When I first read the synopsis for Genealogy of a Murder, I figured it was a book made for my tastes. A nonfiction story about a murder many years ago with a fascinating confluence of events. In addition, the author takes a fascinating historical path, describing the history of three different families that led to awful event. Yet, for some reason, I didn't enjoy the book as much as I hoped.
Continuing the synopsis, the three people include a police officer who was killed, the seemingly reformed ex-con who shot him, and a doctor (related to the author) who pledged that the killer was reformed. The book has a few notable and interesting themes. First, what leads people to a life of crime; is is nature or nurture? And, how much can those paths change by life events and how likely are they to change after being locked up. In addition, how easy is to predict a person's success after prison? What information or data could be used to inform a parole decision?
These are fascinating questions that should have made for a great read. And, to be fair, it was an interesting and enjoyable book. The story she told was a page turner, and the history she shared about each person was clearly researched and informatively shared. In addition, it was great she was able to share a bit of a postscript about each of these families. Although the murder took place in 1960, she followed up on the status of family lineage to literally last year.
With that said, I struggled with certain aspects of this text. First, while not necessarily too long, it seemed to focus on the wrong things. I was really hoping to get more of a story about the three main characters. And, while they are still the priority of the book, the author felt it important to cover both breadth and depth of their ancestors and extended family. As each came from families of European immigrants with many siblings, I felt much of the first half of the novel was telling the many stories of these people. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep up with all of them (many having the same name didn't make it easier), and I am grateful for the complex family tree in the preface that I went back to often.
My other biggest weakness has to do with the eventual murder. Based on the title and all preceding chapters, it's clear the book is slowly chugging along to reach that point. Once there, however, the author choose to tell the story of what happened in an odd time sequencing that took away from the story. While there was limited information and eyewitnesses to what occurred, I found it an odd way to conclude what was supposed to be the apex of the story.
As a whole, not a bad book at all. I love the story and ideas raised by it; I just struggled with the way the author shared information. She also has a very deliberate and informative writing style, that moves you through the facts but doesn't always keep you fully engaged with the story. Maybe take a look for yourself.
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