Kirkus-syle Review: Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

by Ronan Farrow

In this real-life thriller, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow recounts the harrowing race to break the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault story and the obstacles he faced in getting the story to print.   As an investigative reporter at NBC News, Farrow was researching a story about the famed Hollywood “casting couch” when he began to uncover multiple allegations of sexual assault against producer Harvey Weinstein.  Determined to bring the truth to light about Weinstein, Farrow worked tirelessly to gain the trust of Weinstein’s alleged victims in order to gather stories and evidence of the string of sexual assaults of which Weinstein was accused.  Farrow encounters multiple obstacles while investigating the story, from sources hampered by nondisclosure agreements to stonewalling from his bosses at NBC News.  Motivated by his own childhood traumas, Farrow pushes forward with his reporting despite multiple warnings from sources to proceed cautiously.  Recognizing mounting evidence that he is being followed, Farrow realizes the lengths the wealthy and powerful producer will go to in order to silence and intimidate both his victims and those who look to expose him.  “Catch and Kill” gets its name from the unscrupulous tabloid tactic where a publisher will buy the rights to a story in order to bury it, a strategy Farrow discovers in his reporting that Weinstein likely utilized to silence at least one allegation.  After months of work assembling a story with several victims willing to go on the record, Farrow subsequently encounters yet another potentially devastating roadblock when NBC News decides to distance themselves from the story and from Farrow.  Determined to make public the evidence uncovered during his reporting and help to find justice for the victims, Farrow finds a new home for his story at the New Yorker magazine, but not without new threats and new pressures to get the story to print as rumors swirl that the New York Times is also working on a story about the Weinstein allegations.  Utterly engrossing, with compelling and thorough research layered into the riveting story of trying to break a news story against the clock while fighting against all odds.

A must read for understanding the abuse of power that led to the #MeToo movement and the take down of a Hollywood mogul.