This is the 14th TREASURY OF XXth CENTURY MURDER graphic novels by Rick Geary. Geary has been doing a wonderful job of reexamining cases of true  crimes and laying out all the angles of the cases. I interviewed him back in 2009.
The latest book written and drawn by Geary is an unsolved murder known as the Hall-Mills mystery. A married preacher and a member of his choir were found dead in a park, shot a few days previously. Suspects were plentiful in the beginning but the case remains unsolved to this day, and what Geary does is lay out the facts as they are known and then adds the other wonderful element of tales surrounding the case. After the investigation to this murder started it became obvious the two were having an affair, though not many talked about it, at least at first. By the end of the telling of this tale I came to my own conclusions based
on the facts presented. I also am pretty sure that with modern techniques and police procedure being more enforced the case would have been solved. But when the crime was committed they let people stomp all over the scene and even take evidence.
What I love about this book and in truth all of Geary’s books in this series is his fair minded telling of the tale. While he may lead the reader towards a solution he leaves it to the reader to draw conclusions from the facts as we know them. I really enjoyed his Jack the Ripper book, the Garfield assassination was great, but it’s these lesser known cases that fascinate me, and obviously fascinate Geary as well. Lover’s Lane has all the great elements of a perfect crime fiction tale except that it really happened. I find it amazing that it’s not talked about more.
Geary also has a wonderful art style that is engaging and almost friendly. It doesn’t come across as dark or sinister as the tales he’s writing about sometimes are, but instead the art feels inviting and more like a witness that has no bias. A lined drawing style with depth and character in black and white that speaks volumes.
These are a great series of books and this latest was fascinating. Lover’s Lane and the others are available from NBM/ComicsLit
Jon