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A Kitchen Painted in Blood: The Unsolved Disappearance of Joan Risch
On October 24, 1961, Massachusetts wife and mother Joan Risch vanished seemingly into thin air. Even with her children home and neighbors nearby, Joan disappeared from her upscale suburban house, never to be heard from again. The search that followed was one of the most intensive investigations of its time, but detectives were unable to identify any suspects.
Using extensive police casefiles and hundreds of newspaper articles written about the disappearance, this book carefully explores the story of Joan Risch and the investigation into her disappearance. With the assistance of a former FBI criminal profiler and an LA cold case detective, this book reports previously undisclosed facts from the investigation, including multiple witness statements. Also evaluated are the numerous theories on the disappearance, ultimately revealing a possible explanation of what happened to Joan Risch that fateful October afternoon.
Using extensive police casefiles and hundreds of newspaper articles written about the disappearance, this book carefully explores the story of Joan Risch and the investigation into her disappearance. With the assistance of a former FBI criminal profiler and an LA cold case detective, this book reports previously undisclosed facts from the investigation, including multiple witness statements. Also evaluated are the numerous theories on the disappearance, ultimately revealing a possible explanation of what happened to Joan Risch that fateful October afternoon.
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
403 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 14, 2020
25 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 13, 2024
Ever since I first heard about the Joan Risch case on some kind of true crime video, I have been fascinated by it. The story of a woman, who in 1961, vanished from her own home (while her toddler was napping upstairs) and left a bloody scene in the kitchen, is a terrifying thought.
And while Ahern did an incredible amount of research, I just felt like much of this was just a rehashing of the case, nothing new. At times the author got too bogged down in reminding the reader of the time of everything, which is good. But at the same time it got too detailed at times. However, I did like the photos of the house and the maps, that was helpful.
And while Ahern did an incredible amount of research, I just felt like much of this was just a rehashing of the case, nothing new. At times the author got too bogged down in reminding the reader of the time of everything, which is good. But at the same time it got too detailed at times. However, I did like the photos of the house and the maps, that was helpful.
March 25, 2024
A bit rambling but subject matter is fascinating. I think we’ve solved the mystery of what happened to Joan Risch with all these details and police reports.
I grew up in Lincoln and born just months before Joan disappeared. If you’re from Lincoln, you’ll enjoy all the nostalgic memory joggers of businesses and features of Lincoln and surrounding towns in the 60’s. I’ve recommended this book to other fellow Lincolnites who grew up with this story. We continue to be mystified by this story but now it seems to make more sense.
I grew up in Lincoln and born just months before Joan disappeared. If you’re from Lincoln, you’ll enjoy all the nostalgic memory joggers of businesses and features of Lincoln and surrounding towns in the 60’s. I’ve recommended this book to other fellow Lincolnites who grew up with this story. We continue to be mystified by this story but now it seems to make more sense.
February 12, 2024
2.5. I was given this book by a friend and I knew nothing of this case, and I am definitely now more intrigued. However, this was truly the most repetitive book I’ve ever read, and I think this could easily be slimmed into an article. The author is extremely researched on the topic, so I admire his dedication, but the writing skills to create a captivating book are not present.
June 9, 2022
“Mommy is gone, and the kitchen is covered in red paint,” four-year-old Lillian Risch tells her next-door neighbor, after she returned home to find blood on the kitchen floor, she thought was red paint.
I so wanted to read this book. The title alone had me curious. “A Kitchen Painted in Blood” is the book version of the mystery that has been described in local newspapers over the years. A 60-year-old cold case with many questions still remaining. I had two. Why was there blood in the kitchen and was the book written by a family member? The author is Stephen H. Ahern, and he was 12-years-old living not too far from the road Risch disappeared from. Someone who knows a little more than the average onlooker. And being a corporate and commercial lawyer in Massachusetts and Maryland for over 40 years, that didn’t hurt.
Ahern portrays his remembrance of the Joan Risch disappearance case. A 31-year-old Massachusetts housewife who is nowhere to be found during the afternoon of October 24, 1961, when her daughter returned home to find blood on the kitchen floor, she thought was red paint. Police believed Risch might have committed suicide and searched the house for her body. What they found was her two-year-old son safe asleep in his room.
The author has researched not only the victim and her family, but the victim’s house, her background information, the neighborhood and even the traffic pattern of the location. He also provides detailed maps, photos and detailed descriptions. Which is good to know the area and the history of the location in which she went missing, but I don’t want to keep reading about all of that. Just tell the story as it relates to the murder scene. It’s well researched, but it drags a little.
I’ve read many case files and articles on this unsolved case and Ahern’s book is just as mysterious. How are there no bloody footprints, no evidence and no suspects in a kitchen full of blood with neighbors all around? The investigators wondered the same thing and even pointed out that Risch’s case is similar to the case in one of the books she checked out weeks before her disappearance. Investigators believe that Risch may have faked her own abduction.
“A Kitchen Painted in Blood” is absolutely a true-crime junkie and unsolved mystery lovers’ kind of book.
4 STARS for accurate storytelling.
I so wanted to read this book. The title alone had me curious. “A Kitchen Painted in Blood” is the book version of the mystery that has been described in local newspapers over the years. A 60-year-old cold case with many questions still remaining. I had two. Why was there blood in the kitchen and was the book written by a family member? The author is Stephen H. Ahern, and he was 12-years-old living not too far from the road Risch disappeared from. Someone who knows a little more than the average onlooker. And being a corporate and commercial lawyer in Massachusetts and Maryland for over 40 years, that didn’t hurt.
Ahern portrays his remembrance of the Joan Risch disappearance case. A 31-year-old Massachusetts housewife who is nowhere to be found during the afternoon of October 24, 1961, when her daughter returned home to find blood on the kitchen floor, she thought was red paint. Police believed Risch might have committed suicide and searched the house for her body. What they found was her two-year-old son safe asleep in his room.
The author has researched not only the victim and her family, but the victim’s house, her background information, the neighborhood and even the traffic pattern of the location. He also provides detailed maps, photos and detailed descriptions. Which is good to know the area and the history of the location in which she went missing, but I don’t want to keep reading about all of that. Just tell the story as it relates to the murder scene. It’s well researched, but it drags a little.
I’ve read many case files and articles on this unsolved case and Ahern’s book is just as mysterious. How are there no bloody footprints, no evidence and no suspects in a kitchen full of blood with neighbors all around? The investigators wondered the same thing and even pointed out that Risch’s case is similar to the case in one of the books she checked out weeks before her disappearance. Investigators believe that Risch may have faked her own abduction.
“A Kitchen Painted in Blood” is absolutely a true-crime junkie and unsolved mystery lovers’ kind of book.
4 STARS for accurate storytelling.
January 20, 2025
Red spots cover the walls and floor as little Lillian enters her kitchen. The telephone receiver is ripped out of the wall, and her two-year-old brother is crying in his crib upstairs. There's no one around, and Mommy is missing. So she sits herself down on the stairs and waits until Mommy comes back, but she doesn't. A Kitchen Painted in Blood by Stephen H. Ahern is a true crime story that investigates the disappearance of Joan Risch, which continues to be dubbed 'the most mysterious case in Middlesex County history'. Where did she go and who could have taken her is answered by Stephen Ahern as he delves into Joan's life and sheds light on who the real Joan Risch is.
I was in awe of the detail and quality of the author's work. Every point was driven by fact and not motivated by a biased opinion. The author's voice and writing style were light and friendly. I could relate to Joan's life and see her as a person who deserves justice rather than an object for the curious mind. I loved how the history of both the area and Joan's past was interwoven to form a picture of Joan's intellect. Her aspirations and goals as a housewife and her relationships with her family and neighbors depicted a story that touched my heart. It felt real to me. Like I knew Joan personally. People who are familiar with this case or have an interest in true crime should give this book a try. The amount of research will blow you away!
I was in awe of the detail and quality of the author's work. Every point was driven by fact and not motivated by a biased opinion. The author's voice and writing style were light and friendly. I could relate to Joan's life and see her as a person who deserves justice rather than an object for the curious mind. I loved how the history of both the area and Joan's past was interwoven to form a picture of Joan's intellect. Her aspirations and goals as a housewife and her relationships with her family and neighbors depicted a story that touched my heart. It felt real to me. Like I knew Joan personally. People who are familiar with this case or have an interest in true crime should give this book a try. The amount of research will blow you away!
September 19, 2025
The is one of the most thoroughly researched and detailed true crime books I have ever read. I would consider it THE definitive book on the disappearance of Joan Risch. Most true crime content creators (YouTubers, podcasters, etc) only regurgitate this case's few well-known facts that have proliferated in true crime spaces online. But Stephen Ahern actually did his research, referring to the police files and consulting experts. I have known about this case for years, but this book gave me more than any article or video ever did - an understanding of who Joan was, what her neighborhood and town was like, and what was going on in her life when she disappeared - and ultimately a picture of what most likely happened the day she was last seen.
The writing itself was excellent. Detailed but never dry. The author's compassion for Joan and her family is reflected in how he wrote about them.
Anyone who wants to know more about this case should read this book.
The writing itself was excellent. Detailed but never dry. The author's compassion for Joan and her family is reflected in how he wrote about them.
Anyone who wants to know more about this case should read this book.
December 13, 2023
review
I’ve long been interested in what happened to Joan. Most of what I’ve read over time seemed to be pure speculation. This author has reviewed this case meticulously and has taken the several possibilities about her disappearance and followed them to logical conclusions.
Here’s hoping that someday we’ll find out what did happen to Joan Risch. No one should be lost, no one should just disappear off of the face of the Earth, as she seems to have, and certainly for at least her family’s sake it would be in some small way comforting to them if the truth, and hopefully her, were to be discovered.
I’ve long been interested in what happened to Joan. Most of what I’ve read over time seemed to be pure speculation. This author has reviewed this case meticulously and has taken the several possibilities about her disappearance and followed them to logical conclusions.
Here’s hoping that someday we’ll find out what did happen to Joan Risch. No one should be lost, no one should just disappear off of the face of the Earth, as she seems to have, and certainly for at least her family’s sake it would be in some small way comforting to them if the truth, and hopefully her, were to be discovered.
January 13, 2023
Excellent. A truly superior "true crime" book about a highly unusual and still mysterious crime. Highly readable, factual, not lurid. Author organizes the material very well. Intelligent speculation about what really happened but doesn't push his opinions too hard. Nuanced and sensitive to the human reality of the case, without being sentimental. Evokes the time and place credibly. Documents all his sources carefully (but the footnotes don't interrupt enjoyment of the text). I hope Mr Ahern writes more.
June 26, 2025
Good writing! Interesting true crime
The author is a retired lawyer writing about a case he heard about growing up. He analyzes the times, the missing mother disappeared in the early 1960s. He is very balanced as he recreates the police investigation, the family situation, the neighborhood.
The book flows, not dry at all. I became part of the 1960s setting as I read about it. Not blood and guts, instead a real re-examining of what happened to this young mom all those years ago.
Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys true crime and good writing.
The author is a retired lawyer writing about a case he heard about growing up. He analyzes the times, the missing mother disappeared in the early 1960s. He is very balanced as he recreates the police investigation, the family situation, the neighborhood.
The book flows, not dry at all. I became part of the 1960s setting as I read about it. Not blood and guts, instead a real re-examining of what happened to this young mom all those years ago.
Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys true crime and good writing.
June 30, 2022
Excellent work
Stephen H. Ahern does an excellent job bringing this missing persons case to light. His writing is succinct and analytical. However, this does not mean he ignores the emotional toll that the tragic loss of Joan Risch has cost her family and friends. Some things cannot be forgotten. This case has stayed with Mr. Ahern since he was a boy. I’m glad he decided to write this book.
Stephen H. Ahern does an excellent job bringing this missing persons case to light. His writing is succinct and analytical. However, this does not mean he ignores the emotional toll that the tragic loss of Joan Risch has cost her family and friends. Some things cannot be forgotten. This case has stayed with Mr. Ahern since he was a boy. I’m glad he decided to write this book.
May 5, 2025
I couldn’t put it down! This book was well researched and captivating. I just want to know what happened and I feel like it will never be solved. If you like true crime this book is for you! Amazing read and I can’t stop thinking about it!
December 31, 2021
Interesting case.
Interesting case. Good read. I don't know what else to say but I need 17 more words. Ok... three more words.
Interesting case. Good read. I don't know what else to say but I need 17 more words. Ok... three more words.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews