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Deadly Masquerade
A chronicle of violence, perversion, and corruption in the 1980s traces the rise and fall of Joseph Pikul--a wealthy man who, when faced with the prospect of a bitter divorce, bludgeoned his wife to death
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 30, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 2, 2016
This book is quite good actually. Glad I finally picked it to read because this has been on my shelf for years. (decades? Geez I am getting old. haha)
Back in the days when I discovered there was a whole world with many great true crime books if I only would read them in English I was always buying on ebay.
I remember buying about 80 books or so in one lot (because I quickly discovered the mailing costs were expensive but if sellers were willing to send it through m-bag it was much cheaper. What joy to finally get it (it takes at last 2 months or so) and by then I had forgotten what was in the lot, to find all those goodies.
(photo is not mine but that is how they look and how full they can be filled with books.mjmmmm)
So I ended up with many doubles but also with many of which i wasn't sure and every now and then I pick one and to be honest, most of the time I am pleasantly surprised.
How much fun it was buying gifts for yourself which in my case means books and or games).
I miss buying on ebay but I can't buy the so called "lots"anymore because I have so many true crime books already so I buy 4 or 5 on abebooks which is also fun.
Anyway I am not going to tell anything (yes bad review I know) but I was pleasantly surprised by the writing.
Back in the days when I discovered there was a whole world with many great true crime books if I only would read them in English I was always buying on ebay.
I remember buying about 80 books or so in one lot (because I quickly discovered the mailing costs were expensive but if sellers were willing to send it through m-bag it was much cheaper. What joy to finally get it (it takes at last 2 months or so) and by then I had forgotten what was in the lot, to find all those goodies.
(photo is not mine but that is how they look and how full they can be filled with books.mjmmmm)
So I ended up with many doubles but also with many of which i wasn't sure and every now and then I pick one and to be honest, most of the time I am pleasantly surprised.
How much fun it was buying gifts for yourself which in my case means books and or games).
I miss buying on ebay but I can't buy the so called "lots"anymore because I have so many true crime books already so I buy 4 or 5 on abebooks which is also fun.
Anyway I am not going to tell anything (yes bad review I know) but I was pleasantly surprised by the writing.
February 21, 2021
Well written, interesting book. The author did an amazing amount of research just from the presentation of the story. I wish he had done a little more with Diane -- to get to know her a little better before she was killed. I think he could have dwelled on Joe a little less -- yes, he is the main part of the story, but how many ways can you say, this man is violent, this man drink, this man does drugs, this man swings both ways including wearing women's underwear under his everyday male clothing. Added to this, there were several law enforcement agencies involved and a couple of government agencies in NYC involved in trying to figure out what to do with the two kids, so this was no easy situation to write about. This really was a mess -- not to mention two dysfunctional people. Anyway, it was well written. I am glad I read it. Moving on to something faster moving.
August 27, 2020
Twisted story and scary because it really happened!
May 13, 2016
This isn't your typical "who done it". The mystery isn't who murdered whom or how, but the motivations behind the murder, and the coterie of bizarre individuals populating this story. Sometimes truth truly is stranger than fiction.
Joseph Pikul was born to working class parents in a Massachusetts factorytown. His father was abusive, his mother was barely literate, but he had a knack for mathematics and managed to work his way through university. He married his college sweatheart and soon carved a niche for himself as a successful Wall Street analyst.
Sounds like an all-American success story, but looks can be deceiving. Behind closed doors, Pikul was a violent, paranoid alcholic, who routinely beat his wife. He was also a closeted gay man and cross dresser, who often videotaped his alternate personalities - he named each one - engaged in various sex acts (alone and with partners). His first marriage ended after he nearly killed his wife.
On a downward spiral, he sought help, and while attending AA he met Diane Snackenberg, a fellow attendee. A Midwestern girl, Diane was attractive, clever, an ivy league graduate. Unlike Joe, she'd enjoyed a very comfortable upper middle class upbringing, but she had no intention of returning to the Midwest. Diane had always firmly believed she was "destined for better things". She dreamt of being a successful writer and longed for a life lived among the rich and powerful, dining at the finest restaurants, belonging to the most exclusive clubs. Instead, by her early 30s, Diane was burnt out, broke, divorced, drinking excessively, and employed doing glorified secretarial work that she loathed. Desperate, she began to attend AA.
Joe Pikul was hardly the Prince Charming Diane had spent her life dreaming of, but he was wealthy, and at this point in her life that was good enough. They married quickly after meeting. Two children soon followed.
Diane finally had the luxurious life she'd craved. An apartment in Greenwich Village, a summer home in the Hamptons, limousines took her out to shop and dine, but the marriage was a disaster. Joe soon revealed his tyrannical nature. Tired of his violent temper and mood swings, Diane contemplated divorce. She discovered Joe's alternate personality "Chloe" - a drag queen. Worse, Joe was telling everyone that he might have AIDS (considered a death sentence in 1987). She was devestated, but saw an opportunity and quickly snatched it. She began blackmailing Joe, threatening to use her new found information to ensure that she inherited not only a large portion of his wealth, but also sole custody of their children. Joe loved few people, but his children were an obsession.
Joe lost an enormous amount of money on Black Friday 1987, the worst day on the stock market since 1929. He was dying. Seemingly, he had little left to live for, but he'd be damned if Diane was going to get the kids. He had one goal - prevent her from obtaining custody at all costs. The lunacy that followed has to be read to be believed. If this were a work of fiction prospective publishers would have dismissed the story as absurdly farfetched.
Joseph Pikul was born to working class parents in a Massachusetts factorytown. His father was abusive, his mother was barely literate, but he had a knack for mathematics and managed to work his way through university. He married his college sweatheart and soon carved a niche for himself as a successful Wall Street analyst.
Sounds like an all-American success story, but looks can be deceiving. Behind closed doors, Pikul was a violent, paranoid alcholic, who routinely beat his wife. He was also a closeted gay man and cross dresser, who often videotaped his alternate personalities - he named each one - engaged in various sex acts (alone and with partners). His first marriage ended after he nearly killed his wife.
On a downward spiral, he sought help, and while attending AA he met Diane Snackenberg, a fellow attendee. A Midwestern girl, Diane was attractive, clever, an ivy league graduate. Unlike Joe, she'd enjoyed a very comfortable upper middle class upbringing, but she had no intention of returning to the Midwest. Diane had always firmly believed she was "destined for better things". She dreamt of being a successful writer and longed for a life lived among the rich and powerful, dining at the finest restaurants, belonging to the most exclusive clubs. Instead, by her early 30s, Diane was burnt out, broke, divorced, drinking excessively, and employed doing glorified secretarial work that she loathed. Desperate, she began to attend AA.
Joe Pikul was hardly the Prince Charming Diane had spent her life dreaming of, but he was wealthy, and at this point in her life that was good enough. They married quickly after meeting. Two children soon followed.
Diane finally had the luxurious life she'd craved. An apartment in Greenwich Village, a summer home in the Hamptons, limousines took her out to shop and dine, but the marriage was a disaster. Joe soon revealed his tyrannical nature. Tired of his violent temper and mood swings, Diane contemplated divorce. She discovered Joe's alternate personality "Chloe" - a drag queen. Worse, Joe was telling everyone that he might have AIDS (considered a death sentence in 1987). She was devestated, but saw an opportunity and quickly snatched it. She began blackmailing Joe, threatening to use her new found information to ensure that she inherited not only a large portion of his wealth, but also sole custody of their children. Joe loved few people, but his children were an obsession.
Joe lost an enormous amount of money on Black Friday 1987, the worst day on the stock market since 1929. He was dying. Seemingly, he had little left to live for, but he'd be damned if Diane was going to get the kids. He had one goal - prevent her from obtaining custody at all costs. The lunacy that followed has to be read to be believed. If this were a work of fiction prospective publishers would have dismissed the story as absurdly farfetched.
February 29, 2012
True Crime/Murder: TERRIBLE book! The author tells how the murder happened in the beginning. Then proceeds to backtrack to years & years prior in GREAT DETAIL. All the details of many arguments. We do not need to know so much detail. One or two examples and we get the egotist the murderer is. And we get the trap the wife refuses to try to get out of. Typical abused wife syndrome. Then he proceeds to RETELL the details of the night of the murder.
I kept skimming over pages to get through the arguments of he said, she said. BORING!!!!
At 480 pages of small print, it was not worth my time.
I kept skimming over pages to get through the arguments of he said, she said. BORING!!!!
At 480 pages of small print, it was not worth my time.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews