Blood & Ink: The Scandalous Jazz Age Double Murder That Hooked America on True Crime

Vanity Fair correspondent Pompeo is the latest to try to solve the scandalous 100-year-old double murder that occurred in Somerset County, NJ. A compelling performance by narrator Robert Petkoff will keep listeners glued to their earbuds as he describes the discovery of two bodies—a married priest and a church choir member (not his wife)—under a crab apple tree, arranged as if they were intimately involved, with their love letters lying between them. Pompeo delivers a lively history of the time and place, including the backstories of each victim. He also details how their unfortunate fate launched the rise of tabloid newspapers, spreading the scandalous details of their lives, their deaths, and the ensuing trial, and fueling the rise of intense media coverage of high-profile true-crime stories in newspapers and magazines. Petkoff’s heartfelt, impassioned reading of the love letters found at the murder scene is in stark contrast to the objective, authoritative court proceedings, as suspects were grilled and witnesses described in detail what they saw.