Studies in Murder

Résumé : The Lizzie Borden case (August 1892) was to Pearson “without parallel in the criminal history of America.” It takes center stage in Studies in Murder, and Pearson’s version is still considered the classic account of the Borden murders. The three other cases Pearson retells are “The Twenty-Third Street Murder” of New York financier Benjamin Nathan (July 1870); “Mate Bram,” about the double murder of a ship captain and his wife; and “The Hunting Knife” murder of Miss Mabel Page in 1904. Pearson carefully researched these cases and interviewed people connected with each. His accounts are admirably detailed, careful, and clear. In all four cases, the determination of guilt rested on circumstantial evidence, which left unanswered questions still capable of intriguing the contemporary reader. (Roger Lane)