The Rectory Murder by Kenneth Saunders

The Rectory Murder: The Mysterious Crime that Shocked Turn-of-the-Century New Brunswick by Kenneth Saunders is a gripping work of Canadian true crime and local history centred on the murder of Mary Ann McAuley, housekeeper to a parish priest in Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick.

The case led to a sensational trial in which young Tom Collins stood accused of the killing, drawing intense attention from the surrounding community. Saunders uses the murder and courtroom proceedings to paint a vivid portrait of rural New Brunswick in the early 1900s, incorporating the perspectives of farmers, tradesmen, clergy, police, town officials, and hangman Jon Radclive.

Part crime history and part social history, the book explores how one violent event affected an otherwise quiet community.

Paperback, Very Good. The cover has light rubbing, edge and corner wear, and the previous ownership inscription on the first inside page