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Book Review: All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

All These Bodies by [Kendare Blake]

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

Quill Tree Books, 2021

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062977168

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

In All These Bodies, Kendare Blake imagines a murder spree throughout the Midwest in the summer of 1958, known as the “Bloodless Murders” or “Dracula Murders” because the victims have all been drained of blood. On September 19, the Carlson family is found murdered in their Minnesota farmhouse, with a fifteen-year-old girl, Marie Catherine Hale, drenched in blood, still alive. Is she a victim, accomplice, or killer?

 

Michael Jensen, the seventeen-year-old son of the sheriff with hopes of becoming a journalist, is the only person Marie Catherine will talk to, and revealing the killer is her one chance to avoid being extradited to Nebraska and tried for the death penalty. Getting the truth out of Marie Catherine is trickier than just asking her questions once and expecting straightforward answers, though; it becomes a long, drawn out process that creates a sympathetic connection between the two teens. Michael is also facing other dangers: his peers are turning against him as he continues to spend time with Marie Catherine, and he’s almost certain he’s being watched, and perhaps even hunted, in a way that feels almost supernatural.

 

Inspired by the fictionalized murders in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and a murder spree that occurred in the Midwest in 1958, Blake has created a gripping, grisly, fictional “true crime” story that clarifies what it means to be human, a monster, or both.  Recommended.

 

Contains: murder, graphic descriptions of gore, blood drinking, mentions of pedophilia

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

 

 

Posted on October 14, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman

cover art for Whisper Down the Lane by Clay Mcleod Chapman

Whisper Down the Lane by Clay McLeod Chapman

Quirk Books, 2021

ISBN-13: 9781683692157

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, Audible audiobook ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

Whisper Down the Lane, a true-crime based horror novel inspired by the McMartin preschool trial and Satanic Panic of the 1980s, is the second book by Clay McLeod Chapman I have read and it just makes it clear that I should find more of his work.

 

This story is told from two points of view in two different time periods. Richard Bellamy is married to the woman of his dreams, has a chance to raise a family, is employed as an art teacher…and doesn’t have a past. One morning, the discovery of the body of a ritualistically murdered rabbit appears on the school playground with a birthday card for someone named Sean. Richard’s blood runs cold and he tries to track down the sender.

 

The date shifts from 2013 to 1983. Sean is a five-year-old boy who has moved to Virginia with his newly single mother. She’s worried about the typical adult things like coping with her new role as sole caregiver to her son, money, childcare, and putting food on the table, as well as the threat of something happening to Sean. After Sean’s school sends a letter to the parents revealing that his favorite teacher is under investigation, the child tells a little lie that turns into something much bigger, stirring paranoia and suspicion in the minds of the local community and eventually the nation. Allegations of child ritual abuse and Satanic murder capture the nation’s imagination and unleashes a witch hunt on an epic scale. Thirty years later, someone knows Richard’s secret, and wants him to pay dearly for his sin.

 

Paranoia is explored in several aspects. Early in the novel, Sean’s mother is a nervous single mother. Discussion of the large scale paranoia of the public is alluded to, and since the story is told from the perspective of a young child it would be realistic that it be told in this manner. Richard’s paranoia as an adult with the past rearing its ugly head in his direction is a significant representation of this theme. Interestingly, it is the adults in the story who experience the ever increasing paranoia of the world gone mad. Between the police, the therapist, and even his own mother at times, Sean ultimately tells the adults what they want to hear, what the pressure him into telling really. Sean, wanting to appease the grownups around him, makes a false accusation that he doesn’t realize has horrible effects for innocent people. Richard’s paranoia increases as his past catches up with him, effecting his family and employment.

 

The story is fast-paced and compelling, especially for readers interested in the disturbing period of US history that was the Satanic Panic. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

Posted on July 9, 2021 by , Reply

Book Review: Anatomy of Innocence: Testimonies of the Wrongfully Convicted edited by Laura Caldwell and Leslie S. Klinger


Anatomy of Innocence: Testimonies of the Wrongfully Convicted  edited by Laura Caldwell and Leslie S. Klinger

Liveright Publishing, 2017

ISBN-13: 978-1631490880

Available: Pre-order hardcover, Kindle edition

As much as we would like to believe our criminal justice system works the way it is supposed to, it has many flaws. Every year, people are wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit, and serve time they don’t deserve to lose from their lives. Some of these are eventually able to prove their innocence, and are freed and exonerated of their crimes. With an introduction by author Scott Turow and Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project,  Anatomy of Innocence collects the stories of 15 exonerees, each working with a bestselling author of mysteries, thrillers, and crime fiction, to effectively share their personal experiences. Authors involved include(but are not limited to) Sara Paretsky, Lee Child, Laurie R. King, and Arthur Miller. Different stories focus on different parts of the process the exonerees went through, from arrest to trial, time served, appeal and exoneration.

The purpose of this book is to show how easily errors can occur in our justice system– in some cases, genuinely well-meaning, honest people contribute to the conviction of an innocent person. The book also illuminates parts of the justice system we’d rather not see: David Bates, tortured into confessing; Michael Evans, convicted in spite of evidence pointing to innocence when the one holdout juror caved to peer pressure; Peter Reilly, freed when hidden evidence was revealed after the prosecutor for his case died; Alton Logan, whose accuser admitted the crime on an affidavit to be released only after his death, under the veil of attorney-client privilege. It’s obvious that in many of these cases race was a factor– in Ray Towler’s story, it’s pretty clear that eyewitnesses identify him almost completely by skin color, despite considerable physical dissimilarities to the person they describe initially.

The stories also show the indomitable spirit these men and women exhibited (and still do) under extremely traumatic circumstances– solitary confinement, separation from loved ones, deliberate attempts at the destruction of self. Kirk Bloodsworth drew on his POW training as a Marine; Ginny Lefever took up running and reading; Antione Day formed a band. And while there are tragedies and abuses of the system, many of these stories show the best in people. Peter Reilly’s community raised money for an appeal; an elderly African-American inmate encouraged Bill Dillon to apply for a DNA test of crime scene evidence; a prison trustee’s reading suggestions led Jeff Deskovic to contact the Innocence Project.

Anatomy of Innocence brings to light perspectives we rarely see, of those wrongfully convicted, with powerful emotional impact. With the tensions in our criminal justice system today, it provides an opportunity for thoughtful reflection and compassion, in a time of anger, fear, and moral confusion. A list of member organizations of the Innocence Project is included at the end of the book. A majority of funds raised by the sale of the book will benefit Life After Innocence, an organization that helps exonerees adapt to life after release from prison.  Highly recommended.


Posted on February 1, 2017 by , Reply
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