From Library Journal
Engel (Lord High Executioner: An Unashamed Look at Hangmen, Headsmen and Their Kind), who is also a mystery writer and winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Crime Fiction, here presents a topic that comes straight from today's tabloid headlines but also crosses time. From the 1849 trial of Frederick and Marie Manning for the murder of Marie's lover, Patrick O'Connor, to O.J. Simpson's trial in 1994, Engel introduces the reader to the often-unresolved cases, and both the victims and the perpetrators, of what the French call le crime passionnel. Engel asks questions about the nature of this type of crime: Can it be premeditated? Can it involve revenge? Should it have a special place in legal codes (as is the case in France)? Thirty different cases from North America and Western Europe are included in this sampler, each with different outcomes, surprises, and reactions from the general public. A six-page bibliography of books, articles, and web sites is included. Recommended for public libraries with a clientele interested in true crime. Sarah Jent, Univ. of Louisville Lib., Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Nuance and style--think Lytton Strachey and Charles Higham--meet in Engel's rich vignettes of love gone violently wrong, of intrigue, raw emotion, and strange mindsets. There is Yvonne Chevallier, wife of the war-hero mayor of Orleans, whose matter-of-fact infidelity she could no longer bear. Distraught, she threatened to shoot herself. "'Good!' he said, or words to that effect. 'I dare you!'" Whereupon, she shot him four times, turned their four-year-old over to a servant, then sealed his fate with a fifth round. Also in France, the wife of the finance minister before World War I assassinated the editor of Le Figaro. Engels says previous accounts of the crime have "distort[ed] and chang[ed] some of the facts." Claiming to restore what has been missing, he paints a pretty picture of society, politics, and murder. Other cases include the Kenyan murder of Lord Erroll, author Anne Perry's bizarre and bloody youthful indiscretion, and the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in England. Hot stuff politely told. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Peter Skinner, ForeWord
Rare photographs and excellent design and production make this an elegant book.

Book Description
For the second time, celebrated crime-fiction writer Howard Engel turns his hand to non-fiction. This time he leads us on a riveting and spectacular journey through the murky passages of criminal law to the places where love and murder intersect. Setting out in the nineteenth century, Engel travels from France and England to Canada and the United States, with engaging detours along the way. As he discovers, le crime passionnel, a concept originating in France, has a special place in many legal codes around the world. Someone who has suddenly or unexpectedly been betrayed by a loved and trusted partner, even in an illicit relationship, is rarely treated as a common murder. In Crimes of Passion, Engel explores more than twenty-five classic, infamous and still unresolved cases. With the elegant flair and penetrating insight of a novelist, he brings the victims and perpetrators to life in remarkable detail. Ruth Ellis (the last woman hanged in England), OJ Simpson (the football star), Juliet Hulme (the writer Anne Perry), Jean Liger ("the hungry lover") and Jean Harris (the headmistress) are just a few of the intriguing characters you'll meet along the way. The result is a wonderfully eclectic investigation -- complemented by more than forty illustrations and photographs -- into the strange, tragic, world of passion and murder. Love, lovers, loss, and lingering malice combine in this emotional volume, sure to thrill any crime fan or historian. Praise for Howard Engel and his earlier book Lord High Executioner "...a born writer, a natural stylist...a writer who can bring a character to life in a few lines." - Ruth Rendell "...morbidly fascinating (and strangely lively)..." - The Washington Post "Engel writes compassionately and well, with a novelist's eye for detail." - The Spectator (U.K.)

About the Author
Howard Engel is the author of the best-selling Lord High Executioner: An Unashamed Look at the Hangman, Headsmen and Their Kind and the celebrated Benny Cooperman mysteries. He has received the prestigious Arthur Ellis Award for Crime Fiction and the Crime Writers of Canada Derrick Murdoch Award. As well as being an accomplished author, Engel is a regular contributor to the book pages of several journals. He lives in Toronto.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

For the second time, celebrated crime-fiction writer Howard Engel turns his hand to non-fiction. This time he leads us on a riveting and spectacular journey through the murky passages of criminal law to the places where love and murder intersect.

Setting out in the nineteenth century, Engel travels from France and England to Canada and the United States, with engaging detours along the way. As he discovers, le crime passionnel, a concept originating in France, has a special place in many legal codes around the world. Someone who has suddenly or unexpectedly been betrayed by a loved and trusted partner, even in an illicit relationship, is rarely treated as a common murder.

In Crimes of Passion, Engel explores more than twenty-five classic, infamous and still unresolved cases. With the elegant flair and penetrating insight of a novelist, he brings the victims and perpetrators to life in remarkable detail. Ruth Ellis (the last woman hanged in England), OJ Simpson (the football star), Juliet Hulme (the writer Anne Perry), Jean Liger ("the hungry lover") and Jean Harris (the headmistress) are just a few of the intriguing characters you'll meet along the way.

The result is a wonderfully eclectic investigation -- complemented by more than forty illustrations and photographs -- into the strange, tragic, world of passion and murder. Love, lovers, loss, and lingering malice combine in this emotional volume, sure to thrill any crime fan or historian.

FROM THE CRITICS

Peter Skinner - ForeWord

Rare photographs and excellent design and production make this an elegant book; notes and an extensive bibliography give it a resource-and-research value.

Mike Tribby - Booklist

Nuance and style -- think Lytton Strachey and Charles Higham -- meet in Engel's rich vignettes of love gone violently wrong, of intrigue, raw emotion, and strange mindsets...Hot stuff, politely told.

Library Journal