Mystery writer and amateur sleuth Megan Viets once again becomes embroiled in a real-life mystery when she finds her good friend Lizzie Khazin dead in a bloody mess on her bathroom floor. The medical examiner determines that Lizzie died from an accidental fall, but Megan suspects foul play. She convinces her fiancé, the local sheriff, to investigate, but, as usual, Megan, now a single mother, does most of the sleuthing Eventually, the FBI has to be called in, and Megan finds herself in some dangerous situations. Set in an idyllic resort town nestled deep in the San Bernardino Mountains, Justice for Lizzie is the third novel in the series about the intrepid female detective Megan Viets. Will Megan be able to help solve this case too?
Most people could probably tell you that Lizzie Borden “took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks,” but few could say that, when tried, Lizzie Borden was acquitted, and fewer still, why. In Joseph A. Conforti’s engrossing retelling, the case of Lizzie Borden, sensational in itself, also opens a window on a time and place in American history and culture. Surprising for how much it reveals about a legend so ostensibly familiar, Conforti’s account is also fascinating for what it tells us about the world that Lizzie Borden inhabited. As Conforti—himself a native of Fall River, the site of the infamous murders—introduces us to Lizzie and her father and step-mother, he shows us why who they were matters almost as much to the trial’s outcome as the actual events of August 4, 1892. Lizzie, for instance, was an unmarried woman of some privilege, a prominent religious woman who fit the profile of what some characterized as a “Protestant nun.” She was also part of a class of moneyed women emerging in the late 19th century who had the means but did not marry, choosing instead to pursue good works and at times careers in the helping professions. Many of her contemporaries, we learn, particularly those of her class, found it impossible to believe that a woman of her background could commit such a gruesome murder. As he relates the details, known and presumed, of the murder and the subsequent trial, Conforti also fills in that background. His vividly written account creates a complete picture of the Fall River of the time, as Yankee families like the Bordens, made wealthy by textile factories, began to feel the economic and cultural pressures of the teeming population of native and foreign-born who worked at the spindles and bobbins. Conforti situates Lizzie’s austere household, uneasily balanced between the well-to-do and the poor, within this social and cultural milieu—laying the groundwork for the murder and the trial, as well as the outsize reaction that reverberates to our day. As Peter C. Hoffer remarks in his preface, there are many popular and fictional accounts of this still-controversial case, “but none so readable or so well-balanced as this.”
Lizzie Borden took an axe, And gave her mother forty whacks, When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one. Lizzie Andrew Borden (b.1860 – d.1927) was tried and acquitted in the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. Media coverage of the case created a furor throughout the United States reminiscent of the Rosenberg, Claus von Bulow and O.J. Simpson trials. No other suspect was ever charged with the double homicide, and speculation on the case continues to this day. The case is curious because there was no physical evidence linking Lizzie to the murder. The broken axe the police found in the basement was clean of blood and the police refused to use forensic testing for fingerprints (a science then in its infancy). The defense raised evidence that Andrew Borden was a hard businessman who had made many enemies. On the other hand, the atmosphere in the Borden household was tense, Lizzie resented her stepmother, she was prone to mental instability, and she had purchased poison a few days before the murders which police suspected was the cause of food poisoning. There was a financial motive: Lizzie was upset her father had transferred property she was due to inherit to other family members. And then there was the 'paint stained' dress Lizzie burned three days after the murder… In March 2012, the handwritten journals of one of Lizzie's defense attorneys, Andrew Jennings, finally came to light. The journals, which contain newspaper clippings and notes Jennings made at the time of trial indicate he felt Lizzie was innocent. However, in later years there was tension between Lizzie and Jennings. Once the trial was over, Jennings cut off any mention of it with a firm statement that he preferred not to discuss it. The sudden disappearance of the Borden maid back to Ireland always cast a shadow over the characters of Lizzie’s three attorneys, and Lizzie resented their whopping $25,000 legal bill (an ungodly sum of money back in 1893). Attorney's get paid to believe their clients are innocent, and Lizzie's three lawyers got paid better than most. Lizzie’s three lawyers got paid better than most. Although there are many books written on the double homicide and subsequent murder trial, A Private Disgrace is far and above the most readable. Victoria Lincoln was a professional writer who grew up in Fall River, near Lizzie Borden. As the daughter of a family that produced machinery for the cotton mills that were the foundation of Fall River’s economy, Miss Lincoln grew up acutely aware of the social distinctions, manners and mores of the society to which the Bordens belonged and in which Lizzie's trial took place. This first-hand knowledge, combined with her painstaking research, make her unique among writers about the case. ~WINNER of the Edgar Award for Best Non-Fiction Crime Book of 1967 - Mystery Writers of America~ Keywords: true crime, ax murder, ax murderer, ax murderers, axe murder, axe murderers, Fall River crime, Fall River Massachusetts, women murderers, murder mystery, murder mystery book, murder mystery books, murder mystery novels, serial killers, women serial killers, female murderers, female serial killers, murderess, brutal ax murder, Fall River, Fall River murder, New England, New England books, New England murder, true crime, true crime stories, true crime books, true crime novels, best true crime mystery, best true crime mystery novel, best true crime, murder and mayhem, crime of passion, crimes of passion, Edgar Award, Edgar Award winning novel, unsolved, unsolved mysteries, unsolved crime, unsolved murder, serial killer, female serial killers, historical murder, sociopath, true crime biography
This textbook takes a gender inclusive and intersectional feminist approach to examining key topics related to gender, crime and justice. It provides an overview and critical discussion of contemporary issues and research in this area suitable for use in undergraduate and postgraduate degree modules. A key feature of the book is its use of films, television series and documentaries to illustrate the concepts and findings from criminological research on gender, crime and justice. After outlining the meaning of gender and the perspective of intersectional feminism, it has chapters focused on interpersonal and sexual violence, sex work and the night-time economy, street crime, crimes of the powerful, policing and the courts, prison and community penalties and a final chapter on extreme punishment and abolitionist futures. It speaks to students and academics in criminology, sociology and gender studies.
Presents information on the axe murders of Andrew and Abby Borden in 1892, a crime for which their daughter Lizzie went to trial, featuring reproductions of articles from forty-one newspapers across the U.S., official correspondence and transcripts, and discussion of the plays, opera, and ballet inspired by the crimes.
For one hundred and twenty-three years the mystery of Lizzie Borden has captivated the public as perhaps one of the most celebrated cases in our American justice system. In this Volume II, the trial of Lizzie Borden continues to its shocking conclusion. You will also discover what happened to the key players after the trial ended.
*Includes pictures *Includes reports and witness testimony regarding the murders *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "I don't know what I have said. I have answered so many questions and I am so confused I don't know one thing from another. I am telling you just as nearly as I know." - Lizzie Borden "I knew there was an old axe down cellar; that is all I knew." - Lizzie Borden "Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother forty whacks, when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one." Like so many others, this ditty and similar ones sacrificed accuracy in the name of rhyme and rhythm, as Abby and Andrew Borden were not hit 81 times but "only" 29. Of course, that still proved to be more than enough to kill both of them and propel their daughter, Elizabeth, into infamy. Today, cases are often referred to as the trial of the century, but few could lay claim in the 19th century like Lizzie Borden's in the wake of her parents' murders. After all, the story included the grisly axe murders of wealthy socialites and a young daughter as the prime suspect. As Trey Wyatt, author of The Life, Legend, and Mystery of Lizzie Borden, put it, "Women were held to strict standards and genteel women were pampered, while at the same time they were expected to behave within a strict code of conduct. In 1892, Fall River, Massachusetts wealthy society ladies were not guilty of murder, and if they did kill someone, it would not be with an axe." When questioned, Lizzie gave contradictory accounts to the police, which ultimately helped lead to her arrest and trial, but supporters claimed it may have been the effects of morphine that she had a prescription to take. Much like subsequent famous murder cases, such as the O.J. Simpson case or Leopold & Loeb, Lizzie Borden's trial garnered national attention unlike just about anything that had come before. The case sparked Americans' interest in legal proceedings, and as with Simpson, even an acquittal didn't take the spotlight off the Borden case, which has been depicted in all forms of media ever since. Lizzie became a pariah among contemporaries who believed she'd escaped justice, and she remains the prime suspect, but the unsolved nature of the case has allowed other writers to advance other theories and point at other suspects. The Life and Trial of Lizzie Borden: The History of 19th Century America's Most Famous Murder Case looks at the personal background of the Borden family and the shocking true crime that captivated America at the end of the 19th century. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Lizzie Borden like never before, in no time at all.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Collateral Damage. “Spunky women who fight for truth, justice, and the American way.”—Fresh Fiction The seven women of the Sisterhood—Myra, Annie, Kathryn, Alexis, Yoko, Nikki, and Isabelle—have risked everything in the name of justice, including their own freedom. Their most recent mission promised to reward them with a presidential pardon and a chance to leave their enforced exile. But before they can enjoy their prize, they’ll have to tackle a risky new operation in the heart of Sin City. Myra and Annie’s childhood friend, Beatrice, needs a favor. Her estranged daughter, Marble Rose, has been enjoying a stroke of good luck at the casinos lately—the kind of luck that makes enemies of the most powerful people in Vegas. Those people want Marble Rose stopped, permanently. But as the Sisters investigate with the help of their ally and attorney, Lizzie Fox, they discover a web of corruption that will pit them against their most ruthless opponent yet. Armed with Alexis’s red bag of tricks, the ladies are about to put a daring plan in action. They’ve never failed before, but in Vegas, there are no sure bets—and this time, they’ll have to wager everything they hold dear . . . Series praise “Readers looking for an updated Charlie’s Angels in ‘wild women’ mode will be most satisfied.”—Publishers Weekly on Lethal Justice “Readers will enjoy seeing what happens when well-funded, very angry women take the law into their own hands.”—Booklist on Weekend Warriors “Delectable . . . deliver[s] revenge that’s creatively swift and sweet, Michaels-style.”—
