November Jersey Collective Reads Pick: BLOOD & INK by Joe Pompeo
Welcome to Jersey Collective Reads, our monthly book club where we highlight a New Jersey book. Read on to learn more, for details for this month’s virtual event, and for a section of New Jersey literary news.
Our November selection
Our pick for November is Blood & Ink: The Scandalous Jazz Age Double Murder That Hooked America on True Crime by Joe Pompeo. Some non-fiction for you this time!
About the book & why we picked it
From the publisher: “Vanity Fair’s Joe Pompeo investigates the notorious 1922 double murder of a high-society minister and his secret mistress, a Jazz Age mega-crime that propelled tabloid news in the 20th century.
On September 16, 1922, the bodies of Reverend Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills were found beneath a crabapple tree on an abandoned farm outside of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The killer had arranged the bodies in a pose conveying intimacy.
The murder of Hall, a prominent clergyman whose wife, Frances Hall, was a proud heiress with illustrious ancestors and ties to the Johnson & Johnson dynasty, would have made headlines on its own. But when authorities identified Eleanor Mills as a choir singer from his church married to the church sexton, the story shocked locals and sent the scandal ricocheting around the country, fueling the nascent tabloid industry. This provincial double murder on a lonely lover’s lane would soon become one of the most famous killings in American history—a veritable crime of the century.
The bumbling local authorities failed to secure any indictments, however, and it took a swashbuckling crusade by the editor of a circulation-hungry Hearst tabloid to revive the case and bring it to trial at last.
Blood & Ink freshly chronicles what remains one of the most electrifying but forgotten murder mysteries in U.S. history. It also traces the birth of American tabloid journalism, pandering to the masses with sordid tales of love, sex, money, and murder.”
Courtney says: “Around this time last year, I was listening to Chris Gethard’s podcast—New Jersey is the World—and heard an interview with Joe Pompeo that made my jaw drop. He was discussing a double murder that I was shocked to learn had taken place in a town about 20 miles from where I’d grown up. I'd never heard of the Hall-Mills murder or the resulting media coverage surrounding it, which is why I'm thrilled that Pompeo’s book Blood and Ink—which chronicles the forgotten homicide—is our book club pick for November. Blood and Ink has obvious appeal for those who love local lore like I do, and more broadly will spark conversation for anyone interested in how we treat true crime stories in the modern era.”
Kerri says: “I actually was weirdly very familiar with this event already, so I was very excited to hear about Blood & Ink when it was coming out. The book’s pub day actually ended up being on the one hundredth anniversary of the murders, which technically remain unsolved (though there are plenty of theories to go around). It’s a fascinating story with hyper local references to places in both New Brunswick and Somerset County, but that also had, as Blood & Ink so wonderfully demonstrates, wide-reaching implications with things like newspaper coverage, police jurisdiction, and crime scene procedures.”
From the reviews: “Engrossing . . . Pompeo's book is as much about the rise of tabloid journalism and the American public's appetite for lurid true-life tales as it is about the crime itself.” — Wall Street Journal
Attend our chat with Joe Pompeo!
Register to join us for a fun discussion on Zoom on Thursday, November 16 at 7:00 PM EST. The meeting will be recorded and shared on our YouTube channel.
If you want to read the book beforehand, be sure to buy your copy from Bookshop, your favorite independent bookseller, or request a copy from your local library.
If you won’t have time to read the book before our event but want to come a little prepared, you can learn more about Joe and the book from the following:
The aforementioned interview on the New Jersey is the World podcast
This New Yorker article Joe wrote
Upcoming Events
We have something up our sleeve for hopefully sometime in early December—stay tuned!
October Recap
Courtney tackled our conversation with Rachel Harrison about Black Sheep solo because Kerri was sick. Listen to Courtney and Rachel discuss the Land of Make Believe, Hot Dog Johnny’s, reading horror, and, of course, Black Sheep itself:
You can check out recordings of all of our past events here!
New Jersey Literary News
Opening tomorrow in Montclair: Iris, a new independent book and stationary shop focused on “self-published & independently distributed artists’ books on the arts, design, poetry, theory & more” that also carries “letterpress cards, gift wrapping paper, stationery, notebooks, pens, pencils & art supplies.” Very much looking forward to checking it out!
About Jersey Collective Reads
Jersey Collective Reads promotes homegrown books and authors. We feature a mix of fiction and non-fiction, new releases and backlist titles, on a variety of subjects, from presses big and small.
We feature one selection a month–sometimes a book and other times essays, longform journalism pieces, or short stories–and host a virtual event with the author.
You won’t have to read the books ahead of time to enjoy the events (but of course you’re encouraged to)! We host Zoom-based events to keep it accessible to all, no matter where you’re based. We will also host some in-person casual meetups and outings throughout the year so you can connect with other New Jersey book-lovers in person.
Team Members
Courtney Preiss, an Asbury Park-based writer and creative director. Her debut novel WELCOME HOME, CAROLINE KLINE is about baseball and recovery on the Jersey Shore, and is forthcoming from Putnam/Penguin Random House next year. You can find her on Twitter + Instagram @cocogolightly.
Kerri Sullivan, founder of Jersey Collective as well as editor of New Jersey Fan Club (Rutgers University Press 2022) and public librarian. Her Instagram is @ksulphoto.