Practically Perfect: Killers Who Got Away with Murder... for a While

Laurentian University law professor Brawn (Last Moments: When the Penalty for Murder was Death) presents 28 cases featuring killers who very nearly got away with their crime, drawn from cases from the late 19th century to the mid-20th. Conveniently organized into 10 categories, Brawn shows how easy it can be to get away with murder; no particular guile or intelligence is needed, given an indifferent public. In particular, he utterly rejects the model of rural life as safe; the rustics in this work often turn a blind eye to cases that do not affect them personally. Motives vary from love to mere greed, but violence links all of the cases. Brawn also discusses the aftermath of the eventual convictions, Canada relying to a surprisingly large degree on amateur executioners whose incompetence produced results as horrific as the crimes they were punishing. Also provided are detailed timelines, notes, and that rarity for true crime texts, a decent index. While Brawn's style is oddly archaic for a book written in the 21st century, he manages to include a surprising amount of information considering the book's length, getting efficient use out of the few pages he has. Readers interested in the history of murder in Canada will want to consider this book. (July) Canadian Distribution: UTP U.S. Distribution: Ingram