Review: Kaufman, Skull in the Ashes

Skull in the Ashes: Murder, a Gold Rush Manhunt, and the Birth of Circumstantial Evidence in America by Peter Kaufman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Iowan Frank Novak tries the classic fake-your-own-death scam by burning down his general store with somebody else's body prepped to be found in the ashes with Novak's personal belongings. His first crucial mistake was in not getting rid of the CORPSE's personal belongings--the victim's sister identified the shirt he was wearing--and then he was unlucky enough to have a fantastically dogged detective named Cassius Claud "Red" Perrin put on his trail. I became very fond of Red Perrin as he tracked his quarry to gold-rush Alaska and brought him back, and the book was generally fascinating and a good read.



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