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Murder at McDonald's: The Killers Next Door
The true story of the Sydney River McDonald’s massacre, a botched robbery that would become the most sensational murder case in Canadian history. It started with a broken conveyor belt. When the mechanical malfunction brought eighteen-year-old McDonald’s employee Derek Wood into the restaurant’s back room, he saw the safe and got a dangerous idea. It would be so easy to prop the back door open, allowing two friends to sneak inside and steal the money. Wood assumed there was at least $200,000 in the cashbox—an incredible haul for just a few minutes’ work—but things would not go according to plan. The robbery went wrong from the start, and within minutes, a fast-food restaurant in the wilds of Nova Scotia was turned into a bloodbath. Wood and his accomplices attacked the employees, killing three instantly and leaving the fourth for dead. In the safe, where they had expected to find a fortune, there was barely $2,000. They fled the scene, instigating a manhunt that would captivate the nation. In the tradition of In Cold Blood and The Onion Field, this stunning work of true crime tells the story of the small-town murder that shocked a nation. Phonse Jessome brings a trained journalist’s eye to the case, which remains one of the most horrifying incidents of suburban violence in recent history.
770 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
August 1, 2016
Every now and then I get in the mood for some good ol' true crime. Since we don't have cable, I can't just turn on TruTV anymore, but I saw this book on Netgalley and figured I'd see if it could satisfy that craving. This is a book about the murder and assault of four nighttime workers at a McDonald's in a small industrial town. All over a few thousand dollars that the robbers got out of the safe, when they mistakenly thought there were going to steal hundreds of thousands.
First of all, I didn't realize for a while that this was set in Canada. I'm sure it's mentioned somewhere in the promo materials, but I totally missed it. The differences in their criminal law procedures was interesting to read about (especially since I am a law nerd), and I really enjoyed all of those bits. The narrative style he used to tell the reconstruction of the murders was also very well done. He was able to have several concurrent storylines (the three perps, the separate police investigations, etc) moving at the same time without it getting confusing.
The only thing I was less enthusiastic about was the self-insertion of the authors experience as a reporter of the case while it was being investigated and tried. It's not that I didn't appreciate the insight and point of view this added to the entire narrative, but reading his personal experiences always jarred me out of the main story. I would have preferred his experiences to be added as an afterward, or something like that, but that's just my personal issue.
Overall, this was a very well written account of a horrific crime in a small industrial town in Canada. I would recommend this without reservation for true crime readers, because my one gripe is more a personal pet peeve.
Copy courtesy of Mill City Press, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
First of all, I didn't realize for a while that this was set in Canada. I'm sure it's mentioned somewhere in the promo materials, but I totally missed it. The differences in their criminal law procedures was interesting to read about (especially since I am a law nerd), and I really enjoyed all of those bits. The narrative style he used to tell the reconstruction of the murders was also very well done. He was able to have several concurrent storylines (the three perps, the separate police investigations, etc) moving at the same time without it getting confusing.
The only thing I was less enthusiastic about was the self-insertion of the authors experience as a reporter of the case while it was being investigated and tried. It's not that I didn't appreciate the insight and point of view this added to the entire narrative, but reading his personal experiences always jarred me out of the main story. I would have preferred his experiences to be added as an afterward, or something like that, but that's just my personal issue.
Overall, this was a very well written account of a horrific crime in a small industrial town in Canada. I would recommend this without reservation for true crime readers, because my one gripe is more a personal pet peeve.
Copy courtesy of Mill City Press, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 22, 2018
A very brutal Canadian tragedy....
April 26, 2018
I remember when this happened .
such a sad event I hope the families have found some peace
such a sad event I hope the families have found some peace
October 21, 2019
Great book, very well written
A real pager turner. The author maintained a respect for the victims’ families and still managed to describe the atrocities of these murders in detail.
A real pager turner. The author maintained a respect for the victims’ families and still managed to describe the atrocities of these murders in detail.
June 19, 2025
A thorough description of this journalist’s experiences with the events of this tragedy, right as it unfolded on day 1, to the events leading up to the convictions.
May 13, 2023
Good book. Lots of detail and sometimes hard to read.
August 31, 2018
In May 1992, 18-year-old Derek Wood had just started working at McDonald's in Sydney River, Nova Scotia, when he got the idea to rob the restaurant. He talked to two unemployed friends, Freeman MacNeil (age 23) and Darren Muise (age 18), about it and they decided to do it. They figured they'd score about $200,000. Wood left his knapsack in a basement door to keep it open so they could sneak in late one night after one of Wood's shifts. In the aftermath, Wood's co-workers, Jimmy Fagan (age 27), Donna Warren (age 22) and Neil Burroughs Jr. (age 29), were brutally murdered and Arlene MacNeil (age 20) was left for dead (she ended up disabled and passed away this month). All they got was about $2,000!
This book details the incident, the victims and killers and their families, the economy and mentality of Cape Breton at the time, the police investigation, the activities of Wood, MacNeil and Muise after the murders, their arrests and their trials. It is written by Phonse Jessome, the ATV/CTV reporter who was covering it at the time. Despite the subject matter, I liked the writing style and this book. It's a sad sad story that didn't have to happen.
Wood and MacNeil were given life sentences with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. Muise was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 20 years. He was released in 2012 with full parole and is apparently living in British Columbia.
From 1977 until 1983 (ages 15 to 21), I lived in Sydney River, a couple blocks from this McDonald's. By the time this incident happened in 1992, I was living here in Toronto. I had followed it on the news at that time and hadn't thought about it until I heard that Arlene had passed away.
The McDonald's was torn down in 2000 and another one is a couple blocks away. It sounds like it's just an empty lot now.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2018/08...
This book details the incident, the victims and killers and their families, the economy and mentality of Cape Breton at the time, the police investigation, the activities of Wood, MacNeil and Muise after the murders, their arrests and their trials. It is written by Phonse Jessome, the ATV/CTV reporter who was covering it at the time. Despite the subject matter, I liked the writing style and this book. It's a sad sad story that didn't have to happen.
Wood and MacNeil were given life sentences with no eligibility for parole for 25 years. Muise was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 20 years. He was released in 2012 with full parole and is apparently living in British Columbia.
From 1977 until 1983 (ages 15 to 21), I lived in Sydney River, a couple blocks from this McDonald's. By the time this incident happened in 1992, I was living here in Toronto. I had followed it on the news at that time and hadn't thought about it until I heard that Arlene had passed away.
The McDonald's was torn down in 2000 and another one is a couple blocks away. It sounds like it's just an empty lot now.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2018/08...
March 10, 2021
Sydney, Nova Scotia was the site of a horrible crime May 7, 1992. Three young men killed workers at a McDonald in the early morning (around 1 am), four people lost their life to this tragedy (one survived the night but died a couple of years ago). The community was completely shattered. The author was a journalist that covered the events and trials.
I thought this was well written, it goes into the details of the crime, the investigation and the trials. I got quite angry towards the end because I did not understand some of the families reactions and then it came back to me that this happened pre-9/11 and maybe my brain is now trained to think another way that at the time. Another thing I realized reading this is that I am so steeped in American laws and procedures (through media) that I didn't know some of my country's procedures circa 1992.
The book was written not long after the events, I researched what happened in the years since that's how I know about one of the victim having died more recently and that some of the killers are walking free now. I wonder too if some of the mothers of the victims are not in some way responsible for the introduction of consecutive life sentences into our justice system because that's what they were fighting for when the book was written.
This is an absorbing and disturbing read. The emotions were still very raw at the time of publications, I felt them very much... the sadness, the anger, the incomprehension. Very good book for fans of true crime, it's not just facts; this one has a heart.
I thought this was well written, it goes into the details of the crime, the investigation and the trials. I got quite angry towards the end because I did not understand some of the families reactions and then it came back to me that this happened pre-9/11 and maybe my brain is now trained to think another way that at the time. Another thing I realized reading this is that I am so steeped in American laws and procedures (through media) that I didn't know some of my country's procedures circa 1992.
The book was written not long after the events, I researched what happened in the years since that's how I know about one of the victim having died more recently and that some of the killers are walking free now. I wonder too if some of the mothers of the victims are not in some way responsible for the introduction of consecutive life sentences into our justice system because that's what they were fighting for when the book was written.
This is an absorbing and disturbing read. The emotions were still very raw at the time of publications, I felt them very much... the sadness, the anger, the incomprehension. Very good book for fans of true crime, it's not just facts; this one has a heart.
April 8, 2020
Finished 2 days ago or so.
This was an interesting and sad case and I thought it well written.
This was a sad case all around. People died, families suffering forever and parents of the criminals are also victims.
That being said
This was an interesting and sad case and I thought it well written.
This was a sad case all around. People died, families suffering forever and parents of the criminals are also victims.
That being said
July 14, 2016
Turgid writing mars what could have been a compelling exploration of the shockwaves created by a crime in small-town Canada. The author fairly clobbers you with "it was the last time she saw him" and "little did the know, they would never get the chance to say goodbye" - either the author doesn't trust the reader (I mean show don't tell, Jaysus!) or thinks we are all sociopaths that can't understand human emotion without a roadmap. Just read In Cold Blood.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 9, 2017
It was an interesting story of how the actions of three young men, touched the lives of an entire community. However, the first half of the book was long, tedious and drawn out. Then, the author seems to be rushing the second half of the book, as if he had completed his storytelling before the book was finish.
August 10, 2024
Interesting case of murder & mayhem that happened outside the United States for a change. Multiple murders occurring after hours in a Canadian McDonalds. Written by a man that was a news reporter who ended up covering the trials of all the suspects. Well done and as usual in these cases even though convictions were made there really ended up being no winners. A good read.
December 27, 2017
I'm a true crime junkie, but it's been awhile since I've actually sat down with a book (apart from movies and television shows, news, etc) and gone through one this way. Especially one that hits especially close to home based on location, etc.
It's a crime that happened when I was twelve, so it doesn't surprise me too much that it's one I didn't know had taken place, even knowing that the majority of my family is from that side of the country. Reading about it now, twenty-five years after the fact, when at least one of the perpetrators has served his sentence and been released, it was chilling.
I'd venture to say as chilling to me now, as it was to an entire province, an entire country, really, all of those years ago.
For the most part, I think this was a very detailed telling of the crime, including all the different people involved in it. The police, prosecutors, the perpetrators, and the victims and their families. I think it was written in a very carefully put together way that showed all ends and didn't pick sides.
I did have issues throughout this story in what felt like examples of things and locations and people being given that didn't really further the case itself along in any way and seemed like page filler, but apart from those instances, they did seem to cover everything I would want to know in a case like this, given the time period it was written in.
It was an eye-opener of sorts for me because even though it happens everywhere, I never would have figured it could touch somewhere that always seems so serene compared to where I live in Toronto, in Nova Scotia. It was definitely one of the most horrific crimes of its time and I'm sure based on all of the news broadcasts I went and watched since, especially as it pertains to the anniversaries of the events that happened this year, it's one that will never be forgotten.
My heart goes out to the families of the three people lost and the one young woman that survived. I can only imagine how you must have felt through this entire event and how you still must feel now, so many, many, years later. I can only hope that in the time that's passed, they've been able to find some measure of peace, despite the brutality that put them on the path of finding peace at all.
It's a crime that happened when I was twelve, so it doesn't surprise me too much that it's one I didn't know had taken place, even knowing that the majority of my family is from that side of the country. Reading about it now, twenty-five years after the fact, when at least one of the perpetrators has served his sentence and been released, it was chilling.
I'd venture to say as chilling to me now, as it was to an entire province, an entire country, really, all of those years ago.
For the most part, I think this was a very detailed telling of the crime, including all the different people involved in it. The police, prosecutors, the perpetrators, and the victims and their families. I think it was written in a very carefully put together way that showed all ends and didn't pick sides.
I did have issues throughout this story in what felt like examples of things and locations and people being given that didn't really further the case itself along in any way and seemed like page filler, but apart from those instances, they did seem to cover everything I would want to know in a case like this, given the time period it was written in.
It was an eye-opener of sorts for me because even though it happens everywhere, I never would have figured it could touch somewhere that always seems so serene compared to where I live in Toronto, in Nova Scotia. It was definitely one of the most horrific crimes of its time and I'm sure based on all of the news broadcasts I went and watched since, especially as it pertains to the anniversaries of the events that happened this year, it's one that will never be forgotten.
My heart goes out to the families of the three people lost and the one young woman that survived. I can only imagine how you must have felt through this entire event and how you still must feel now, so many, many, years later. I can only hope that in the time that's passed, they've been able to find some measure of peace, despite the brutality that put them on the path of finding peace at all.
May 19, 2017
Very good book written by a journalist who was raised in the town in which the murders took place. The story is not only about the senseless and very violent murder of three people and the permanent damaging of a fourth person, but also how the community pulled together to help those families, the other employees at the McDonald's, and the community as a whole to hold itself together and to get through a horrific time. The author did an excellent job of describing what happened the night of the murders and became the conduit to the community on the happenings throughout the investigation, to the arrests of the suspects and throughout the trial.
February 2, 2018
Interesting and comprehensive
This is both a heart rending story and a fascinating look at a crime that rocked Canada. Here in California, we have the memories of the San Ysidro McDonald's shooting, but I had no idea that Canada had had it's own tragedy at the Golden Arches.
The author is very good at bringing home the tragedy while not overloading the reader with emotion, letting the story be told without distraction while maintaining the respect for the dead and their families that it is so easy to lose.
This is both a heart rending story and a fascinating look at a crime that rocked Canada. Here in California, we have the memories of the San Ysidro McDonald's shooting, but I had no idea that Canada had had it's own tragedy at the Golden Arches.
The author is very good at bringing home the tragedy while not overloading the reader with emotion, letting the story be told without distraction while maintaining the respect for the dead and their families that it is so easy to lose.
January 28, 2022
The first book I've read about a major Canadian crime. This is a well-written book and a reasonably fast read. Showed the struggle that the affected families had from finding out their loved ones were dead and then watching the trials of the three accused. It appears that Canadians have the same justice issues we experience in the United States. Victim families say they have no rights while the accused seem to have all sorts of rights. I'll never look at a McDonald's restaurant the same way ever again.
March 10, 2022
Brutal is the first word that comes to mind. This is a very good book about a brutal, senseless, heinous crime. It is very well-written (though excessively wordy at times, I think) and takes the reader step-by-step through the execution of the crime, the investigation, and the criminal trials. Jessome does an excellent job portraying the grief of the families -- the siblings' reactions, in particular, really stand out to me. I cried multiple times: powerful, emotional writing. I am glad I read this and learned about a part of my province's history that I was too young to remember at the time.
January 15, 2019
Fascinating book!
This book offers a detailed account of the Sydney River, Nova Scotia murders at McDonald's in 1992, the trials of the accused murderers and the aftermath of the trials. It is written by a veteran reporter who was raised in the area where the crimes occurred. I highly recommend it to other true crime readers.
This book offers a detailed account of the Sydney River, Nova Scotia murders at McDonald's in 1992, the trials of the accused murderers and the aftermath of the trials. It is written by a veteran reporter who was raised in the area where the crimes occurred. I highly recommend it to other true crime readers.
January 13, 2023
I was 9 years old at the time of the McDonald’s murders but remember it like it was yesterday. We often visited that particular McDonald’s but not after 3 life’s were lost, one left with permanent scars, and so many lives changed forever. Phones Jessome did a fantastic job of recounting this story while remaining respectful to the families of the victims and the families of the killers.
June 11, 2017
Not just a case, but giving a voice to the victims
There is so much information about the families and the consequences. It is not just a case. It is a story of families who lost loved ones. There are a lot of personal stories that make these people very real.
There is so much information about the families and the consequences. It is not just a case. It is a story of families who lost loved ones. There are a lot of personal stories that make these people very real.
June 26, 2019
A good read about a tragic triple murder in Canada. It turns out Canada suffers from the same problems with their justice system as America does. This book a does a great job of showing these flaws and also what the families of the victims must suffer through.
January 18, 2020
I really enjoyed this book! The author covered this crime for his local tv station and tells the story with integrity. He doesn’t over sensationalize the story and includes how the case impacted him personally as well. Very well written!
June 25, 2020
Told what happened in the first chapter, so not a lot of suspense. Interesting commentary on small towns and the impact of “ordinary boys” known in the community . Written by att reporter, needs paragraphs. Needed more personal narrative.
Needed paragraphs!
Needed paragraphs!
June 27, 2023
Although telling a true story it is very boring!
I enjoy true crime novels immensely and don't read much else. This novel however was written with such slow details that I found it difficult to get through.
I do wish that it was taken to a faster pace
I enjoy true crime novels immensely and don't read much else. This novel however was written with such slow details that I found it difficult to get through.
I do wish that it was taken to a faster pace
December 17, 2023
Will forever look at my local McDonald's differently
Another crime that totally passed me by. The subject is horrendous but the story telling is very good. I felt like I was walking through the crime scene and sitting in the courtroom.
Another crime that totally passed me by. The subject is horrendous but the story telling is very good. I felt like I was walking through the crime scene and sitting in the courtroom.
July 28, 2017
Comprehensive
The way the Author described the suspects and the scene of the crime. It felt like I knew not only the victims but also the suspects
The way the Author described the suspects and the scene of the crime. It felt like I knew not only the victims but also the suspects
January 15, 2018
Murder
Good read not great but a tell tale story of a terrible crime and the aftermath of the vicitims family as well as the murderd family
Good read not great but a tell tale story of a terrible crime and the aftermath of the vicitims family as well as the murderd family
March 26, 2018
Well written true-crime story that takes place in 1990's Canada. The book covers events from the crime thru the end of the trials.
November 3, 2018
Excellent recounting of a horrible event.
January 15, 2020
A great book
This book is very different from what I usually read. Because of its accuracy and detail it is not a book for the squeamish.
This book is very different from what I usually read. Because of its accuracy and detail it is not a book for the squeamish.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews