A fascinating read about a horrible man! This book definitely reads as a novel. The characters are very convincing: you can hear them, fear him and just hope for justice. Unfortunately, in the mid 19th century, forensics were far from accurate and the status of women, well, definitely not as it should be... This book clearly illustrates the court ways of those days as well as farmers' families ways of life always depending on the nature about them. I really enjoyed it!
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I received a digital copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley with no obligation to leave a positive review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I love true crime and I love historical eras so this was an interesting blend of fact and fiction. I appreciate how the author took a few liberties to bring the story to life without changing the actual retelling of the crimes. That being said, I am so disappointed that JP never revealed the truth. Where is a death. bed confession when you need one?

The author included a lot of direct quotes and pictures that helped bring the story to life and put real faces to names instead of just leaving everything to your imagination. I do feel like there were a lot of problems in society that contributed to the outcome of the crime spree. Had just one person spoken up sooner the whole trajectory could have been changed.

With Belgian ancestry in Green Bay, I was intrigued by this book despite the emphasis on a murderer. The book offers a good look at life in the Green Bay area in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
The life of the murderer, Jean Phillippe Soquet, is horrifying. Killing three wives, his lover’s husband, his young son, and possibly more. Committing his daughter to an insane asylum because she knew of his sins. Abuse of wives and children. And for the longest time, he got away with it. The legal system failed the community.

Hooked on this tale of abuse, societal cover ups and justice come too late

I didnt want to put this down, I was so desperate to know what turn of events would happen next in the saga of J.P and Elvira as I could never tell precisely what would come next!

The dual viewpoint was a very good way to explain life and the societal expectations of the time period, especially with one being male and one being female. I found Pauline's viewpoint really helped to make Elvira seem more than just a character on a page, the way she recalled occasions of Elvira interacting with her family AND also the scandals in outer society really fleshed her out as a person. Pauline's recounting of her own life also gave an idea of what Esperance's life was like and likely how she thought and carried herself.

Having Xavier Martins viewpoint really showed how brutal a man J.P was, and that how he treated his wives wasn't normal for the time, even if it maybe was more common that it should have been. Xavier straddling the border of the Belgian immigrant community and the American community also helped to give perspective on how these events were seen by the immediate community and by society as a whole.

This book pulled my emotions around in a good way, it truly showed how someone can be a good person and do bad things, or where they a bad person who did good things? Maybe life isn't so black and white as that. There was no sensationalising of the facts of the case (they didn't really need it) or speculating beyond the evidence and accounts/rumours of the time.

This book is an excellent example of how a true crime tale can be told without focusing purely on the offender, and that other stories exist around a crime that add the human element that can be missing from some accounts. I wasn't at all surprised to see at the end that the author is local to where this crime and the court cases took place. The evocative descriptions of the locales really put me there, despite the fact I don't even live in the US!

The bibliography at the back shows how well researched this book is, and would allow anyone with a deeper interest to go back to the primary sources and find out more should they feel the need to.

This book is definitely going on my list to get a physical copy to read once it comes out. Anyone with an interest in historical true crime should be familiar with this case.

A true story of a Belgian immigrant village near Green Bay, WI. A story of a murderer and how he was brought to justice. Highly recommend.