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Reviewed by Danelle Petersen for Readers' Favorite
As macabre as its title, Heinous: Forgotten Murders From the 1910s by Melina Druga is a truly disturbing collection of stories of people who either died/disappeared under mysterious circumstances or at the hands of an unusual suspect. The first case was especially disturbing as harming a child is the worst sin one could commit. The only satisfaction I took from eight-year-old Alma’s untimely demise was that the culprit was caught and sentenced. It is a parent's worst nightmare, and no amount of punishment can ever make up for the unimaginable loss. As with Ella and John Coppersmith, the mother and two-year-old who died a senseless death at the hands of a vicious yet seemingly timid 22-year-old man who was, fortunately, apprehended and given a life sentence. The stories are hard to comprehend and one can’t help but take a minute to wonder how supposedly normal people could act in such a hideous way. It simply can’t be described as anything other than heinous.
I was intrigued by the subject matter and immediately wanted to dive into the stories Heinous offered but Melina Druga’s note and the information that followed gave me pause. It was an eye-opener. Yes, I was certainly one of those who assumed people were better behaved in the previous century. However, the truth was astounding. So this is what it was like in the old days! The knowledge I gained under the chapter The Moron Problem was just as surprising; who knew that the word 'moron' was a term used by psychiatrists to describe adults with limited brain functionality? The amount of time and effort Melina took to research the victims and their backstories is admirable and I am grateful to have read her well-thought-out work. I recommend Heinous: Forgotten Murders From The 1910s to true crime buffs and those curious about how things were in the past. It is guaranteed to be an interesting read.
