Overview
For the second time, celebrated crime-fiction writer Howard Engel turns his hand to non-fiction. This time he leads us on a riveting and spectacular journey through the murky passages of criminal law to the places where love and murder intersect.
Setting out in the nineteenth century, Engel travels from France and England to Canada and the United States, with engaging detours along the way. As he discovers, le crime passionnel, a concept originating in France, has a special place in many legal codes around the world. Someone who has suddenly or unexpectedly been betrayed by a loved and trusted partner, even in an illicit relationship, is rarely treated as a common murder.
In Crimes of Passion, Engel explores more than twenty-five classic, infamous and still unresolved cases. With the elegant flair and penetrating insight of a novelist, he brings the victims and perpetrators to life in remarkable detail. Ruth Ellis (the last woman hanged in England), OJ Simpson (the football star), Juliet Hulme (the writer Anne Perry), Jean Liger ( the hungry lover ) and Jean Harris (the headmistress) are just a few of the intriguing characters you'll meet along the way.
The result is a wonderfully eclectic investigation -- complemented by more than forty illustrations and photographs -- into the strange, tragic, world of passion and murder. Love, lovers, loss, and lingering malice combine in this emotional volume, sure to thrill any crime fan or historian.
Praise for Howard Engel and his earlier book Lord High Executioner
.. .a born writer, a natural stylist...a writer who can bring a character to life in a few lines. - Ruth Rendell
.. .morbidly fascinating (and strangely lively)... - The Washington Post
Engel writes compassionately and well, with a novelist's eye for detail. - The Spectator (U.K.)
Full Product Details
Author: Howard Engel ,
Edward L Greenspan, Qc Qc
Publisher: Firefly Books
Imprint: Firefly Books
Dimensions:
Width: 16.10cm
, Height: 1.70cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.445kg
ISBN: 9781552975848
ISBN 10: 1552975843
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 02 March 2002
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Awaiting stock
The supplier is currently out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out for you.
Reviews
Rare photographs and excellent design and production make this an elegant book.--Peter Skinner ForeWord
Rich vignettes of love gone violently wrong, of intrigue, raw emotion, and strange mindsets ... Hot stuff, politely told. -- Mike Tribby Booklist (05/15/2002)
Author Information
<p> Howard Engel is the author of the best-selling Lord High Executioner: An Unashamed Look at the Hangman, Headsmen and Their Kind and the celebrated Benny Cooperman mysteries. He has received the prestigious Arthur Ellis Award for Crime Fiction and the Crime Writers of Canada Derrick Murdoch Award. As well as being an accomplished author, Engel is a regular contributor to the book pages of several journals. He lives in Toronto.
