Claudia Moscovici - Dangerous Liaisons: How to Recognize and Escape from Psychopathic Seduction

Claudia Moscovici has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Brown University. She is the author of Velvet Totalitarianism, a critically acclaimed novel about a Romanian fam ilys survival in an oppressive communist regime due to the strength of their love. She also published several scholarly books on political philosophy and the Romantic movement, focusing on psychological interpretations of art and literature. Her publications include Romanticism and PostRomanticism (Rowman and Littlefield, 2007), Gender and Citizenship (Rowman and Littlefield, 2000) and Double Dialectics (Rowman and Littlefield, 2002). She taught philosophy, literature and arts and ideas at Boston University and at the University of Michigan. Shes currently working on a novel about psychopathic seduction and betrayal, called The Seducer.

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As a clinical specialist in the narcissistic spectrum personality disorders, I find that nobody addresses this subject matter more trenchantly, and with more penetrating insight, than Claudia Moscovici does in her consistently illuminating work. Hers is a clinically keen, lucid mind, indeed. In Dangerous Liaisons, Moscovici presents the reader with the rare opportunity, if he or she dares, to enter and understand the mind and twisted machinations of psychopathic personalities. With dangerously deficient consciences, psychopaths are highly inclined to perpetrate sundry disturbing violations against others, remorselessly. In her examination of the dynamics of this puzzling, chilling personality, and in applying her insights to real-life, modern examples of classic psychopaths, Moscovici has written a book from which anyone (curious lay person or seasoned clinician) interested in how psychopaths insinuate themselves into others lives, leaving trails of often hard-to-imagine devastation, will benefit immensely. With Dangerous Liaisons, Moscovici makes an invaluable, genuinely distinguished contribution to the literature on psychopathy.

Steve Becker, MSW, LCSW LoveFraud.com feature columnist, Expert/ Consultant on Narcissism and Psychopathy

The Institute has long said that what is shocking is not that pathology exists, but that there is so little public and survivor education about the most dangerous relationships on the planet. Claudia Moscovicis Dangerous Liaisons is a needed perspective about the invisible tyranny and death grip of pathological love relationships and what they do to those who love psychopaths. We cant avoid what we cant spot, and we cant heal from what we dont identify. This book helps to highlight the unique strength and lure of pathology, the devastating outcomes to the survivor, and an understanding of what pathology is and does. Not merely another I-Fell-In-Love-With-A-Psychopath memoir, Dangerous Liaisons dives into recent information by the leading experts about the most disordered and dangerous person alive.

Sandra L. Brown, M.A. is a psychopathologist, the CEO The Institute for Relational Harm Reduction & Public Pathology Education, and author of Women Who Love Psychopaths (2nd Ed.), How to Spot a Dangerous Man, and Counseling Victims of Violence.

To my husband, Dan Troyka, who taught me the meaning of true love

I dont want my past to become anyone elses future.

- Elie Wiesel

Sometimes truth can be stranger than fiction. Consider the following true story, which sounds so fantastic that it could have been lifted off the pages of an Agatha Christie mystery. One October evening in 1998, a despondent Englishman named John Allan rushes into the hotel lobby of the New Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor, Egypt. He appears to be very distressed. He announces in a panic-stricken voice that his wife is dying in their hotel room. Pamela Black, a guest who happens to be trained in administering first aid, goes with him to try to help his wife. She finds Cheryl Lewis sprawled out naked on the bed. A ring of sweat surrounds her limp body. Shes frothing at the mouth. Unwilling to risk her own life for a stranger, Black tells Allan that shell instruct him on how to give his dying wife mouth-to-mouth. Strangely, the man refuses to help. He paces back and forth by the foot of the bed while his partner is dying. To make matters worse, the doctor called to the scene also refuses to aid the sick woman because shes a foreigner. The hospital staff cant save her either. Cheryl Lewis, a seemingly healthy woman, expires at the age of

The Egyptian doctors declared in their report that Cheryl Lewis died of natural causes. But in England detectives decided to investigate the matter further. John Allans bizarre behavior aroused their suspicion. Only days after his partners death, he kept company with prostitutes. A few weeks later, he courted Jennifer Hughes, one of Cheryls close friends. He flattered her, cooked for her, pampered her and made her feel special, just as he had his previous girlfriend. Like Cheryl, she also believed that she had finally found her soulmate. However, when Jennifer refused to move in with him in a church where, strangely, his previous lover was supposed to be buried, Allan turned on her. That day Jennifer ended up sick. She was hospitalized for severe nausea and stomach cramps. The cause of her illness turned out to be cyanide poisoning. Police also discovered large doses of cyanide in Cheryls car. During the trial it came to light that Allan had used cyanide to kill off his butterfly collection. Detective Superintendent Dave Smith, who investigated Cheryl Lewiss homicide, concluded that John Allan had poisoned his girlfriends. Yet both women had been very enamored with him, considered him to be their life partner and trusted him fully. He opens car doors for them, has their drinks when they come home, cooks their meals and just pampers them, Detective Smith explained Allans magnetic hold on women.

Those who had not fallen victim to Allans seduction skills, however, saw another, more menacing, side of him. Close friends of Cheryl have described him as a first-rate parasite and pure evil. Eric Lewis, Cheryls father, stated in an interview that Allan was a confessed liar, a confessed forger. Hes extremely devious. Hes a skillful manipulator and a very, very dangerous man. Lewis admitted that he never liked Allan. He didnt see what his daughter, who was wealthy, successful and attractive, ever saw in him. Yet before the misfortunate turn of events, even he couldnt predict just how dangerous John Allan would be.

On the surface, Allans motive for killing Cheryl Lewis, his companion of seven years, appeared to be money. Police discovered that he had forged part of her will, declaring him self the main beneficiary of her $690,000 estate. But this motive doesnt even begin to explain the sordid mind games he played with women. It doesnt quite capture the lies he told his girlfriend when he claimed to be involved in illegal arms deals in the Middle East and pursued by terrorists. It doesnt fully explain why he tried to extort money from Cheryl for a topaz ring her mother had given her, demanding more than $3000 for its return. Later, his DNA was found on the stamp placed on the anonymous letter sent by the blackmailer. It also doesnt explain why he attempted to shoot his previous wife, Sima, the mother of his three children. And it doesnt explain why he asked his newest girlfriend to live in the church where Cheryls body was supposed to be buried. In other words, no rational explanation or comprehensible motive can even begin to explain this dangerous seducers severe personality disorder, which led him to pathological lying, malicious manipulation, sexual perversion, theft, blackmail and eventually the cold-blooded murder of the woman he called the love of his life.