Murder by the Book

Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Dickens’s London

This book is set in 1840’s London and starts out discussing the murder of Lord William Russell in his Norfolk Street home after he retires to bed for the night to do some reading. He is found the next morning by his servant with his head gaping open from the blow of an ax which has been left nearby. There is evidence of coins and a watch taken, among other things. Lord William had previously complained of a locket with his late wife’s picture inside going missing, that he carried all the time. A doctor is sent for, along with the police, and an investigation is begun. There is also a running commentary with certain authors of the day such as William Ainsworth and Charles Dickens about a couple of their books involving criminal characters, and whether or not they encourage people to commit crimes after reading the books or seeing them acted in plays, as some folks have claimed. Kind of like the debate about violent movies and video games today, and whether they play a part in people committing crimes later after viewing them.

The book is very detailed and gives a lot of connected side information to kind of flesh out the story from just the actual murder. There is also a lot of supposition of various ways the crime might have happened, and who else might have been involved also. It turned out to be a decent true crime book for this time period. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by NetGalley, author Claire Harman, and the publisher for my fair review.

Publisher: Knopf – 272 pages
Published: March 26th, 2019
RATED: 3.5/5 Stars

The Author– CLAIRE HARMAN is the author of Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart; Sylvia Townsend Warner, for which she won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize; biographies of Fanny Burney and Robert Louis Stevenson; and Jane’s Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and a frequent reviewer. She divides her time between New York City and Oxford, England.

To Hell I Must Go

To Hell I Must Go: The True Story of Michigan’s Lizzie Borden by Rod Sadler

I found this to be a really fascinating, small-town, true crime story from back in 1897 in Williamston, Michigan, a township or village not much different than the one I grew up in, just in a different county in Michigan. I found the writing to be quite adequate and the story more than terrifying. The author, a retired police officer himself, has a personal tie to the town and the story, as his great-grandfather, J.J. Rehle was the sheriff of Ingham County back the time of this murder. While he was doing research for the book, his father arranged for the cousin who has the badge, gun and other artifacts of the old sheriff to be brought over so they could be enjoyed and photographed, etc. That added to the story, I felt.

The murder revolves around two women living in the same house, Martha Haney, Mariah Haney, her mother-in-law. The third person is Martha’s husband, Mariah’s son Alfy Haney. Martha has a long history of mental problems that Alfy wasn’t really aware of before he married her. This leads to a lot of strife between the women when Alfy’s mom Mariah moves in with the couple. Before long the women hate each other and Alfy is caught in the middle of it every day. The strain also adds to the deterioration of Martha’s mental state. When the murder happens, Alfy is away working, and it’s more explosive and gruesome then anyone can imagine. It shocks the entire town and becomes a part of Michigan’s history…

Publisher: Outskirts Press – 163 pages
Publication: April 29th, 2015
RATING: 4/5 Stars

The Author– Rod Sadler is a 30-year veteran police officer, having grown up in the small town of Williamston, Michigan. He spent over ten years researching information about this murder including court documents, original handwritten eyewitness statements, books, photos, maps, and news articles. His great grandfather spearheaded the investigation while serving as the Ingham County Sheriff in 1897. Having retired in 2012, Rod and his wife, Terri, live in the Lansing area with their three children, Alex, Austin and Andy.