The Chicago Trunk Murder: Law and Justice at the Turn of the Century

Though this volume contains great information it is a difficult read with dense language that is reminiscent of reading law briefs. Be prepared to wade through this book to glean the information within.

I haven't read the book yet because of the strangest defect I've ever seen-- the book is printed upside down or backwards, depending on how you look at it. If you hold the book right-side up, according to the printing on the spine, the pages are in the correct order but upside down! If you flip the book over so that the pages are right-side up, you have to go backwards through the book: the first printed page is the final page of the index, page 155, which is followed by 154, then 153, and so on until you get to the title page and front piece at the back of the volume! So to read this, I'm going to have to start at the back of book and read the right-hand page, then the left page, and flip the left sheet over to read the (previous, in a normal book) right-hand page, etc. Crazy... Check out the photo. Note that page 75 is on the left, 74 is on the right. The whole book is like that.

A captivating, exciting and in-depth take on the infamous Chicago Trunk Murder of one Filippo Caruso that absolutely captivated the newly divided and immigrant filled city of Gilded Age Chicago. Dale takes what appears to be a simple murder trial and weaves together a tale of intrigue, injustice and idiocy on the part of the prosecution, press and people of Chicago. The book has an effortless flow and is fully supported by an academic appendix making it impossible to put down once the "Mystery" begins.By the time the verdict is rendered and the implications of the facts of the case come to light you will either be laughing or crying at the absurdities and injustices perpetrated by local law enforcement and the American judicial system. Dale gives the reader an insight into the very hearts and minds of turn-of-the-century Chicagonians through the eyes of the people, police and press. It is through this lens that "Justice" is served. A tale that hits oh so close to home with the DNA driven death penalty convictions being overturned through organizations like "The Innocence Project" happening right now in 21st century America.For anyone interested in Italian immigrant race relations, the circus that was and is today's media driven police investigations and criminal trials or a captivating tale of murder & mystery, Elizabeth Dale absolutely 100% delivers.