Briar Patch: The Murder that Would Not Die

by Donald Grady Shomette

Inspired by the infamous Northwest Branch Park murder case in a peaceful Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., this masterfully intricate and epic story of crime and intrigue, love and courage, tragedy and vengeance spans more than half a century. It tells the tale of two women ― one, a victim of a beastly killer; the other, her sister bent on the ultimate revenge despite insurmountable obstacles. Follow the events leading up to the June 15, 1955, killing of two teenage girls, Ellen Marie Chauvanne and Mikie O'Riley, and the ensuing nationwide hunt for a killer. Despite one false lead after another, there was no resolution … until a surprising phone call was received more than forty years later. Would it put an end to the crime dubbed by a major Washington newspaper, "The Murder That Would Not Die"?

Genres: True Crime

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 2011

Reviews

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

A puzzling book. The author, whose surname is the same as that of one of the victims of the Northwest Branch Park murder this book is based on, produced what may be a novel or a very-thinly-disguised true story of the aftermath of a cold case. What started out as true crime with the names changed turned into the gruelling story of a surviving relative's struggle with failing health and unresolved grief. The first half seems very true to life and the second half would seem to be an incredibly long tangent if it weren't also true. I came away not knowing what to make of this one. I'm not sorry I read it, but far from clear on what Shomette was trying to tell me...