Rachel Rear

Catch the Sparrow: A Search for a Sister and the Truth of Her Murder, by Rachel Rear, is the type of true crime book that focuses more on the victim and those affected by her murder (of which the author is one) than on the murder itself. Even the part where we revisit the police investigation we do so as much through the eyes of those who knew her as through some cold detailed recounting of the police reports.

I realize some people read true crime mostly for the sensationalism many such books show more use in their presentation. Admittedly there are some that I read for that reason, though they are often the ones that I enjoy the least. But to address some horrible misstatements I've seen, I want to say a few things. First, when someone has been around a close family member of a murder victim and has had people often say you resemble that person, you have far more than a peripheral interest, especially when that victim's father becomes your stepfather. Second, the book, from the subtitle through every book description I have seen makes clear that this is as much about Rear coming to terms with feelings she admits to not fully understanding as it is about the murder and investigation. So the author is not "inserting" herself into either the story or the investigation. Reading comprehension is a wonderful thing. Finally, Rear never even implies that she is solving the crime, she knows, and lets the reader know, that it has been solved. She is investigating so that she can learn the facts of the case, as well as people's views and feelings, most of which had not been made public. Every single true crime writer, hell, every single writer of both fiction and nonfiction investigate what they are writing about before writing. This is not something strange or unusual. Some people seem to just have a negative reaction to a book about human feelings, says more about them than the book. Anyway, back to the book...

In the broad genre of true crime I have always found myself wishing for something more or different. Some books have every detail and are interesting in that sense but I don't sense any real narrative or any real humanity. These are interesting but not engrossing reads for me. There are ones that read like a novel but often forget to include some facts that help the reader to understand what happened and why. These are usually great reads but leave me with gaping holes in my understanding of the details of the case. Then there are ones that keep the narrative going while making sure to include the details that are essential to understanding the crime, and usually the investigation, itself. These usually have the humanity put back into the victim and, most of the time, some humanity put into the murderer as well. Most of Ann Rule's books fall, I think, in this category. These are both good reads and satisfying as far as understanding the crime. Rear's book falls into this last category. She brings all of the information from the investigation into the flow of the narrative(s). Being a stepsister not only brings the personal aspect in but gives her access to people and opinions an investigative journalist might not have had. Admirably she also gives some attention to understanding how the murderer became the person he did. And understanding the town, with all of its dysfunction, is important in understanding why the timeline dragged on for so long.

I mentioned multiple narratives above, so let me explain. Rear is taking us through her investigation with her rather than simply telling us what she learned. I enjoyed this aspect because it let me see how this was affecting her life and how Stephanie's friends and relatives were dealing with their grief well after the fact. Then there is the narrative of Stephanie's life, of which the murder is but part. I like this approach because it didn't just make her more real but showed that while the murder is what many who didn't know her think of it is her life in its entirety that is both important and remembered by those who knew and loved her, flaws and all.

I would recommend this to any reader of true crime, no matter what type you prefer. By virtue of there being a murder there is some sensationalism involved, so those who like that will find some of it here, though not overblown or the main feature. The human element runs throughout the book, from the victim and the murderer to friends and family of each. The narrative(s) make the book read very well and the details of the investigation, both immediately and after it became a cold case, are weaved into the story nicely.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. show less

As a young woman who also happens to be a violist, I was entranced by the tragic story of Stephanie, a New England music teacher who was murdered in upstate New York. Rachel strikes the perfect balance between personal and detached. Having grown up in the same town as Stephanie, and whose mother would eventually marry Stephanie's grieving father, Stephanie was close to her step-father but she approaches her investigation of Stephanie's murder with a journalistic sense of detachment from her show more subject. She never personally knew her step sister, but was, like many of us often are by the family members we never met, absolutely fascinated by her and determined that she should attempt to resurrect the cold case of Stephanie's murder. Akin to ?We Keep the Dead Close, Rachel investigates not only the murder of her step-sister, but also how society treats, and obsesses over, murdered young women, particularly beautiful white women. It's not only a captivating addition to the true crime/memoir pantheon, but also a worth edition to a sociology and gender studies shelf as well. show less