Dee and Isla dive into one of the wildest intersections of crime and literature ever recorded: the case of Krystian Bala, the Polish writer whose debut novel Amok appeared to confess - in shocking detail - to a real murder.
This is a story that combines postmodern philosophy, pathological narcissism, a jealous ex-husband, police detective brilliance, and one extremely unpleasant book we have absolutely no desire to read. Think Marquis de Sade meets Reddit, but with actual bodies.
In December 2000, fishermen discovered the body of Dariusz Janiszewski, a respected advertising executive, in the River Odra near Wrocław. He’d been missing for a month. With no clear suspects and almost no evidence, the case went cold. For years, it looked like the killer had pulled off the perfect crime.
Investigators discovered Bala had published a novel in 2003 titled Amok - a grotesque, violent book filled with sadism, misogyny, and philosophical ramblings. Buried in the filth was a murder that matched Janiszewski’s killing in disturbing detail.
This was either: A) the worst coincidence in crime history or B) the most arrogant confession ever written.
Elizabeth Day, “Stranger Than Fiction,” The Guardian (2007).
David Grann, “A Postmodern Murder Mystery,” The New Yorker (2008).
Andrew Purvis, “Polish Murder Stranger Than Fiction,” TIME (2007).
Reuters, “Truth Stranger Than Fiction as Polish Author Jailed” (2007).
Katherine Ramsland, “Murder, They Wrote,” Psychology Today (2018).
Conchology.be: “Krystian Bala.”
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