A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Domine

May 25, 2026

A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City by David Domine

Two men, a gay couple, purchased an old Victorian house in the Old Louisville area of Louisville, Kentucky. Some time later, a body in a plastic tub was found buried in the house's wine cellar. Who was the man in the bin and how did he get there?

I read this for an online true crime book discussion, and after I read the book description, I remember seeing this case on one of the true crime shows (maybe Buried in the Basement?). Old Louisville is a historic district in Louisville that has an eclectic population, a mixture of old wealth, artists, gays, and homeless, living in historic houses and mansions, brownstones, and homeless shelters. The narrative in the book reminds me of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, with descriptions of Louisville, its history, the city's culture, and the author's life, in addition to the crime. Louisville is sometimes called Glitter Ball City since most of the disco or glitter balls in the country were manufactured in Louisville; also called Happy Birthday City, the City That's Not Too Busy, and Derby City. While I enjoyed it, readers expecting a straight true crime investigation will be disappointed.

Jamie Carroll, the murder victim