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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to New England by Dawn M. Barclay is a travel resource focused on crime-related history across New England. It examines incidents and locations connected to criminal cases in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The content includes historical context for each state, highlighting both widely known and lesser-known events. Barclay identifies relevant sites and, in addition to background information, she provides travel logistics, including nearby lodging and food options. Pre-planned routes and mapped itineraries are included to assist with organizing trips. This comprehensive guide is structured to help visitors move throughout the region while learning about its connections to crime history, combining practical travel tools with factual summaries of each location’s significance.
Vacations Can Be Murder by Dawn M. Barclay is a remarkably well-executed mix of travel guide and true crime collection, and the pairing is pitch-perfect. The writing is clear and organized, balancing historical detail with modern context in a way that makes even the darkest material accessible. The contents of Barclay's book have been meticulously researched. As a reader who is planning a trip to New Hampshire, which I admit hasn't been the most exciting to map out, I found that state’s chapter especially interesting. Unexpectedly, it's added a whole new layer to my travel prep and has me looking into places like Manchester and Allenstown with a deeper, more sobering awareness. Barclay doesn’t shy away from the disturbing, yet never overindulges in it. Instead, she treats each case with the duty of care one expects, making the guide excellent for the curious and the cautious. Very highly recommended.
