Into the Night: The Samantha Walsh Story

by Gordon Walsh

On the evening of February 6, 2000, thirteen-year-old Samantha Walsh left her grandmother's house for her home not far away. It was the last time she was ever seen alive. In the next eighteen days, residents of Fleur de Lys and visitors from all over Newfoundland joined together in a desperate search for the missing girl. Across the province and the rest of Canada, people held their breath as they waited for any sign of the girl with the little round hair clips. But toward the end, hope turned into fear as with each passing day the people involved in the search grew certain that not only was Samantha Walsh dead, she had been murdered by one of their own.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

169 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2002

Reviews

[Amanda (Smitten For Fiction) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Into the Night is an emotional non-fiction book about a young girl who was murdered. My family is from Baie Verte, a small town near Fleur de Lys, where Samantha lived. I've actually been to Fleur de Lys and Samantha was a distant cousin of mine (her father was my grandmother's cousin). Her uncle Gordon did a wonderful job portraying the feelings that the town and the entire province, country, and world felt when Samantha was killed.

[nighttime reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

this story was gut wrenching. It first came on my radar because of the Canadian True Crime podcast and honestly I don’t regret reading. The strength of the Walsh family is impeccable and I can’t bare to rate it nothing less than this just base on courage alone.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heart wrenching account of a local girl who tragically lost her life.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in a small town in Newfoundland, and I wasn’t much younger than Samantha when this was happening. I remember watching the news every night to see if they had found her—and how heartbroken I was when they eventually did. To this day, I can’t listen to Salt Water Joys without feeling that sorrow.

Samantha’s uncle wrote this book, and it’s a beautiful tribute to his niece and conveys the heartbreak and loss of innocence of everyone in Fleur de Lys so well. Not a true crime story as details of the crime and investigation are lacking, but the story doesn’t suffer for this.

Thank you, Gordon Walsh, for writing this novel.

[Christine Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

My teacher is Millie Walsh the Mother of Samantha and I am so sad about what happened it’s really sad that it was someone that they trusted too

[Me .....ok · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my teachers daughter and I feel so bad. She is a kind and amazing teacher who did not deserve to have her daughter taken from her

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad story

[Renee Brodeur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Senseless death of a young lady… a part of Canadian history. The uncle did a wonderful job writing this book.

[Jerry Cranford · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The strength of his [Gordon Walsh's] work is in the raw emotion that propels it." -- New Glasgow Evening News

"The smooth flow of text and progressive action make this piece of fine work a page turner." -- The Southern Gazette

"An intensely personal account of a community forced to cope with the unthinkable." -- Downhome

"The book, unapologetically written by Samantha's uncle, reveals as much about goodness as it does about evil." -- New Glasgow Evening News

"An extraordinary portrait of how a small, isolated community copes when one of its own perpetrates an unspeakable act." -- The Telegram

[Noelle Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's tragic what happened to Samantha Walsh and my heart goes out to her family and friends. I really wish that the monster that killed her had gotten more years in prison than he did. Reading this book, one can sense the pain of this family quite easily. No family should have to go through that; no parent should have to bury their child. RIP Samantha Walsh.

[Susan]

I wasn't living at home when this happened and I was glad to have the chance to read about all that had happened.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The type of book you wish was never printed as it is based on a true story!