I’ve read a couple of
Rick Geary’s graphic novels. His favorite theme is true crime and I find his
style to be clear, concise, and very entertaining. The books of Geary are proof
that the comics medium can not only entertain but also educate and can be very ‘highbrow.’
The previous Geary
tales I’ve read were about Lizzie Borden and the kidnapping of the Lindbergh
Baby. Those were high profile cases that were for their times consider “the trial
of the century.” The book I just read was about one Madeleine Smith, a young Scottish
girl from a well to do family and the mysterious poisoning of her secret
paramour, a French gardener. Perhaps because this isn’t such a well know
mystery that I didn’t enjoy this story quite as much as Geary’s previous works.
Much of the tale is a
review of love letters written between the two main players. It reveals a young
girl whose place in society prevents her from following her heart instead of
daddy’s purse string. On the flip side, the affair shows an unstable young man
whose complex love affair is exacerbated by his past relationship failures.
The story was a
Victorian era Romeo & Juliet romance. While the events were shocking for
the mid-1800s, in today’s society, I highly doubt this tale would garner much
time on CNN. The biggest sticking point in which the case balances upon is
whether Ms. Smith killed her lover with arsenic because he threatened to reveal
their affair to her parents or if the young man killed himself because he was
rebuffed by a young girl forced to marry another man who could further support
her family financially and socially. Honestly, I think this case could’ve gone
either way, but you’re just going to have to read and find out for yourself.
(Or you can Google it, but what’s the fun in that?)
I liked this book. It
just wasn’t one of my favorites by the author and artist. However, I hope to
come upon more of his true crime graphic novels in the future. To avoid further
encounter with this master of true life suspense would be shocking.
Worth Consuming.
Rating: 7 out of 10
stars.
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