Behind the Door: The Dark Truths and Untold Stories of the Cecil Hotel [9780063257658]

Overview

The disturbing true story of the notorious Cecil Hotel in downtown LA, by its general manager for a decade and star of the controversial Netflix documentary series Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.

When Amy Price took a temporary design job at an Art Deco hotel in Los Angeles to help a friend, she had no idea the path it would lead her down. Before long, she would become manager of the Cecil Hotel, seeking to make it more welcoming and correct its notoriety, not helped by sitting at the foot of Skid Row, or the fact that since its opening in 1927, there had been any number of deaths by suicide, and residents such as serial killers Richard Ramirez and Jack Unterweger.

She cared about guests and residents alike, though she faced challenges on many fronts, with over eighty people dying during her decade of service. Among them was Elisa Lam, whose tragic death became the subject of a Netflix documentary series that captivated millions and led to its own controversies and unwarranted personal attacks on Amy.

For the first time, Amy delves into her experiences at the Cecil Hotel. Equal parts memoir, true-crime, and cultural history, Behind the Door is essential to understanding one of America’s most enigmatic hotels.

This is not just the story you saw on TV—it’s the truth from the woman who lived it.

• A Decade of True Crime: From navigating daily life next to Skid Row to managing a hotel that housed serial killers like Richard Ramirez, Amy Price saw it all.
• The Elisa Lam Case: Get the full story behind the tragic death that captivated the world, from the initial search to the discovery in the water tank and the media frenzy that followed.
• Behind the Scenes: Learn the operational realities of running “America’s deadliest hotel,” where over eighty deaths occurred during her tenure, from guest overdoses to unexplained tragedies.
• Firsthand Account: For the first time, the general manager at the center of the Netflix documentary shares her personal story, confronting controversies and online attacks with raw honesty.