Town on Trial

by William Harrington

Town On Trial is the story of a small-town murder case that takes on national proportions. The accused is New York socialite Marietta Rheinlander, the victim a local congressman with a roving eye. Marietta Rheinlander and Congressman Bailey were lovers, and together they spent the weekend of the Congressman's sudden death at his West Virginia retreat, far from the eyes of either the public that elected him or the law set in motion to avenge his murder. None denied that it was Marietta whose prints were found on the murder weapon, and there were sworn witnesses to the explosive arguments they had had and to the sight of Marietta standing over the dead congressman's body with a smoking gun. A conviction could lead to the death sentence. But was Marietta guilty? With Town On Trial, Mr. Harrington delivers his most riveting, authentic tale.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 18, 1994

About the author

William Harrington is mainly known as the author of Murder at the President’s Door, his specialty was mainly in detective stories. He was a lawyer from 1958 to 1976, an electoral adviser from 1962 to 1965 in Columbus, and finally an attorney from 1978 to 1980. His first novel The Justice Which, Which the Thief, published in 1963, received positive critics. It was a real case story about a couple of jewelry robberies in Ohio.

His other popular book was published in 1982, The English Lady, it is an espionage novel about Winston Churchill and her confidante spying on the Germans during the Second World War. Between 1993 and 1998, he wrote the Columbo series, inspired by the television series American Columbo. He Co-authored with Elliot Roosevelt on the investigations of Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of the US president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Between 1963 and 2001, he has written over 20 interesting and captivating books.