Martin Edwards, Dancing for the Hangman

Dancing for the Hangman

Martin Edwards

Five Star, Dec 2009, $25.95

ISBN 9781594148484

In 1910 in London, stunned American physician Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen awaits execution as he has been convicted of the murder of his second wife Cora. He swears he is innocent, but no one believes him except the real killer.

However, he also believes a jury of his peers found him guilty of her homicide due to his flaunting of acceptable grieving. He abandoned his son so he could move in with no hindrances with his mistress. Now he confesses to his side of what has led to his wrongful date with the scaffold.

This is a fascinating ethnographical fiction of a real life person as Crippen tells his side of the tale in which he insists he is not a killer, but convicted of an unacceptable lifestyle. Fans will enjoy his narration though he comes across as an unsympathetic person as he pulls no punches. Apparently in (see Crippen by John Boyne), Crippen was an intriguing person whose behavior was unsavory but did he commit murder?

Harriet Klausner