Northern Michigan. Murder mystery. Local author. Based on a true story. Polish Catholics. Many things drew me to this book.But it is hard to rate... On one hand, I fell in love with the real-life town and people of Isadore through reading this book. On the other hand, I grew to hate the author who seems to be sneering and mocking them throughout. The author is heavy handed in spots with her opinions of people and assumptions of fact - most of which seemed off to me. She is sympathetic to some folks and incredibly critical and harsh to others. Her interpretations of things didn’t seem rooted in facts, but in her own biases. The author also takes it upon herself to “explain” Catholic teachings - and usually displays an inadequate & disinterested understanding. She doesn’t seem to understand or accept the spiritual world, which greatly hinders her understanding of the Catholic church. She comes across as a know-it-all who is talking about things of which she only has second or third hand knowledge. She also displays heavy anti-religion biases and seems to seek out opportunities to expose the misdeeds of Catholic priests & nuns. This non-fiction book took me by surprise. Aside from the melodramatic sub title, this study of an incident that took place in Michigan in 1907 is done very well. It reads almost like fiction except that the facts that the author took great care in reporting are true. There are several reasons why this story may appeal to me more than it may to others.Isadore is the name of the 4 corner town in the Leelanau Peninsula of Michign. Holy Rosary is the Catholic Church and school that the immigrant Polish community built and supported. These very religious and superstitious parishioners were predominantly Polish speaking farmers. The Felician sisters that taught at the school were from the Mother-House in Detroit and the priests assigned to Holy Rosary were done by the Detroit Archdiocese.I was a granddaughter of Polish Catholic immigrants that lived in Detroit. I could understand many of the little idiosyncrasies and traditions of the people discribed in this book.I was very interestd in the way that the sheriff's department conducted the investigation and the way the trial proceeded. Also, the part of the story that took place at the State Psychopathic Hospital located in Ann Arbor brought it even closer to home.
Author did a great job recreating the story. Liked reading as it happened in Michigan
—dina
So much filler. This book could have easily been cut in half.
—hbug1991
True life story based just outside of Traverse City, MI
—hbutt
Well written and very informative.
—Dj999
