British Columbia Murders: Notorious Cases and Unsolved Mysteries

by Susan McNicoll

In July 1924, Scottish nursemaid Janet Smith was murdered in Vancouver's wealthy Shaughnessy Heights. Her killer was never apprehended, but the investigation had shocking consequences. Twenty years later, Molly Justice was stabbed to death in a Saanich park. Her murderer has never been charged, even though police were virtually certain of his identity for over 50 years. Susan McNicoll's dramatic accounts of six of British Columbia's most intriguing murders span a century of crime, from a 1904 Victoria Chinatown murder to a modern cold case from Vernon solved through DNA analysis of an unusual kind.

Genres: Nonfiction, Crime, True Crime

122 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 2010

Reviews

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick little read - downloaded it to play around with my library's ebook lending system. I'd never heard of any of these "notorious cases" but they were interesting - one story was set up north and the others were either in Vancouver or Victoria.

I need 2 1/2 stars, really. Two stars = It was OK. And really, it was OK. Three stars is "I liked it" and I guess I did. But it was just OK. But two stars seems like a bad review, which this isn't. So, three stars then. Fine.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt like reading a true crime documentary(it technically is). Very simple but well curated. Especially the Janet Smith case and the Anti-Asian racism related to the case makes me feel very devastated as Asian living in the area where the case happened. Overall I enjoyed reading it.

[Kimberley Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, if you can find it. Interesting.

[Alison Hodgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but good! Enjoyed the straight-forward stories and learning about some of Canada’s history.

[The Devine Ms Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written with empathy for the victims and well researched. Recommend this book.