“Arsenic under the Elms” by Virginia A. McConnell is a look at New Haven, Connecticut in the Victorian period, via the lense of two similar, but unrelated, real murders, those of Mary Stannard in 1878 and Jennie Cramer in 1881.
The book was well researched, but I found the heavy emphasis on the trials just a little dull. This is just me, however, someone with a real interest in the justice system in the USA would no doubt find the book enthralling.
It was an interesting look into the time period, but I could not help but come away with one thought. Nothing much has changed. If you have money and position you can quite literally get away with murder in the USA.
margysmusings 