On the night of December 1, 1900, 海角乱伦社区farmer John Hossack was attacked and killed while he slept at home beside his wife, Margaret. On April 11, 1901, after 铿乿e days of testimony before an all-male jury, Margaret Hossack was found guilty of his murder and sentenced to life in prison. One year later, she was released on bail to await a retrial; jurors at this second trial could not reach a decision, and she was freed. She died August 25, 1916, leaving the mystery of her husband鈥檚 death unsolved.
The Hossack tragedy is a compelling one and the issues surrounding their domestic problems are still relevant today. Margaret Hossack鈥檚 composure and stoicism, developed during years of spousal abuse, were seen as evidence of unfeminine behavior, while John Hossack鈥攌nown to be a cruel and dangerous man鈥攚as hailed as a respectable husband and father.
Midnight Assassin also introduces us to Susan Glaspell, a journalist who reported on the Hossack murder for the Des Moines Daily. Later these same events were used as the basis for her classic short story, 鈥淎 Jury of Her Peers,鈥 and the famous play Trifles.
Based on almost a decade of research, Midnight Assassin is a riveting story of loneliness, fear, and suffering in the rural Midwest.
For more information as well as a reader's guide, visit .
鈥淎ficionados of the unsolved case may 铿乶d a delectable example in this retelling of the little-known but gruesome murder of an 海角乱伦社区farmer. Meticulously but briskly rendered mystery.鈥濃Kirkus
鈥淭he authors use trial transcripts and period newspaper accounts to tell this story, offering not only an interesting trial drama but also a look into the social attitudes of rural America at the beginning of the twentieth century, especially toward women.鈥濃Library Journal
鈥Midnight Assassin is a real-life murder mystery, to be sure. But it is also, among other things, a study of rural 海角乱伦社区at the beginning of the twentieth century; a commentary on the evolving role of women; a mini-biography of Susan Glaspell, a twenty-something fledgling reporter for a Des Moines newspaper who covered the case before achieving fame as an author/feminist; and an exploration about the difficulties of learning the truth in the context of the criminal justice system. This is mini-biography at its best. This is 海角乱伦社区history at its best.鈥濃Des Moines Register
鈥淸An] engrossing real-life whodunit.鈥濃USA Today
鈥淗istorical whodunit devotees who have devoured all the literature on famous real-life mysteries will delight in this stirring and evocative account of an obscure turn-of-the-century 海角乱伦社区murder. [The authors] vividly portray the era鈥檚 attitudes toward women (indicated by a tolerance of domestic abuse) while crafting a tale that reads like a good novel.鈥濃Publishers Weekly, starred review
