Toronto Murders: Mysteries, Crime, and Scandals

Julie Rekai Rickerd is a Toronto-based broadcaster and public-relations
consultant.

These latest volumes in the Amazing Stories series introduce readers to
some memorable Canadian criminals. In Toronto Murders, McNicoll
describes six gruesome murders that took place in the city dating back
to the 1800s—a time when public hangings were still in fashion and
attracted large audiences from far and wide.

Men and women were charged with dastardly crimes and punished
accordingly except in the odd and remarkably rare cases when the
dramatic jury verdict was returned as “not guilty.” Cheryl
MacDonald’s Deadly Women of Ontario focuses on only female murderers
in Ontario, citing eight cases of lethal crimes committed by the
“weaker sex.” Many of these were killings of passion and/or revenge
usually brought about by the perpetrators through a combination of
intoxication and desperation.

Both of these books are short, entertaining reads for those interested
in history, crime, and the bizarre.