Landis Mackellar
Author of The "Double Indemnity" Murder: Ruth Snyder, Judd Gray, And New York's Crime of the Century
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The "Double Indemnity" Murder: Ruth Snyder, Judd… by Landis Mackellar
This is undoubtedly the definitive account of this famous case. The author is no Truman Capote but does a thorough workman-like job in telling of the case and the fantastic publicity which it generated in the press from the time it was committed on Mar 19, 1927, till the perpatrators were done to death on 12 Jan 1928. The book was published in 2006, so the author was able to tell what happened to everybody connected to the case. I really enjoyed the book because it told an accurate account, even though the author's comments sometimes are a bit inane. But it was an inane crime.… (more)
½I'm not entirely certain what was significant enough about this case to justify a book. I read the entire thing with a sort of thought bubble hanging over it that said, "Why am I reading this?" It wasn't badly written or anything. I'm just wondering why it was written at all. This isn't a particularly interesting case. If it happened now, I suspect it would hardly merit a mention in a local paper.
Who knew that the Double Indemnity murder took place in Queens Village. James M. Cain and Billy Wilder took the bare bones of the story and improved it immensely. In the book we find that the wife and her underwear selling lover are inept killers stupid enough to confess. The book is mostly trial transcripts and lots of footnotes. If you grew up in Queens Village, as I did, you might find this story of interest, for all others, it's a skip.
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