The Freach and Keen Murders: The True Story of the Crime That Shocked and Changed a Community Forever

When two teenage boys, Edmund Keen and Paul Freach, didn’t make it home after leaving school on November 1, 1973, the town of Scranton, Pa., was forever changed, assert local historian Munley and attorney Mazzoni. Though William Wright was eventually caught and successfully convicted of murdering Freach and Keen due to Mazzoni’s efforts as chief prosecutor (which he oddly chooses to narrate in the third person), the ensuing fear has remained. Here, the authors recount the early days of the investigation—the countless interviews with friends and relatives, the FBI bulletins, and the grim search for remains, as well as the tremendous stroke of luck that led authorities to Wright. In Munley and Mazzoni’s retelling, the arc of this riveting story is essentially over after the first 50 pages, at which point the authors delve into the minutiae of the investigation, culminating in an epic recounting of Wright’s trial that is essentially a transcript running over 140 pages. The shift from true crime novel to plodding procedural is steep and swift, quickly devolving into details and anecdotes better suited to law classrooms than the page. [em](June) [/em]