What do you think?
Rate this book
Murder in Renfrew County: The predator who left three women dead ― and the justice system that failed to stop him
The story of the murder of three women in Ontario’s Renfrew county by their ex-partner and the full-scale investigation that followed.Dean Beeby, a skilled reporter and author, chronicles the day of violence, exploring the circumstances that led up to three tragic confrontations. Their deaths triggered an inquiry that addressed the larger issues of femicide and the systems that fail victims of intimate partner violence.Describing the months-long inquest that followed and its findings, Dean Beeby explores how the justice system does not adequately address the needs of victims and how perpetrators of intimate partner violence are given ample opportunity to re-offend and escalate their actions.
224 pages, Paperback
Published March 19, 2024
64 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 18, 2024
I wish that this book had been more than what it is… that it had been a real manifesto, and call to arms.
This books honours the victims but it needed to be so much more than that.
There is an important story here but this book suffers from serious structural issues. In my notes I repeatedly ask: “Where was the editor?”
Besides that I don’t like the way that the book is organised, there is a lot of repetition.
The perpetrator has much in common with the perpetrator of the Montreal massacre (whose name I will never utter).
Including that he left behind diatribes against women, in the form of letters which were received after the fateful day.
What is seriously lacking is any comprehensive examination of the history and patterns of intimate partner violence (IPV) both here in Canada and around the world - now and historically. There is a decided lack of any attempt at a broader contextualising, philosophising and/or theorising. While there are little bits scattered about here and there, they are not enough.
Indeed, the concluding paragraph - in fact, the very last line - clearly evidences where the weakness in this title lie, as follows:
“We need to identify those urgent reforms that will have a direct impact today on saving abused and terrorized women and their children, to honour the memory of Carol, Stasia and Nathalie.”
Hello!! You have discussed the recommendations from multiple Coroner’s Inquests into IPV.
They - and you by default - have already identified truckloads of such.
The problem is finding the POLITICAL WILL to act upon them… holding a system rooted in misogyny to the coals.
Despite my criticisms above, this is a book that needs to be read…
This books honours the victims but it needed to be so much more than that.
There is an important story here but this book suffers from serious structural issues. In my notes I repeatedly ask: “Where was the editor?”
Besides that I don’t like the way that the book is organised, there is a lot of repetition.
The perpetrator has much in common with the perpetrator of the Montreal massacre (whose name I will never utter).
Including that he left behind diatribes against women, in the form of letters which were received after the fateful day.
What is seriously lacking is any comprehensive examination of the history and patterns of intimate partner violence (IPV) both here in Canada and around the world - now and historically. There is a decided lack of any attempt at a broader contextualising, philosophising and/or theorising. While there are little bits scattered about here and there, they are not enough.
Indeed, the concluding paragraph - in fact, the very last line - clearly evidences where the weakness in this title lie, as follows:
“We need to identify those urgent reforms that will have a direct impact today on saving abused and terrorized women and their children, to honour the memory of Carol, Stasia and Nathalie.”
Hello!! You have discussed the recommendations from multiple Coroner’s Inquests into IPV.
They - and you by default - have already identified truckloads of such.
The problem is finding the POLITICAL WILL to act upon them… holding a system rooted in misogyny to the coals.
Despite my criticisms above, this is a book that needs to be read…
September 29, 2025
Interesting to read about a local crime in more detail. It was quite "wordy" at times, especially the conclusion.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews