I couldn’t get into this book as much as I had hoped. It is an interesting story and the author has clearly put a lot into this retelling of a mass shooting in the 1940s. I just found my attention wandering a little.

This book was fascinating! If you are a fan of shows such as Dateline and 20/20, this is the book for you. It tells the story of Howard Unruh, who is considered to be America's first mass murderer. In a span of 12 minutes, he killed 13 people including 3 children.

Howard was raised in a family with a doting mother and a mostly absent father. His mother considered him shy, while his father was troubled by his son's clinginess. "It's not normal" he could often be heard saying. Howard went off to fight in World War 2 and saw intense fighting, including the Battle of the Bulge, and came home a different person. The book chronicles Howard's struggles and shares the perspectives of Howard's mother, including letters he wrote to her during the war. But the most fascinating narrative was told through the eyes of Raymond, a middle-school aged boy who would courrier stamps from his father to Howard. It was during these visits that Raymond would talk with Howard on a variety of subjects. Howard was a source of information on a vast number of topics and I believe Raymond truly enjoyed the time he spent with Howard. On the morning of the massacre, Raymond sees Howard enter the barber shop and shoot his first victims, then turn to face Raymond. Raymond feared for his life, but Howard left and continued his rampage. Why had Howard acted so violently Raymond wonders?

The author has provided a concise narrative about the events of that September day and the subsequent hospitalization of Howard.

As someone who loves true crime podcast and shows, I can’t believe that I don’t remember hearing about this case before. This book did a great job covering what is a lesser known true crime case and I am always looking for true crime books that introduce me to cases I am unfamiliar with. I particularly enjoyed this book because it focused on the “why” and what can possibly be done to prevent future crimes. This book read very much like a novel, which sometimes made it hard to remember that it was describing real events, however, it would make this the perfect book to introduce a fiction reader to true crime books. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Being born and raised until the age of 17 in Camden NJ, this book immediately caught my attention. My mother and all the way to my great-great grandparents were from Camden as well, so I knew I had to read this book. I never heard of this event, so reading it was mind blowing.

I was able to go back in time and visualize everything and every place. Well, where it used to be.

This story is based on actually events and it makes it even more creepier. The first mass murder shooting in the U.S. on streets that I walked on for years.

This story is told from different perspectives and kept me engaged until the end. The story flowed effortlessly with a before and after timeline and the facts will leave you with goosebumps.

I can't wait to visit my grandmother and ask her more about this event. I would definitely recommend this book.


Many thanks to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy. This one will be added to my shelf upon release day.

On 6th September 1949, twenty-eight-year-old Howard Barton Unruh shot thirteen people in less than twelve minutes on his block in East Camden, New Jersey. The shocking true story of the first recorded mass shooting in America has never been told, until now. This is definitely one of those special books that I will keep on my shelves to go back to and reread. It says a lot that I am still thinking about this book a few days after finishing it - I will definitely be recommending this one! A gripping read and easy five stars.

Murder in the Neighborhood by Ellen J. Green
 
Thank you to @threadbooks for the opportunity to read and review this eARC!
 
Some say he was provoked and bullied. Some say that war jaded him and he believed he was back in a war zone. Some say he was a troubled, unwell man. Some say he knew exactly what he was doing in cold blood. What is agreed upon, however, is that the thirteen murders that Howard Unruh committed in twelve minutes in Camden, New Jersey on September 4, 1949 changed not only the quiet suburb but America. Unruh was a decorated Army veteran who attempted but was ultimately unsuccessful in establishing himself in society once he came back from war. After being arrested and questioned by police, it was quickly determined that he was not of sound mind. Unruh was committed to a mental health facility where he underwent treatment until his death in 2009.
 
This book is incredibly well researched and written through the first person accounts of Unruh’s mother, neighbor, and occasionally members of the prosecution and treatment team. It provokes thought about mental health stigma, LGBTQ stigma, and programs and treatment for our soldiers coming home from war. It is generally agreed upon that the neighboring community bullied Howard for his quirks, his walk, his rumored sexual preferences, and other things. His own mother saw and ignored the signs of his mental health reaching an unhealthy boiling point. It is so sad to me that so many lives were unnecessarily lost that day. We should be treating our soldiers who have risked their lives better. We need to end mental health stigma. We need to be kinder.
 
One of the most interesting aspects to me was the evolution of the mental health treatment and diagnoses over the years. Definitely a good read if you’re interested in true crime and mental health.
 
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ - 4/5

I'm a true-crime junkie, and I've never read a true-crime book quite like this. The author explores different points of view, taking you through the murders primarily through the perspective of a young boy (Raymond, who narrowly avoided being killed the day of the massacre because of his friendship with the killer), the killer's mother, and to a degree, the killer himself. Far more than any account I've read of a spree/rampage/mass murder, this book delves into the 'why' of it all in an important way--meaning, a way that actually gives insight into the factors that led Howard Unruh to commit the murders, and how we could potentially protect against them in the future. Obviously murder is wrong, and what Unruh did was not acceptable--yet, the author manages to present him in a way that the reader can empathize with the trauma and injustices he suffered (if not the action he took to rectify them). I believe it takes a skilled writer and insightful human being to walk that line effectively. Highly recommend to any true-crime fan.

A really interesting look into a shooting I had never heard of. I really enjoyed learning about the aftermath, and what happened to the main people featured. It was difficult to tell if I was reading a fiction or non fiction book

Definitely not the book that I thought it would be. While it is a true story, it is written as if it was fiction. I did not like it. This might be interesting for people who are looking for a more embellished type of book, but I thought that it would be written from a completely true point of view.

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for a review, but all thoughts are my own.

4.5 stars. Wow. Those who know me know that I love true crime, but true crime novels like this--that is, written like a work of fiction rather than one of non-fiction--deserve an extra bit of recognition because they're by far my favourite. Murder in the Neighbourhood tells the story of the first purported spree killing/mass shooting in America from the perspective of a young boy (Raymond Havens III) who knew Howard Unruh (the shooter) perhaps better than anyone else on River Road (which isn't necessarily saying a lot) and Howard's mother, Freda. Though there are other perspectives, Ray and Freda have the most dominant voices and boy was I glad they did.

It was so interesting to hear two antithetical (though somewhat related) perspectives: while Ray sympathizes with Howard, he largely sees him as an antagonist and sympathizes more with Charles and other survivors of the shooting while Freda, of course, is centrally concerned about her son and his well-being. This established such a brilliant back-and-forth feel in the book that I started having to remind myself that Howard Unruh killed 13 people (including 3 children) during Freda's chapters (and portions of Raymond's) to avoid overly sympathizing with him. Similarly, during Raymond's chapters, I had to remind myself that Howard was both human, mentally ill, and a war veteran with major PTSD to avoid wanting to literally strangle him myself.

I loved this book from start to finish. I loved the elements of mystery that were built in (Who took the gate? What was Howard doing in Philadelphia? What exactly was the trigger that lead to Howard killing 13 people? What was Howard's mental state?) but I mostly loved the human element. I loved hearing about Raymond's internal conflict and about the guilt he felt at both knowing and previously liking Howard. I loved watching Freda try to find her role in what happened on September 6, 1949 (Did it stem back to Howard's childhood and their Oedipal attachment to one another? Did she miss clear warning signs? Was she in any way responsible?). I even loved the dash of psychoanalysis and Freudian psychology we got in Dr. Garber's chapter (and in some of Freda's leading up to it)--Freud would've had a damn field day with Unruh I stg.

I also freaking LOVED the ending, I legit got goosebumps with how full circle it was. From Charles in Camden to his grandaughter Carly in Marjory Stoneman Douglas, this book also serves as a potent reminder that gun violence in America has been around for decades and is showing no signs of letting up anytime soon.

Maybe the end really is the beginning.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thread Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I am so excited for this to come out and to recommend it to literally every true crime fanatic I know.

This book was very eye opening, the perspective of stepping back in time to when this kind of thing wasn't as "normal" as it is today. Watching the opinions and excuses unfold in a small town of why this happened and the lack of accountability on anyones part that they could've played a factor in this horrific tragedy. The writing was smooth and the story was easy to follow and digest, even with this intense subject matter. Would definitely recommend to anyone who is interested in true crime.

From the publisher: On 6th September 1949, twenty-eight-year-old Howard Barton Unruh shot thirteen people in less than twelve minutes on his block in East Camden, New Jersey. The shocking true story of the first recorded mass shooting in America has never been told, until now. A gripping untold true story that will leave your heart pounding.

I had never heard of Howard Unruh and his killing spree before reading this book. Although the crime is detailed, the book is not so much about the “true crime” as it is about the killer’s mother and the neighborhood child who was friendly with the killer. This is very much a book about the loss of innocence – it captures the simple pleasures of post-WWII life in the United States.

“Thirteen people were killed in twelve minutes – a few blinks of an eye had changed everything. It struck panic into small-town America, putting everyone on notice that nobody was really safe, and that we didn’t really know one another as well as we thought we did.” (from the Foreword of the advance reader copy)

I felt no real sense of horror as the killing spree unfolded. It was more of a clinical recitation of what happened next. The author is clearly fascinated by Unruh’s neighbors and what they did to set him off. She particularly dwells on a gate that Unruh erected that was immediately stolen by an unknown person. The narrative contains a lot of information about the bullying of Unruh by people in the neighborhood and the fact that he was homosexual. Neighborhood men seemed very threatened by Unruh, at least according to author Green.

The boy who delivered stamps to Unruh for his collection is the narrator of multiple chapters, and he waxes poetic about growing up before the crime: “Every house I passed had people outside, on the steps, or in their yard; the sounds were almost like a hum, drowning out the noise of the trains, the boat horns from Delaware. I didn’t know what content sounded like until afterwards, but that was it.” (pp. 209-210 of the advance reader copy)

If you are interested in true crime and historical slices from America’s past, you may want to read Murder in the Neighborhood.

I read an advance reader copy from Netgalley. (I hope the book is still being proofread and edited. Among other typos, I noticed more than one instance of unnecessary apostrophes when referring to members of a family (e.g., “where the Hamilton’s lived”), which I found distracting.) Murder in the Neighborhood is scheduled to be published on April 28, 2022, and it will be in the Galesburg Public Library’s collection.

"The True Story of America's First Recorded Mass Shooting"

In September 1949, World War II veteran Howard Unruh opened fire on his Camden, NJ neighborhood. Within twelve minutes, thirteen people, including three children were dead. With the current rate of mass killings in this country, I can't believe the "first recorded mass shooting" happened less than 75 years ago!

The story is told through the eyes of the killer's mother and a neighborhood boy. The author has created a well-researched true crime story with characters that are well-developed and fascinating. With the help of Unruh's diary and police and medical reports, you get a real sense of what was going on in the killer's head plus a feel of community life in the Cramer Hill neighborhood of Camden.

This piece of non-fiction reads like a novel, it is that well written. Highly recommend. Expected release date: 28 April 2022.

I was gifted this advance copy by NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This book was so interesting! I had never heard of this mass shooting, so I was intrigued by this true crime book. I love that it was factual, and the author didn't include her emotions. Such a heartbreaking story, but it was one that will stay with me forever.

On a late summer day in 1949, Howard Unruh walked down the block of his East Camden, New Jersey, neighborhood and embarked on what many consider to be the first mass shooting in United States history. Its claim to this piece of historical trivia is not what makes Unruh’s horrific spree — or Ellen Green’s recounting of it in Murder in the Neighborhood — so compelling, however. Rather, it is that picturesque, working-class street, a mix of residences and small businesses — the local pharmacy, barbershop, a luncheonette — that feels so familiar and comforting, thriving with the promise of the post-war American Dream right up until a hail of bullets shatters everything, which works its way under your skin and refuses to leave. This could be your community. Howard Unruh could be your neighbor. The chaos that lurked just under the surface of the tranquility of an otherwise unremarkable morning in 1949 hangs over us all.

Murder in the Neighborhood is not a typical true crime book. It does not follow the comfortable, linear structure the genre typically utilizes so well. Instead, Green comes out of the gate swinging, showing us the massacre through the eyes of 12-year-old Raymond Havens— one of Unruh’s neighbors who probably knew the killer better than most adults on the block and barely survived his attack. The narrative that follows largely alternates between the viewpoints of Havens and Unruh’s mother, both of whom are left to make sense of the incomprehensible. The story bounces back and forth through time — the slow disintegration of Unruh that led to his murders, the aftermath and decades into the future where Unruh’s legacy continues to make its mark on the generations to follow. No significant character —save perhaps Raymond himself — is painted as simply “good” or “bad;” they are simply different shades of human.

The book’s postscript paints a clear picture of the work Green put into her research for the book, and I have every confidence that Murder in the Neighborhood is a vivid, fact-based portrait of a horrendous crime and the trauma left in its wake. Still, this is a work of creative non-fiction, and Green immerses us in the internal lives of our POV characters — real people whose deaths preceded Green’s work on this book by decades — to such a degree that the reader may feel removed from the “true” crime of it all. Ultimately, though, that is primarily a limitation of genre expectations; once you learn to differentiate the color from the verifiable record, Murder in the Neighborhood is simply exhilarating.

Thanks to Net Galley, Thread and Bookoture for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book had me interested from the get go, however the book itself was very back and forth. While the start of the book was fast paced and full of action, the middle felt a little lackluster and almost unnecessarily long. The ending picked up in pace again, but the entire thing felt a little too drawn out. Undeniably well researched and written, just paced a little off!

This maybe wasn't my type of book/genre that I would have got into. Very slow start, picked up during the middle but wasn't interesting enough to grasp my attention!

I was fascinated by this book. It is a deep dive into the first recorded mass shooting in the United States. The shooting took place in Camden, NJ in 1949 and claimed the loves of 13 people. The author does a fantastic job of introducing us to the victims and the events leading up to that tragic day. It also reveals the many other secondary victims, which in this case included he suspect’s mother and a childhood friend, as well as the surrounding community. The book is interesting and relevant.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Cramer Hill in 1949 was your typical, idyllic, east coast neighborhood. The men were back from WWII and everyone had jobs and was working together to eke out a life in the relatively quiet Philadelphia suburb. All except one man. Howard Unruh.

Howard had always been different. He was quiet, sensitive, and bright. As he grew older he became more sensitive and when he returned from WWII he carried with him the phantoms of war. Unaccepted by his neighbors because of his differences, unable to find steady employment, and fighting his own secret demons, the anger inside him grew until one day it came out in the worst possible way. The lives of 13 people ended that day. The lives of countless others were changed forever.

The frightening thing about this book is all the warning signs that were ignored. Howard kept a diary of every way in which he was wronged or perceived that he had been wronged. He talked to his mother at length on a daily basis about all the things the neighbors were doing to him. Howard refused to defend himself in the way most people would, instead taking it all inside as fuel for the fire. His mother thought nothing of it, that's just how Howard was. Back then, mental health wasn't something that was discussed. Now we discuss mental health but often nothing (or not enough) is done to address those mental health issues until it's too late. Which is worse? The end result is the same.

Another aspect of the book that I found frightening was the fact that the neighbors bullied Unruh relentlessly, taking his refusal to fight them as an invitation to do their worst. The neighbors fed off of one another, harassing him, following him, making fun of everything about him. In today's society we've made this type of bullying an art form and people are able to do it from behind a curtain, they don't even have to face their victims. What happened to Howard Unruh on River Road in the days leading up to September 6, 1949, is happening to thousands of people all over the country right now.

Though disturbing on so many levels, this book was very interesting and very sad. It's written almost like a fiction book with so many personal details and background information.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

God! I can't get enough of it! I wish I could read the book for the first time again!
This was a fantastic novel for me. This is a deep and dark read, in my opinion. Very interesting, and congratulations to the author on the thoroughness of his research.
NetGalley provided me with an advance copy.