Jallen Messersmith

TOP 10 TRUE CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR

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From Edgar Award finalist James Polchin comes a thrilling new book about a murder that gripped Jazz Age America with Great Gatsby-esque decadence.

“ABSORBING”
The Wall Street Journal

“The case feels, a century later, as relevant as ever. Polchin brings a wealth of colorful supporting detail. A likable and knowledgeable guide to the era.”
The New York Times

“An entertaining account of an obscure yet fascinating crime”
Publishers Weekly

“Cements his place in the new true crime canon”
CrimeReads

Writer, professor, and cultural historian, James Polchin holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from New York University. He is a Clinical Professor in Liberal Studies at NYU where he teaches writing and cultural history. For a number of years he taught in London, Paris, and Florence. He has previously taught at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation, Princeton University Writing Program, The New School, and the American University.

His book Indecent Advances: A Hidden History of True Crime and Prejudice Before Stonewall was a finalist for an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, and named one of the best true crime books of the year by CrimeReads.

Interviews and features include The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The Paris Review, Rolling Stone, Slate, TIME, Huffington Post, CrimeReads, NewNextNow, The New Inquiry, The Gay and Lesbian Review, Vox, Oxygen, The American Scholar, Bookforum, House of Mystery Radio, BBC4 Radio and NPR.