Patricia Bryan

The Plea, by Patricia L Bryan and Thomas Wolf, is that wonderful combination of excellent scholarship and compelling storytelling.

The authors manage to present everything from Elkins' background, through the crime, and into his rehabilitation while weaving in both Iowa and US legal history and still make it all readable and accessible. This is no small feat. Legal history, even when using a case as a frame, can be dry, but this was thoroughly enjoyable as well as educational.

While our justice system still has a (very) long way to go, this highlights at least one area where some improvement has been made. There is no ideal system, and even when dealing with minors we could still improve (especially where race and socioeconomic class intersect), but we have made some strides.

Highly recommended for both true crime readers and those interested in legal history. This is more than just the story of one case and as such it makes the reader think about other cases or 'what ifs.'

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (más)

The story of a true crime mystery that began in 1900 when an Iowa farmer is murdered in his bed while his wife sleeps beside him and his children are asleep in the house. His wife quickly becomes the prime suspect and the book covers both of her murder trials. It's very well researched and I liked how the authors began each chapter with quotes from the local papers of the day. Susan Glaspell, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, was one of the journalists reporting on the story and her play, Trifles, was based on the case.

Not just a taut courtroom drama but also a fascinating study of rural life and that society's attitude toward women at the turn of the century. And quite a page-turner!… (más)