told. I went in blaming Amy but not for long. A heartbreaking tragedy of a very influenced young girl. I highly recommend you read this and the ending was a let down ending to soon

[Ashley Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed the book... until it ended before the trial began. What a buzz kill. Thankfully the person who had the book before I did wrote the sentences & had clippings from the newspapers inside.

[Nat PlainJanetheBookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

🤢 the first couple of pages of this one was far too dramatic with words and descriptions. Big turn off for me. There was some good writing further in, some interesting info about the case. It’s an easy read for sure, I read in just over 2 hours!! Not one of the best written, but good enough 👍🏽

[Stephanie Dargusch Borders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written before the trial, this was just ok. Fascinating case but it would be well served by a fresh perspective.

[Kathy Underwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, but, kept you hanging. No trial description, what happened to the main people involved afterwards. Other than that, good .

[Tabitha Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

'Lethal Lolita' by Maria Eftimiades. This book was $1.00, and I wouldn't have paid a penny more for it. However, I will admit, that despite it's plethora of grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors I actually enjoyed reading it. This book is pretty self explanatory for anyone who followed the news in the 1990's. Seventeen year old Amy Fisher pulled into a picturesque Long Island neighborhood one day, pulled out a gun, and shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the head. Why? Because Amy was a mixed up kid who fell in love with Mary Jo's husband, Joey, who was frankly kind of a creep. But Amy pulled the trigger, she made that decision, so it's really her fault. But is it? You can't help but feeling sorry for Amy. She wasn't a cold blooded killer, she was teenager who didn't understand the repercussions of her actions. Amy goes to jail to await trial. Mary Jo survives but is scarred for life. Joey is a total buffoon who can't keep his mouth shut or his story straight. The end. This book was written before Amy's trial, and you can tell that it was written in a hurry. I kept saying "You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means" over and over. But, it's a quick read that gives you insight into one of the most prolific cases of the 90's. If you're wanting to know what parts of the story you missed by just watching the Drew Barrymore movie, pick it up, give it a shot. No pun intended.

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

An horrific tale of sex and attempted murder by a then 17-year-old Amy Fisher.

After having some sort of relationship with Joey Buttafuoco she went to his house and shot his wife, causing horrendous injuries.

The book charts how the relationship began (denied all along by Buttafuoco), how it developed and how it ended in disaster.

The book was written before the final verdict at trial so it was interesting to learn that Amy Fisher served seven years after a plea bargain and that Buttafuoco eventually spent time in jail for statutory rape, as Fisher was under 17 when he first stayed with her at an hotel.

Apparently after release Fisher became an adult entertainment star (euphemism!).

[Gerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another case that I was eager to learn more about. The Joey Buttafuoco-Amy Fischer saga sure was hyped up by the press, anxious to sell their scandal sheets. It was why I wanted to get behind the scenes, behind the yellow journalism, and get the facts. If you want to read the facts, this is a very good book to do so with.

[Desiree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm very familiar with the case and though I thought this book was good, I didn't realize it was written before the trial so there's no trial or aftermath. It felt anticlimactic. I would only read this if you're fascinated by this case. As a true crime read, stick to books like Evidence of Love that have a full complete story and are extremely well researched and written!

[Poppy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was written before the trial. I felt it jumped around a lot - it didn't follow a timeline but kept going back and forth.