By Persons Unknown

Toronto: The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited BOOK: Boards Bumped; Moderate Shelf Rub to Boards; Edges Moderately Soiled; Slight Yellowing Due to Age. DUST JACKET: Repaired; Lightly Creased; Lightly Scuffed; Moderately Chipped; Light Moisture Damage (Staining); Moderate Yellowing Due to Age; In Archival Quality Jacket Cover. With 24 pages of illustrations. SUB-TITLE: The Strange Death of Christine Demeter. CONTENTS: 1. The Day Itself 2. Peter 3. Marina 4. Christine 5. Csaba 6. The Spring of '73 7. Cat and Mouse 8. Death on the Campus 9. An Improper Left Turn 10. The Firebug 11. Cat and Mouse Continues 12. The Cards Are on the Table 13. Interlude 14. The Majesty of the Law 15. The Leak in the Toilet 16. Mr. X. 17. The Duck 18. The Dawes Road Plot 19. The Trial Continues 20. A Man Named Williams 21. A Flower at the Racetrack 22. Portrait of a Friend 23. Meanwhile, Maloney 24. The Whole Truth and Nothing But 25. The Curious Jailguard 26. The Verdict 27. Justice versus the Law 28. Brothers on the Bench 29. Habeas Corpus 30. Her Majesty the Queen, Respondent; Epilogue. SYNOPSIS: On July 18th, 1973, a woman clad only in a backless dress was found lying in the garage of her luxurious home. She was Christine Demeter, the beautiful 33-year-old wife of a wealthy Toronto developer, and her skull had been smashed. One month later--after a cloak-and-dagger police investigation that involved wire-taps, an arrest in Vienna, and the ingenious bugging of outdoor conversations--her Hungarian-born husband was charged with procuring her murder. The trial of Peter Demeter was the longest murder trial in Canadian history, and its ingredients (a Hollywood scriptwriter's dream) caught the eye of the world's press. Peter Demeter had insured his wife's life for a million dollars; he had a glamorous Austrian mistress, a member of the European jet set, who was pushing him towards marriage; and he had often discussed ways of getting rid of his wife. But as the trial progressed, the astonishing parade of witnesses--including a self-confessed double murderer, a hooded witness known as "Tom Smith", an enforcer who broke arms and legs for a fee, an ex-member of the Foreign Legion, even the glamorous Austrian mistress--unfolded a bizarre tale of sexual intrigue and murder which ranged through the Toronto underworld and as far afield as Hungary and involved two violent deaths. Through the maze of conflicting accounts, the possibility emerged that both husband and wife had been plotting one another's death. Behind the dramatic events was an even more serious conflict. It pitted immigrants, Jews, and the "old-boy" legal establishment against one another in a bitter clash of values and attitudes. Apart from the puzzle of Peter Demeter's guilt or innocence, it raises fundamental questions about the administration of justice in our society. - and - In future years this book will be seen as a classic. By concentrating on one dramatic murder case, the authors have managed to reveal, in absorbing detail, exactly how our legal system operates. They take us behind the counter in the police station to where overworked detectives struggle to acquire evidence that the lawyers for the Crown can shape into a case. They take us into the plush fortieth-floor offices of an expensive and successful lawyer as the defence strategy is mapped out. They take us not only into the hushed courtroom as the trial progresses, but even behind the scenes to the Judge's chambers, where the rival lawyers bitterly debate. And they take us along the echoing corridors of Kingston Penitentiary. But this is much more than just a book about a crime, bewildering and dramatic though the murder of Christine Demeter undoubtedly was. Ranging back and forth in time and place, from war-torn Budapest in 1944 to wintry Ottawa in 1977, this brilliant book introduces us to a dazzling variety of people at the very top and the very bottom of Canadian society. Some of these men and women are good, some are evil. But all of them are described coolly and objectively, with wit and elegance, by George Jonas and Barbara Amiel in this intelligent, enthralling, and disturbing book. You will not forget it. George Jonas was born in Budapest, Hungary, survived the Russian siege of 1945, and came to Canada in 1956. Since then he has written, produced, and directed hundreds of programmes for CBC radio and television. He has written librettos for two short operas and a full-length stage play, and has published three volumes of poetry. A man of widely varied interests, George Jonas contributes articles, reviews, and poetry to most major Canadian (and some American) magazines. Currently a senior writer at Maclean's magazine, Barbara Amiel was born in England and educated at the University of Toronto. Since 1973 her articles on social and political issues have appeared in Saturday Night, Chatelaine, and The Canadian, gaining wide admiration--and the Media Club of Canada Prize for the best article of 1975. Barbara Amiel is also a well-known book reviewer, and appears regularly on CBC radio and television. In 1974 she and George Jonas were married.. Hard Cover. Very Good/Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.