I don’t recall where I learned of this book, but it obviously appealed to me for two reasons; it’s a true crime story and it takes place in Ohio, my home state. The Moonlight Mill Murders of Steubenville, Ohio by Susan M. Guy, tells the tragic story of men working the midnight shift at a mill when they are murdered by a man lurking in the shadows. A total of four men were shot on three occasions. One of the victims miraculously survived his injuries.

The author opens the story by describing each incident, followed by the investigation, and the trial. The crimes took place in 1935, so learning how the police investigated these crimes at that time is interesting. I intentionally restrained myself from judging the criminal justice system of 1935; however, there are eerily some bad practices that continue today. It’s an interesting true crime story that I’m glad the author chose to tell. She does a very nice job honoring the victims and their families. I enjoyed the included photographs of the people who played critical roles.

At the end of the book, there’s a list of each of the Jefferson, County sheriffs throughout history. For each sheriff there is a brief description of their service. I didn’t see how this information was relevant to the story, nor did I find it interesting, so I skipped over it.

The author’s bio was interesting as she has a family history in law enforcement. Guy also joined law enforcement by working as an officer with the sheriff’s department and later with the state of Ohio corrections.

I found the ebook version of this book through Hoopla.

The large book pictured with the book cover on my iPad, is an atlas of the county where I grew up. It’s a treasured piece of history I acquired from my grandmother.

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