Catch the Devil

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

De: Pamela Colloff

Narrado por: Gabra Zackman

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The riveting, true story of an audacious con man who helped send another man to death row for a murder he did not commit

“Incendiary, emotionally devastating. [This] is a feat of dogged reporting, bravura storytelling, and clear-eyed moral conscience."
—Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing and London Falling

“Unfolding in cinematic detail, Catch the Devil offers a riveting and disturbing account of the potentially fatal consequences of a criminal legal system that is more concerned with securing convictions than determining the truth and delivering justice.” —NPR

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.

Gripping, bewildering, heartbreaking

Incredibly well-researched, technical where needed, poignantly person otherwise. The narrator was excellent for the tragic, infuriating story being told. One of the best books of 2026

Epic. Infuriating. Tragic.

This isn’t just a book about a lying, child -molesting conman (Jack Skalnick) nor is it about the ruthless prosecutors, sketchy cops, and incompetent public defenders who all played a role in Skalnick’s “success” as a prison snitch. This book is about the human beings whose lives were ruined along the way by Skalnick and a system that values stats over people. Highest marks. Give Ms. Colloff all the awards.

A highly disturbing account of an unjust accusation.

This is a must read or listen to, especially for those either in the field of law and victim advocates who could possibly make a difference.
An eye-opening and riveting account of intentional injustice and the individuals who contributed to both trying to right this wrong and those who were either corrupt or used the law and its policies as a sword.

Solid

I’ve been a fan of this writer ever since I read a piece she did for Texas Monthly a long time ago. This book is solid reporting. Not just a good story, but an important one. You won’t be disappointed. The narration is also very good.

All Too Common

This story highlights failures in the American Justice System, which sometimes condemns innocent people and rewards the guilty. While I do not oppose the death penalty, those on death row must be convicted based on compelling evidence. Courts should regularly re-examine evidence that could influence life-or-death decisions, and it should be permissible to commute a death sentence to life without parole if there is doubt about the verdict.