Crimes of Passion: An Unblinking Look at Murderous Love Paperback - 2002

From the publisher

For the second time, celebrated crime-fiction writer Howard Engel turns his hand to non-fiction. This time he leads us on a riveting and spectacular journey through the murky passages of criminal law to the places where love and murder intersect.

Setting out in the nineteenth century, Engel travels from France and England to Canada and the United States, with engaging detours along the way. As he discovers, le crime passionnel, a concept originating in France, has a special place in many legal codes around the world. Someone who has suddenly or unexpectedly been betrayed by a loved and trusted partner, even in an illicit relationship, is rarely treated as a common murder.

In Crimes of Passion, Engel explores more than twenty-five classic, infamous and still unresolved cases. With the elegant flair and penetrating insight of a novelist, he brings the victims and perpetrators to life in remarkable detail. Ruth Ellis (the last woman hanged in England), OJ Simpson (the football star), Juliet Hulme (the writer Anne Perry), Jean Liger ("the hungry lover") and Jean Harris (the headmistress) are just a few of the intriguing characters you'll meet along the way.

The result is a wonderfully eclectic investigation -- complemented by more than forty illustrations and photographs -- into the strange, tragic, world of passion and murder. Love, lovers, loss, and lingering malice combine in this emotional volume, sure to thrill any crime fan or historian.

Praise for Howard Engel and his earlier book Lord High Executioner

"...a born writer, a natural stylist...a writer who can bring a character to life in a few lines."
- Ruth Rendell

"...morbidly fascinating (and strangely lively)..."
- The Washington Post

"Engel writes compassionately and well, with a novelist's eye for detail."
- The Spectator (U.K.)

About the author