Studies in Murder

The Lizzie Borden case was to Pearson "without parallel in the criminal history of America." It takes center stage in Studies in Murder, and Pearson's version is still considered the classic account of the Borden murders. The other four cases Pearson retells are "The Twenty-Third Street Murder," about the killing of New York financier Benjamin Nathan in July 1870; "Mate Bram!" about the double murder of a ship captain and his wife in 1896; "The Hunting Knife," about the murder of Miss Mabel Page in 1904; and "Uncle Amos Dreams a Dream," about the 1819 trial of Stephen and Jesse Boorn for the murder of their brother-in-law in Manchester, Vermont.
Pearson carefully researched these cases and interviewed people connected with each one. His accounts are admirably detailed, clear, and engaging. In all five cases, the determination of guilt or innocence rested on circumstantial evidence, which left unanswered questions still capable of intriguing the contemporary reader. Roger Lane's lively introduction provides information about Pearson and the genre of true crime.