Conspiracy to Murder: The Helmuth Buxbaum Trial

Ross Willmot is Executive Director of the Ontario Association for
Continuing Education.

The two-part title of this account by an award-winning journalist, unlike the simple title Buxbaum of the book on the same subject by CBC-TV reporter Ted Bissland, indicates a different approach. The difference is much the same as between the CBC’s Journal and its National News.

Bird’s longer account, based on more research and empathy, gives a more complete account of the murder team and the motivation behind their sensational crime. She makes better use of such literary techniques as in medias res to give us a realistic appreciation of the murder and its implications for the public, particularly how the trial was conducted.