Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast

by Pamela Colloff

The gripping true story of a serial con man whose lies condemned a man to death row, by award-winning New York Times Magazine writer Pamela Colloff

For more than three decades, Paul Skalnik roamed the Gulf Coast lying about who he was. He passed himself off as a fighter pilot, a high-rolling oilman, a criminal defense attorney, an undercover agent, and a terminal cancer patient. In these guises he married nine women—some at the same time.

When Skalnik got caught, as he invariably did, he would run a different con. Locked up with other men awaiting trial, he claimed they confessed their crimes to him. Then he peddled those stories to prosecutors. In Pinellas County, Florida, he became a frequent witness for the state, thinking nothing of exaggerating men’s wrongdoing or implicating the innocent to help prosecutors win convictions. In return, the state rewarded him with his freedom, fueling his growing sense of invincibility. Soon he was not just committing fraud; he was preying on girls in their teens or barely into adolescence.

In 1985, Jim Dailey, a down-on-his-luck Vietnam veteran, was implicated in the murder of a fourteen-year-old girl and landed in the Pinellas County Jail with Skalnik. No forensic evidence or motive linked Dailey to the killing, but Skalnik’s account of his "confession" helped put Dailey on death row. Skalnik, meanwhile, walked free. More than three decades later, after another man took responsibility for the killing, Pamela Colloff, reporting for the New York Times Magazine and ProPublica, visited Skalnik and asked him if he would recant his testimony. He refused.

By then, Skalnik had caused untold damage to the women and girls he exploited, to the dozens of men he helped imprison, and to Jim Dailey, who went on to receive an execution date. In this mesmerizing debut, Pamela Colloff spins a dark tale of a remorseless and brilliant liar made lethal by a system more concerned with winning convictions than finding the truth.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Audiobook, History, Biography, Journalism

1 pages, Audio CD

First published July 14, 2026

About the author

PAMELA COLLOFF is a reporter at ProPublica and a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine. She was the recipient of a National Magazine Award for Reporting in 2020 and for Feature Writing in 2013. Her work has been anthologized in The Best American Magazine Writing, The 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.

Reviews

[JanB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes I come across a non-fiction book that were it fiction I’d dismiss it as requiring too much suspension of disbelief.

This is one of those books.

Paul Skalnik, a notorious con man, pathological liar, and pedophile was finally caught and sent to prison. Once there he continued his ways by becoming a jailhouse snitch in Florida for 35 cases, thereby sending multiple people to prison, and 3 to death row. In return he received leniency and special favors. Prosecutors found Skalnik so valuable in helping them secure convictions that they turned a blind eye to his crimes, including crimes against children.

But the biggest problem is Skalnik’s claims were all fabrications. There were no confessions.

One of those convicted and sentenced to death was Vietnam veteran, James Dailey, for the 1985 murder of a 14 year old girl. Skalnik’s testimony led to his conviction despite zero evidence implicating Dailey in the crime .

What follows is a harrowing tale of a completely broken justice system and the dangers of using jailhouse snitches. A jury verdict is next to impossible to overturn even when the true perpetrator admits his guilt and confesses that he acted alone. Even when new evidence is presented that would exonerate someone convicted.

I did not look up the case online and I’m glad I let the story play out as the author wrote it. So I won’t go into the details except to say, at least in the 80s, we had a system less determined to discover the truth than with winning convictions.

I was left speechless, sure that there is more to this story and this was simply a case of a murderer claiming innocence. I was wrong.

How is it possible that an innocent man remains on death row for 40 years for a crime he did not commit? His mistake was falling into the orbit of truly evil men.

My reading buddy, Marialyce, and I were completely stunned and disheartened on reading this travesty of justice, and our hearts broke for the man whose life was ruined. It makes me wonder how many other Jim Dailys exist?

* I received a digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own

[Marieke · Rating 5 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: This will probably be the most biased bookreview I have ever written, because I am actually in this book. And I have known and loved one of its main characters, Jim Dailey, for over 28 years.
So yes I think it is a real good book and you should all read it, because it is an in incredible important insight in the way the American Criminal Justice System doesn't really do the Justice part justice.
I can also tell you how deeply Pamela Colloff has researched this story and how much the portrait of me but most importantly Jim is really us. I have therefor a lot of faith in the reporting of the parts I didn't know beforehand.
Also she wrote it in a way that I -who knew the whole thing firsthand- still wanted to rush through it because the story grabbed me.
I however want everyone who reads it to understand that it is real. My beloved friend at 80 years old is right now sitting in his non airconditioned cell being very anxious about this book being out. And he has been behind bars for 40 years and if you read this book you will understand how that makes no sense at all!

[Marialyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg, I am speechless!

There are truly evil people roaming the earth and Paul Skalnik was assuredly one of them. This man was the ultimate con artist who swindled, cheated, lied incessantly , abused, and when caught would immediately start another con. He was married nine times some concurrently with other wives, and assumed many identities, a lawyer, an undercover agent, a fighter pilot, a successful oilman, and even a cancer patient who was terminal. If that wasn't bad enough, when sent to prison on numerous occasions, he claimed to have cozied up to accused murderers and then snitched on them for his own gains, clemency. <<
He would embellish confessions, often lying about the men who "confessed" to him, and been the deciding factor in trials and punishments. Then Jim Dailey came along accused of the heinous murder of a fourteen year old girl. Jim was a product of the Vietnam War, having served three tours of duty, and diving into a world of alcohol drugs, and rough living. He hung around with two other men, devious as well, and one night in a somewhat convoluted telling, a girl Shelley Boggio, is murdered, and Jim is accused and convicted thanks in part by a jailhouse conviction acquired by Paul Skalnik (of course) and one of his so called friends, Jack Pearcy, who initially swore that Jim did it. Much later Jack recanted his accusation, but refused to testify under oath in court.

Meanwhile, Jim, now in his eighties has been sitting on death row for over forty years, with his lawyers trying to secure his freedom.

This true story might just change your views on a court system that seemed to favor a liar against a man who never committed the crime. For me, it had my blood boiling and the pressure rising as I read more into this story.....talk about the miscarriage of justice!

Pamela Colloff did an excellent job of telling Paul Skalnik, Pearcy Dailey snd Jim Dailey's stories. If there is a hell both Jack and Paul Skalnik have places reserved in its very pit.

Be on the lookout for Jan's review. We were both left with sadness at the unfairness of this case. Made us wonder how many more convicted people were in prison due to the compensated snitch who would put them there in prison.

[Traci Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good one. Smart to frame one con man through the death row inmate he wrongfully convicted — and put the criminal legal system on blast. Engaging prose. Sharp storytelling. It gets a bit slow on the third quarter but the end pulls it off.

[Rachel B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an incredible true crime book about the murder of a young girl in Florida in the 1980s and the abhorrent reliance on a conman turned jailhouse informant.

The structure of the book is perfect: first introducing you to Paul Skalnik, the so-called informant who claimed that James Dailey confessed the murder to him in prison. The problem? Skalnik was a conman and pedophile who quickly realized he could get sweetheart deals from prosecutors by snitching on fellow inmates. The author then dives into Dailey’s background, the murder of Shelly Boggio, and the actual evidence in the case - spoiler, there’s very little evidence tying Dailey to the murder without Skalnik’s testimony.

The book is an indictment on the inherent systemic problems with capital punishment. It challenges the way prosecutors and law enforcement treat jailhouse informants and general investigations.

Unfortunately, this story doesn’t have a happy ending. Dailey is still on death row for a crime he likely did not commit. It’s an absolute tragedy but I wonder if this book will help get more publicity to the case.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounding up from 4.8

Wow. Just wow. I don’t know about words to describe this read. Definitely a LOT of emotions.. and quite a bit of rage at what this guys victims were put through.

PHENOMENAL writing. Astronomically insane crazy good research. I swear to all that is holy and good, reporters make THE BEST non fiction writers. I swear I felt I was going through some of this with the victims, witnessing it like I was a proverbial fly on the wall as it were.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC.

[Angie Miale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dare you to read this book and not Google the names of the criminals before you finish.

Seriously. If you have the self-control to wait until the final page, you’re a much more patient person than I am.

I don’t read a ton of true crime, but Catch the Devil completely pulled me in. It reads less like a traditional crime book and more like one of those gripping Netflix documentaries where every new revelation makes you question everything that came before. Fans of Making a Murderer, The Innocence Files, or The Thin Blue Line should absolutely put this on their list.

At the center of the story is Paul Skalnik, a career con artist whose crimes extended far beyond passing bad checks. He was also a convicted child predator and serial manipulator who repeatedly avoided accountability by reinventing himself as a jailhouse informant. Over the years, he claimed that dozens of fellow inmates had confessed murders to him, eventually testifying in 37 different cases.

The unsettling part isn’t just Skalnik himself—it’s why so many people believed him.

Pamela Colloff makes a compelling case that prosecutors and law enforcement repeatedly relied on testimony they had every reason to question because it helped secure convictions. In at least one case, Skalnik’s testimony helped send a man to death row. The result is a fascinating examination of how ambition, confirmation bias, and a broken incentive system can intersect inside the criminal justice system.

What fascinated me most wasn’t the mystery of the crimes—it was the psychology. Skalnik isn’t presented as a charming rogue in the vein of Frank Abagnale. He’s a deeply manipulative, narcissistic figure who understands exactly what people want to hear and uses that knowledge to survive. The book also explores why intelligent people continue to trust someone who lies so effortlessly, and that question lingered with me long after I finished reading.

Although the book maintains a journalist’s distance from its subjects, it’s remarkably engaging. I flew through it because every chapter uncovered another layer of deception. It also reinforced my own belief that the death penalty is far more complicated than many of us want to admit. You can support accountability for violent crime while still recognizing that a justice system capable of this level of error and manipulation deserves serious scrutiny.

This wasn’t quite a personal five-star obsession for me, largely because its journalistic approach keeps the reader at a slight emotional distance. But as a meticulously researched, thought-provoking, and surprisingly compulsive work of true crime, it’s outstanding.

Thank you to Knopf for the gifted finished copy. Published July 14.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5/5)

[Trin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling story of an enormous miscarriage of justice that is currently ongoing. Reading this made steam start pouring out of my ears. Fuck the police, fuck the death penalty, and fuck Ron DeSantis.

[MM Suarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What made him so dangerous was not his intelligence or cunning, but rather how readily the institutions that were supposed to uphold the law and protect the most vulnerable had amplified his lies. These institutions indulged his pathologies, granting him power and influence he could never have achieved on his own, effectively giving him license to commit greater crimes. Without them, Skalnik would have been nothing more than a small-time con man.”

A terrific piece of investigative reporting, this book is more than the story of a con man, sex offender, and prolific jailhouse snitch Paul Skalnik, who testified against, or gave information about at least twenty-seven defendants in the Pinellas County Jail, most of which were convicted or took plea deals, with three of them facing execution. This book is also a scorching indictment of the justice system, specifically in Pinellas County, Florida in the 1980’s.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading true crime and the justice system.


How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and how hard it is to undo.—Mark Twain

[Aileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey if you still need a reason to believe that capital punishment is not only cruel and unusual but an absolute judicial racket, please read this book (and a book I recently finished American Injustice by David Rudolf). Meticulously researched and beautifully written by Colloff; I absolutely love that she IS biased and knows (like we all should) that Jim Dailey is innocent and deserves to spend his final years at home with his family after being wrongly incarcerated on death row for over 40 years.

And I know you’re not supposed to speak ill of the dead but fuck that, Paul Skalnik was an absolute piece of shit.

Also the fact that this happened in Pinellas County/Florida only makes it 10000% more believable.

[KDub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Knopf for the #gifted physical copy.

Omg y’all, this book.

Talk about the most frustrating showcase of white male privilege, not believing survivors/women/girls, and the absolute mess that is our freaking (in)justice system in the US.

I could not get over how much BS Paul Skalnik got away with and how much leniency he was granted. HOW MANY TIMES MUST SOMEONE COMMIT FRAUD BEFORE YOU STOP TRUSTING THEM? But no, let’s use this guy as a jailhouse informant and put people on death row because of it. This was so infuriating to read as the details kept emerging. Skalnik preyed on literally everyone he met, and kept just getting a slap on the wrist for it. I thought Pamela Colloff did a great job detailing his story, and the backgrounds of the various victims. It really was captivating writing, even if the story itself made me so angry.

Recommended if you’d love to be simultaneously frustrated and fascinated by a true crime case.

[Bill reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Skalnik is the name of the Devil of the title of this book. A con man of epic proportions would be an understatement. Frank Abagnale of Catch me if you Can fame was a rank amateur in comparison. Using various names and schemes he was able to separate his prey and their money with remarkable success.
In order to shorten his prison stays, Skalnik became a jailhouse snitch. Prosecutors used his testimony in dozens of cases and here is where we encounter James Dailey, a troubled veteran with substance abuse issues most likely caused by horrific events that he experienced while serving in Vietnam.
A teenage girl was murdered and a man named Jack Pearcy was sentenced to life in prison. Dailey was a drinking buddy of his and Jack gave differing accounts of the night of the murder. He eventually placed Dailey at the scene but witnesses said otherwise.
Enter Paul Skalnik and his convenient testimony of Dailey admitting to the murder while housed at the same prison. Deals were made and death row was the result.
The "justice" system has dealt with this death penalty case for over forty years and Catch the Devil is a very good read.

[Kenzie | kenzienoelle.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars. I was instantly sold on this book from the premise. The story of a wrongfully incarcerated man told through the story of the conman who helped put him there. I’m always drawn to stories of wrongful incarceration, how it happened and the journey to find justice. Per usual, we see just how “just” the justice system really is🙃

It was hard not to compare this one to lots of other books I’ve read in this vein and I think this story could have been told just as well in an article. There wasn’t enough story to really fill a whole book to me.

Thank you Knopf for the gifted book!!

[Courtney Townill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catch the Devil feels like multiple true crime stories in one: the details of the many cons Paul Skalnik ran, the murder investigation of a Florida teenager, and then the processes of the death row system. I was unaware of Paul Skalnik, or the murder of Shelly Boggio, but Conloff’s reporting had me in its teeth until the very final, pointed line. I had to sit on my hands to avoid Googling this case because the way each piece of information and each twist in the case was delivered was so visceral that I didn’t want to “spoil” anything.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wild story about a con artist named Paul Skalnik who pushed limits and had several turns of good fortune. Since Paul lived in Texas most of his life, it was even more engaging to be familiar with the cities, etc. Other parts of the book take place in Kansas and Florida. It's crazy what the man got away with.

I listened to the audiobook version. Nice job by the narrator.

Some foul language.

[Paulette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good, but boy, was it infuriating. I really do wish Colloff had pushed in more on the fact that Skalnik was white, because that’s the biggest reason why he got away with so much, and left behind so much destruction in his awful life.

This is going to sound weird, but one of my favorite parts of the book was how she handled Karen Parker’s story with grace and horror. The fact that she wasn’t believed for so long, and the fact that she wasn’t the only abused victim speaks volumes about what the courts, lawyers, and judges actually favor.

SPEAKING OF WHICH—When I say that the courts are unserious and nothing matters, this is how I mean it. Governors and judges and prosecutors etc etc who want to juice up their careers by how many convictions they get in order to be perceived as tough on crime NEED people like Skalnik (who don’t care about anyone other than themselves) to lie and convict people !! This is why the state shouldn’t be allowed to kill people, it’s a failed way to deliver justice.

Anyway, it was a fantastic book, but I’ll be haunted by it for a while.

[Julia Holmes]

3.5/5

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

This is the story of Paul Skalnik, who was quite the con man, marrying nine different women and pulling off all kinds of careers with his cons. Once caught he made a "career" testifying against other inmates, working to get himself released. Once he was out again, he was on a rampage worse than before - accused of murdering a young teenage girl.

A man with a big personality and some wicked ways, taking advantage of people everywhere he went.

His story was quite interesting, however the number of people he got involved with and the number of court cases discussed made it a bit hard for me to stay tuned in. As the book winds up, Paul is on death row, still working the appeals.

My thanks to Net Galley and Knopf publishing for the advanced copy of this e-book.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2. Incredibly well researched. This is such a hard story. I hope the publication of this book can make a difference.

[Deanna (she_reads_truth_365) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 star rating

The injustice in the story was so frustrating and hard to hear.

I listened to the audio and at times struggled to understand the timeline. I had to slow the audio down and repeat chapters. It would have probably helped to have the printed copy as well.

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute masterclass in longform narrative journalism.

[Emily Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

In which I become further radicalized against capital punishment (and also the government of Florida)

[Robin Beard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting true story of Paul Skalnik - the serial con-man turned killer - but was a bit hard to follow the assorted trials for both of his deceptions (with him as a defendant) and of him being a key witness. How he played the system was alarming!

[Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what they mean when they say the system is corrupt. How one man can con the system his entire life, while someone else is left to pay the price with his entire life. Kept me up late in the night just thinking about Jim - how an innocent man is spending his life in jail and waiting for an execution.

This is journalism at it its best.

Life can be effing unfair!

[Claire St. Amant · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unbelievable, yet tragically true story. I loved this debut work from Pam Colloff. The scenes and characters jump off the pages and will live in your mind long after you finish reading. Highly recommended reading for true crime fans.

[Veronica Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

a fantastic and incredibly well-written non-fiction book! i am completely against the death penalty, and people who still support it should read this book. the American legal system is too flawed to be given the power to kill someone.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5)

Wretched state, wretched country.

[Katie Windham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly well researched and also incredibly sad story. One of those books that really makes you lose faith in our criminal justice system 🙃

[Lindsey Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

JUSTICE FOR JIM! Pamela Colloff, you’re one hell of a reporter. This book is immaculately researched and written.

There are too many Skalniks in this world. May karma get them all.

[Elissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly sad story of injustice that left me tearing up the end. Listening to it on audio made it feel even more engrossing and emotional.