A Murder on the Hill: The Secret Life and Mysterious Death of Ruth Munson

by Roger Barr

The mysterious murder of a woman in a historic neighborhood is shrouded in scandal, innuendo, police neglect, and media sensationalism in Depression-era Minnesota. Join author Roger Barr as he searches for answers to this unsolved case.

At 7:00 a.m. on December 9, 1937, St. Paul firefighters battling an arsonist’s fire in the abandoned Aberdeen Hotel discovered the badly burned body of a woman. The victim was soon identified as 31-year-old Ruth Munson, a waitress at the Union Depot—a "small-town girl" who had moved to the big city in search of a new life.

Using original police records, Ruth’s own diary and letters, newspaper accounts, public documents, and other primary sources, author Roger Barr meticulously retraces the investigation, as detectives examined Ruth’s background, work history, relationships, and social life in search of clues to her killer. As they looked into her sexual relationships, the detectives uncovered hints of Ruth’s secret, double life, which included legal but culturally taboo connections with Black men. Despite years of searching, police never caught the murderer. Their work was met with mistrust, silence, and denial among both white and Black people. Barr provides a careful examination of the missed opportunities, secrets, and racism that hampered the investigation.

Rich in period detail and fascinating anecdotes, A Murder on the Hill constructs a procedural investigation worthy of a high-profile case. Readers see for themselves what it is like to winnow important information from a flow of rumors, tips, and leads. What emerges is a remarkable view of a racially and economically divided time in the not-too-distant past. The murder of a working-class white woman in a Midwestern city was sensationalized by journalists due to racial prejudice; as a result, the historical record offers glimpses into the lives of dozens of individuals whose story might have otherwise been ignored all—like Ruth—trying to scratch out a living in a Depression-ridden, segregated city.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime

320 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2024

Reviews

[CrabbyPatty · Rating 4 out of 5]

In December of 1937, the body of Ruth Munson was discovered in the derelict Aberdeen Hotel, a once-grand luxury apartment hotel, felled by the stock market crash and the Depression. This was the St. Paul of John Dillinger and Babyface Nelson, where bootlegging and prostitution flourished, and in 1935 the City finally started cracking down on rampant police corruption within the St. Paul Police Department.

There was every reason to hope that the murderer would be brought to justice, yet the Munson murder remains unsolved. I found the book very frustrating in that the police hopped from one theory of the case to another without uncovering much of anything. It was a boyfriend or former lover, it was someone who left three small metal shear pins at the site, it was the black porter at the Union Depot, it was someone from Munson's "secret life" involved two mysterious women who were often seen at local bars with Ruth, it was a vagrant, maybe Ruth was involved in selling drugs, etc. And once the police determined that Ruth's death may have come "at the hands of someone from the black community," that racism probably prevented the case from being solved.

The author carefully details countless reports and unfortunately, the sheer abundance of similar reports is overwhelming. I'm not sure that every detail is necessary and perhaps a concise summary would have been more compelling than an exhaustive point-by-point accounting. There is a very brief chapter at about 80% of the book called "Missed Opportunities" which very briefly summarizes possible legitimate suspects, but at this point it is a little bit too later.

The exhaustive research is impressive but perhaps more interpretation and less listing of details would have resulted in a more cohesive gripping story. 3.5 stars.

I received an ARC from the publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

Cross-posted on my blog "I Love True Crime Books"

[sam wurm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This true crime book delves into the unsolved mystery of Ruth Munson, a woman who was found murdered in her St. Paul apartment in 1937. Every bit of the investigation and Ruth’s life is analyzed in this book — every lead, piece of evidence, person of interest, theory, etc. Basically, this is some of the best investigative journalism I’ve read in a long time.

Sometimes I struggle reading true crime because the language can be so objective and factual, lacking creativity, but THIS is everything I want from a true crime book and more. The writing was digestible, but didn’t feel like I was reading a boring police report. AND Being that this murder took place in the 1930s, I feel like the author did a great job at making this book feel spooky and like a crime noir novel.

Being that I live in St. Paul, I was familiar with every area that Barr described which was engaging, but it was interesting that despite this unsolved murder seemingly being the talk of the town for decades, I have never heard about it. Barr does a great job at explaining why this is by unpacking the sexism, racism, and corruption within the St. Paul Police Department at the time.

[Ernest Freudenburg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too tedious to finish.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh man, what a hate read this book ended up being for me.

If you're the type of person that reads non-fiction books chock full of facts, this is the book for you. I picked this book up as I was intrigued by the title and the location where the event occurred. Reading a teaser led me to believe that the case will have a lot more to do with the corruption in the police department, which admittedly kept me reading. It unfortunately did not.

The author begins the book by describing the events leading to the discovery of the body of Ruth Munson. He then describes the actions of the police officers afterward. Unfortunately, the author then falls into the same rhythm until the end: a lead gets discovered, a potential suspect is identified, the investigation comes to a dead end. This is essentially the structure of the book until the end, when the investigation sizzles out to a cold case. Understandably, there really isn't any other way to lay down the facts. The murder remains unsolved to this day, so the author simply had to work with the information available.

As for the corruption in the police force, it is known that the Saint Paul Police Department had its own dealings with criminals at the time. This reader's basic understanding is that criminals could roam free in the city so long as no criminal activity is committed in the city. The author discusses racism in the police force, which is obvious given the time period. Unfortunately, the author simply mentions the corruption in the police force in the last few pages of the book, which would have made the novel a lot more interesting.

Would I recommend this book? To be honest, not really. While I feel empathy for the murdered, I saw no significance to the case discussed. I felt that there are better ways to consume information regarding the social issues of the time.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this 3.5 stars if possible. I liked the historical view of how race and gender played into this case. However, it was the same interviews with the same people and the same investigative roads repeated over and over which got tedious and I didn't feel added to the history. It did drive home the point that, although the police questioned many people, they got little information. I agree with previous reviewers that it would have been nice to get more of a personal take on Ruth, but I think the author wanted to make her a mysterious figure like she was to the police and public. Although we don't know what the police knew because of how records were kept. It's amazing how things have changed, and not changed, in 80+ years. I'd recommend reading it, but one might want to skip through some of the interviews. The summing up at the end was well done and thoughtful.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to know more about Ruth from the perspective of her family. Unfortunately, most of the people that were interviewed at the time really didn't know her well, so the reader doesn't learn much about her. I feel like the author just scratched the surface and could have made her more relatable vs. mysterious. Also, the story was pieced together through newspaper clippings and police reports, so it felt like I was reading a factual recap of events, instead of being led through a story. There weren't a lot of facts, so it was mainly just repeating the same few things over and over again. It had potential, but didn't deliver for me.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite living in the Twin Cities, I had never heard of the Ruth Munson case. It’s wild to think that the author put together this whole book mainly through documents since most likely everyone from the time have passed away. So I give him a lot of props for that, it could not have been easy to make a narrative only out of documents. I liked that he separated the book into two parts, the facts of the case and timeline first and then why it wasn’t solved as the second part. I should have known going in that there would be more questions than answers, but still I kind of was left at the end being like what is the point of this book? Unfortunately. I did enjoy it though as a resident of Saint Paul and knowing exactly the places they were talking about. I think only Saint Paulites would really enjoy it, though. I received an advance review copy for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't read this if you are looking for a whodunnit that the author amazingly solves almost a century later. DO read it for the historical analysis, and especially for the last few chapters where he sums everything up.

[Greg Giles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story laid out in incredible detail. Too much detail? Perhaps. But in laying it all out in painstaking fashion, Barr shows the confusion, missed opportunities, and complexities of criminal justice in the 1930s.

[Becky Loader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruth Munson's dead body was discovered in a deserted old hotel in St. Paul in the 1930's. Her murder was investigated by an extremely corrupt police department in a city rampant with racism.
Was it ever solved? No. Not a chance.

[Angie Schmit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a long read. Very sad to see how racism and issues with the police departments really haven't changed all that much.

[Dwight C]

Read only the first few chapters. Got discouraged by seeing that I was only 10% done, but later learned one third of the book were notes.