Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators
Author: Ronan Farrow
Publisher: Little, Brown
View on Goodreads
Click above to buy this book from my Bookshop.org shop,* which supports independent bookstores (not Amazon). You can also find it via your favorite indie bookstore here.
Note: Trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.
Cover Description
In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost.
In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family.
All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance that could not be explained - until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood, to Washington, and beyond.
This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability and silence victims of abuse - and it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement.
Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power — and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook the culture.
TL;DR Review
THIS BOOK IS WILD. Ronan Farrow brings the drama this story deserves, as he tells us how he had to fight against literal evil forces to tell the world about Harvey Weinstein’s crimes.
For you if: You are interested in how powerful people attempt (often successfully) to control the world. Evil spies included.
Full Review
This is the kind of story that feels like it can’t be real, and yet it is. It’s the kind of story that belongs on an episode of “Scandal.” I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by the author with all the drama it deserves.
Ronan (the son of Woody Allen) wrote the original article in The New Yorker that exposed Harvey Weinstein’s crimes and power … but he didn’t do it without a fight. At every turn, as Ronan connected with women willing to come forward and gathered more and more evidence, Harvey or his people were there, reporting back, pulling the strings, trapping him as best they could. Ronan starts at the beginning, when he was originally assigned the story, and continues pretty much up until the present day. After he finishes the Weinstein story (which is the bulk of the book), he talks a little bit about more recent media scandals, too.
But what will really get you is the way he put all the info into a linear timeline, with transitions like “Meanwhile, at Harvey Weinstein’s office…” Things that he wouldn’t have known at the time but has figured out since. So it all feels like it could be television (no surprise, since he’s Ronan Farrow).
I did find myself confused at some points — he uses a lot of names and rarely signposts to help you remember who they are. It might be partly that I listened to the audiobook, but I still feel like I got enough out of it. Also, in the audiobook, he does accents for all the people he’s quoting, which occasionally feels a bit cringey.
At the end of the day, though, this is the kind of can’t-look-away, juicy, attention-grabbing drama that will absolutely hook you.
Trigger Warnings
This book is about the crimes of Harvey Weinstein, and it’s written by the son of Woody Allen. Therefore:
Sexual assault
Rape
Child abuse/pedophilia
*This is an affiliate link to Bookshop.org, an online alternative to buying books on Amazon. A portion of every sale goes directly to independent bookstores! When you buy a book using my link, I will also receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting indies. They need us.