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The Murdered Family: Mystery of the Wolf Family Murders
Based on a true story about the mass murder of a farm family, The Murdered Family raises questions about the guilt of the man convicted of the crime. A wave of fear sweeps across the barren prairies of central North Dakota in April of 1920 with the tragic news that seven members of a farm family and their hired boy have been brutally murdered at their home just north of Turtle Lake in McLean County. A massive search for the killers begins immediately in the midst of an intense statewide election campaign. Three weeks later, eager investigators encouraged by nervous politicians get a signed confession from one of the prime suspects in the case. He is sentenced that same day to life in the state penitentiary in what the New York Times referred to then as ''the most rapid administration of justice in the country.'' From the beginning, the man denies his guilt and says his confession was obtained under duress, intimidation and fear. In November, his lawyers file a motion in district court asking that his plea of guilty be withdrawn and for a trial upon the merits. Their motion is strengthened when some new evidence is discovered on the Wolf family farm only days before the motion is filed. Some ninety years later, people in the area still recall the words the convicted man was supposed to have ''My eyes have seen but my hands are clean!''
347 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2010
36 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 30, 2011
This is based on a true story that happened in my hometown of Turtle Lake, North Dakota in 1910. The Wolf family gravesite at our local cemetary was a popular destination for bike rides and picnics where we could scare each other with ghost stories from this real-life horror movie plot. A family of 7 and their hired boy were slaughtered in mid-day on their farm in 1910 and to this day many people still believe the wrong man took the fall. It was fun for me to read, having grown up there knowing so many of the families involved, but Vernon Keel is a journalist, and not much of a novelist, so the writing is pretty dry. This is subject matter Stephen King would have written with much more punch, or a good murder mystery writer. This drifts too far into state politics and loses it's narrative. So, you'll love it if you come from McLean county, otherwise, you may want to pass.
October 11, 2016
Several people have told me how good this book is, but I don't feel that way. I thought the dialogue was stilted and the rest to be tedious to read. It's interesting, especially if you are from the local area. Unlike some others, I , however, don't think he did it.
January 26, 2012
The writing was poor, the dialogue abysmal, but the story kept me hooked. Of regional interest.
November 18, 2018
First of all, I’m not sure how this book got marked as “nonfiction” under genres here on GoodReads but that is inaccurate. While it is based on true events, court documents, etc.. this book is historical fiction. We’ll get into that in a second.
So, I’m a born and raised North Dakotan. I live about an hour away from Turtle Lake. Thanks to my best friend, who was born and raised in Turtle Lake, I know two things about this town: #1. The Wolf Murders. #2. The town chose to build a giant turtle statue instead of a community swimming pool. So I was aware of this story going in.. I’d seen the graves, I think my friend has even taken me past where the Wolf farm was.
I tell you this because the ONLY reason I gave this a generous two stars is because there’s a pretty good chance I’m related to someone who knows the author or because my best friend knows relatives of the people in the book (because ND is small and that’s how it works here.) While the story of the Wolf murders is fascinating, this book is a mess.
My first issue, is that this book could have probably been half the length. Much of the novel is spent repeating the same information over and over and over and over... Whenever a new detail about the crime, investigation, or the trial emerges, we basically get to see the entire investigation team and various town members telling each other the same thing one at a time. The only good thing about it being so repetitive is that when we start getting into the very lengthy and dull legal proceedings, it gets real easy to skim through the book. You likely won’t miss any information because everything is repeated multiple times.
Alright, this was written as historical fiction. That was a.. choice. It straddles a very weird line between fact and fiction. I wondered why the author decided to go that route. Well, as luck would have it.. I stumbled across an interview with the author on a podcast called Most Notorious. He states the reason he went for fiction was because it always bothered him growing up that the victims were just always names on paper so he wanted to give them personality, especially the kids. The family is alive for literally one chapter. Just a few pages. We learn they have hopes and dreams just like normal people. So, what was the point of writing as historical fiction again..?
The author also at one point during the interview said that nothing in this novel deviates from the facts. Let’s talk about chapter 22. (So spoiler alert?) A reporter starts digging and discovers that there’s some legitimacy to what the convicted man was claiming: that somebody else did it! Holy crap! Could this random insane Swedish guy really have been the murderer the whole time?! The timeline matches up! This is the most interesting part of the book! Cut to the afterword, where the author explains that everything in the novel is based on real sources...... except Chapters 21... and 22. WHAT?! So there is no Swedish mystery guy? Ugh... despite everything being factual, the most intriguing part of the book isn’t real.
My final annoyance is something that goes back to what I mentioned in the beginning...how it was likely that I know someone who knows someone involved in this whole thing. There’s this extremely common thing that happens with historical books about North Dakota written by North Dakotans.. names of people are just kind of thrown in regardless if they have anything to actually do with what’s happening. Why? Because small towns.. and when locals pick up the novel they can say “Oh!!! That’s my neighbor’s father-in-law!!!”. So be prepared for full names of people who are mentioned once and never again!
In conclusion, I truly wish this would have been written differently. It’s a small, but important, part of North Dakota history. Plus, the Wolf Murders legend has all the elements that Making a Murder, My Favorite Murder, and all the other popular true crime media fans go crazy for.. (Whodunit?! Botched investigation?! Gruesome murder?!).. Instead, it just gave me a headache.
(Oh. By the way... Have no fear, the author has also written a screenplay............)
So, I’m a born and raised North Dakotan. I live about an hour away from Turtle Lake. Thanks to my best friend, who was born and raised in Turtle Lake, I know two things about this town: #1. The Wolf Murders. #2. The town chose to build a giant turtle statue instead of a community swimming pool. So I was aware of this story going in.. I’d seen the graves, I think my friend has even taken me past where the Wolf farm was.
I tell you this because the ONLY reason I gave this a generous two stars is because there’s a pretty good chance I’m related to someone who knows the author or because my best friend knows relatives of the people in the book (because ND is small and that’s how it works here.) While the story of the Wolf murders is fascinating, this book is a mess.
My first issue, is that this book could have probably been half the length. Much of the novel is spent repeating the same information over and over and over and over... Whenever a new detail about the crime, investigation, or the trial emerges, we basically get to see the entire investigation team and various town members telling each other the same thing one at a time. The only good thing about it being so repetitive is that when we start getting into the very lengthy and dull legal proceedings, it gets real easy to skim through the book. You likely won’t miss any information because everything is repeated multiple times.
Alright, this was written as historical fiction. That was a.. choice. It straddles a very weird line between fact and fiction. I wondered why the author decided to go that route. Well, as luck would have it.. I stumbled across an interview with the author on a podcast called Most Notorious. He states the reason he went for fiction was because it always bothered him growing up that the victims were just always names on paper so he wanted to give them personality, especially the kids. The family is alive for literally one chapter. Just a few pages. We learn they have hopes and dreams just like normal people. So, what was the point of writing as historical fiction again..?
The author also at one point during the interview said that nothing in this novel deviates from the facts. Let’s talk about chapter 22. (So spoiler alert?) A reporter starts digging and discovers that there’s some legitimacy to what the convicted man was claiming: that somebody else did it! Holy crap! Could this random insane Swedish guy really have been the murderer the whole time?! The timeline matches up! This is the most interesting part of the book! Cut to the afterword, where the author explains that everything in the novel is based on real sources...... except Chapters 21... and 22. WHAT?! So there is no Swedish mystery guy? Ugh... despite everything being factual, the most intriguing part of the book isn’t real.
My final annoyance is something that goes back to what I mentioned in the beginning...how it was likely that I know someone who knows someone involved in this whole thing. There’s this extremely common thing that happens with historical books about North Dakota written by North Dakotans.. names of people are just kind of thrown in regardless if they have anything to actually do with what’s happening. Why? Because small towns.. and when locals pick up the novel they can say “Oh!!! That’s my neighbor’s father-in-law!!!”. So be prepared for full names of people who are mentioned once and never again!
In conclusion, I truly wish this would have been written differently. It’s a small, but important, part of North Dakota history. Plus, the Wolf Murders legend has all the elements that Making a Murder, My Favorite Murder, and all the other popular true crime media fans go crazy for.. (Whodunit?! Botched investigation?! Gruesome murder?!).. Instead, it just gave me a headache.
(Oh. By the way... Have no fear, the author has also written a screenplay............)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 17, 2019
Where do I start with this book? It’s such a mess, truly a disaster from start to finish.
First, let’s start with it’s genre. Despite what people seem to believe about it, this is not a nonfiction book. This is a historical fiction novel based on true events. Yes, most of the information is available via public records, but let’s be honest; there’s a lot of speculation and artistic license thrown in as well. And the author readily admits, the last two chapters are a complete fabrication. So while I know lots of people believe that the premise of this book is correct, this book is not good enough proof that that’s true. Had Vernon Keel written a truly nonfiction book with cited source materials that could back that up, maybe I’d be convinced, but the book that he wrote, definitely doesn’t make me think his theory is correct.
Second, I will admit I was shocked at how bad of a writer he is. Maybe it’s because he’s a journalist, not a novelist, but lots of journalists make the switch to fiction and write well-written novels, so I don’t think it can be all blamed on his usual style. The writing didn’t flow at all, the dialogue was so clunky and awkward, and the book was so repetitive. It definitely needed an editor.
The story is interesting and I believe it would have been much more successful as a well-researched nonfiction or long article. Writing it as a novel, to me, felt like a lazy way to avoid having to prove his theory or do more research than reading old newspapers and listening to Turtle Lake gossip.
First, let’s start with it’s genre. Despite what people seem to believe about it, this is not a nonfiction book. This is a historical fiction novel based on true events. Yes, most of the information is available via public records, but let’s be honest; there’s a lot of speculation and artistic license thrown in as well. And the author readily admits, the last two chapters are a complete fabrication. So while I know lots of people believe that the premise of this book is correct, this book is not good enough proof that that’s true. Had Vernon Keel written a truly nonfiction book with cited source materials that could back that up, maybe I’d be convinced, but the book that he wrote, definitely doesn’t make me think his theory is correct.
Second, I will admit I was shocked at how bad of a writer he is. Maybe it’s because he’s a journalist, not a novelist, but lots of journalists make the switch to fiction and write well-written novels, so I don’t think it can be all blamed on his usual style. The writing didn’t flow at all, the dialogue was so clunky and awkward, and the book was so repetitive. It definitely needed an editor.
The story is interesting and I believe it would have been much more successful as a well-researched nonfiction or long article. Writing it as a novel, to me, felt like a lazy way to avoid having to prove his theory or do more research than reading old newspapers and listening to Turtle Lake gossip.
October 6, 2010
Read for book club. Will have a guest speaker at our book club who is a descendant of the only family member who was not murdered. I would not have waded through the book otherwise.
February 25, 2013
This story is a truthful accounting, a part of the history of North Dakota; the names of all the people involved at the time are accurate and have not been changed. This may be interesting simply because some historians may not like to see a North Dakota governor, judge, or sheriff credited with contributing to such a grave injustice. This murder took place in central North Dakota in April of 1920.
The farmer is physically and mentally distressed by systematic inquiry that is morally wrong and unhelpful. The sheriff and judge, through spurring and goading, rouse the community to heightened action, and the poor farmer, although besieged, tries to be cooperative and in good faith. But from shock of the trauma, the poor farmer has to emphatically and resolutely insist again and again that he had been coerced and deceived into signing a document with a series of sentences not organized and not coherent, or even all related to the crime.
The book might not get the credit it deserves because the retelling of events is often repeated as the poor farmer denies guilt and repeatedly says his signed confession was obtained under duress, intimidation and fear. The book is easy to read quickly & revealing about some basic human behaviors.
When no one speaks up about the bully tactics (to solve a crime) used by eager investigators (encouraged by nervous politicians), the resulting fear produces a “spiral of silence”. It's called a “pluralistic ignorance” when most individual members of a community do not believe the investigators' suspicions but mistakenly go along with the presumptions made by the investigators and politicians. In general this is what happened in this farming community, the community norms allowed the injustices to prevail. The author, Vernon Keel, also recognizes that within the community there were some skeptics and at least one eventually has a chance to connect socially, but unfortunately did not connect timely, but there is more to be discovered by the reader.
It comes as a surprise to the reader when there is, in the local meeting place, a discussion among the farmers that seems to address the pluralistic ignorance. The reader feels some relief and wonders why the obvious, more coherent scenarios that now seem obvious weren't previously considered.
The primal fears associated with this horrific event play on the reader, who feels helplessness and especially wants the investigators and politicians to leave the poor farmer alone, but inadvertently seems to be stunned. This emotion hits home in our time when our privacy and civil liberties are being threatened.
A young investigative journalist admirably tells this story, retracing the events published in the newspaper, visiting the communities and interviewing the longtime residents. I think this story, in many ways, is relevant to today.
Today cops can collect DNA when making an arrest, sometimes before charging a person with a crime. This practice poses a threat to the civil liberties of innocent people. The eager investigators in this situation are similar to today's private interests who would benefit every time a new mandatory DNA collection law is passed or a different DNA search technique is approved by Congress. Collection and testing programs designed by a private interest and hyped as a quick and easy way to get a crime solved accurately would certainly spur demand from every police precinct in the country, or the world.
However, DNA testing can be as confused and aimless as an anecdotal investigation? For instance, mistakes happen, and "results from crime-scene samples are generally not in pristine laboratory condition but contain a mix of material from multiple individuals. Analyzing those mixtures is a highly subjective process." Using DNA test results without a coherent investigation can be like an accusation based on the hat that a person is wearing; or (in this story) an argument over a cow, an argument that took place several years prior to the crime.
We do not have a compulsory national fingerprint programs for crime control, so why should we need compulsory DNA testing and a national data base? The Constitution prohibits officers from arresting you if you refuse to tell them your name, absent a reasonable suspicion, so what is a reasonable suspicion? Is DNA a reasonable suspicion? In this story the "reasonable suspicion" was, at first, an old rumor, the argument about a cow straying into the neighbor's pasture, but then it seems the enforcement felt that they had to prove to the voters that they were capable of solving a crime and, either knowingly or by inadvertently trying to get the crime solved quickly, created through intimidation and fear a “pluralistic ignorance” which the poor farmer and the community fell victim to. We can't individually protect our freedoms if a fearful community relies on "generalization" for the safety of the community.
This story is not a witch hunt, but rather the investigators and politicians try to prove how good they are. They had no intention of recruiting alternative crime-scene investigators to provide different opinions. Nor would they be interested in supporting a bill to hire more lab technicians had there been fingerprints or DNA. Judicial "checks & balances" were ignored. For instance, the farmer's lawyer files a motion in district court asking that his plea of guilty be withdrawn and for a new trial upon the merits of the testimony and some new evidence that had been discovered; but the nervous judge (we vote for our judges) would not allow consideration of motion. It's hard to complain that your rights are invaded when law enforcement forces a confession, even if that confession is not related to the crime. Wouldn't you think that new evidence should be presented not simply to a judge, but in a court.
Today people, companies, law enforcement, and politically elected judges are no different than they were in 1920. This nation has a constitution with an original commitment to freedom from government intrusion into the lives of innocent people. In many ways everyone must help to protect our freedoms.
Furthermost, funding, instead of going toward collecting and storing the DNA should emphasize rehabilitation and credible investigations. In this story the poor farmer, a very cooperative man, should and could have been restored to a useful life, but it seems that that was the last thing the politicians, including the judge, would have wanted.
Scientific American Magazine, March 2013, has a related article by Erin Murphy: "THE GOVERNMENT WANTS YOUR DNA". This article reports that as few as 10 to 20 percent of crime scenes for most serious offenses are examined for evidence. The article says that "Crime-scene samples are generally not in pristine laboratory condition but contain a mix of material from multiple individuals. Analyzing those mixtures is a highly subjective process." The article also reveals names of private interests eager to lobby congress for your DNA and for the funding to provide the programs, instruments and the software necessary to interpret the results.
What's your opinion? What if you were arrested because you had a cow that strayed onto the neighbors property, or because you had a hat that looked like the hat of the perpetrator of a crime? Vernon Keel's true story: "The Murdered Family: Mystery of the Wolf Family Murders" seems like something we should all be aware of.
Mel
The farmer is physically and mentally distressed by systematic inquiry that is morally wrong and unhelpful. The sheriff and judge, through spurring and goading, rouse the community to heightened action, and the poor farmer, although besieged, tries to be cooperative and in good faith. But from shock of the trauma, the poor farmer has to emphatically and resolutely insist again and again that he had been coerced and deceived into signing a document with a series of sentences not organized and not coherent, or even all related to the crime.
The book might not get the credit it deserves because the retelling of events is often repeated as the poor farmer denies guilt and repeatedly says his signed confession was obtained under duress, intimidation and fear. The book is easy to read quickly & revealing about some basic human behaviors.
When no one speaks up about the bully tactics (to solve a crime) used by eager investigators (encouraged by nervous politicians), the resulting fear produces a “spiral of silence”. It's called a “pluralistic ignorance” when most individual members of a community do not believe the investigators' suspicions but mistakenly go along with the presumptions made by the investigators and politicians. In general this is what happened in this farming community, the community norms allowed the injustices to prevail. The author, Vernon Keel, also recognizes that within the community there were some skeptics and at least one eventually has a chance to connect socially, but unfortunately did not connect timely, but there is more to be discovered by the reader.
It comes as a surprise to the reader when there is, in the local meeting place, a discussion among the farmers that seems to address the pluralistic ignorance. The reader feels some relief and wonders why the obvious, more coherent scenarios that now seem obvious weren't previously considered.
The primal fears associated with this horrific event play on the reader, who feels helplessness and especially wants the investigators and politicians to leave the poor farmer alone, but inadvertently seems to be stunned. This emotion hits home in our time when our privacy and civil liberties are being threatened.
A young investigative journalist admirably tells this story, retracing the events published in the newspaper, visiting the communities and interviewing the longtime residents. I think this story, in many ways, is relevant to today.
Today cops can collect DNA when making an arrest, sometimes before charging a person with a crime. This practice poses a threat to the civil liberties of innocent people. The eager investigators in this situation are similar to today's private interests who would benefit every time a new mandatory DNA collection law is passed or a different DNA search technique is approved by Congress. Collection and testing programs designed by a private interest and hyped as a quick and easy way to get a crime solved accurately would certainly spur demand from every police precinct in the country, or the world.
However, DNA testing can be as confused and aimless as an anecdotal investigation? For instance, mistakes happen, and "results from crime-scene samples are generally not in pristine laboratory condition but contain a mix of material from multiple individuals. Analyzing those mixtures is a highly subjective process." Using DNA test results without a coherent investigation can be like an accusation based on the hat that a person is wearing; or (in this story) an argument over a cow, an argument that took place several years prior to the crime.
We do not have a compulsory national fingerprint programs for crime control, so why should we need compulsory DNA testing and a national data base? The Constitution prohibits officers from arresting you if you refuse to tell them your name, absent a reasonable suspicion, so what is a reasonable suspicion? Is DNA a reasonable suspicion? In this story the "reasonable suspicion" was, at first, an old rumor, the argument about a cow straying into the neighbor's pasture, but then it seems the enforcement felt that they had to prove to the voters that they were capable of solving a crime and, either knowingly or by inadvertently trying to get the crime solved quickly, created through intimidation and fear a “pluralistic ignorance” which the poor farmer and the community fell victim to. We can't individually protect our freedoms if a fearful community relies on "generalization" for the safety of the community.
This story is not a witch hunt, but rather the investigators and politicians try to prove how good they are. They had no intention of recruiting alternative crime-scene investigators to provide different opinions. Nor would they be interested in supporting a bill to hire more lab technicians had there been fingerprints or DNA. Judicial "checks & balances" were ignored. For instance, the farmer's lawyer files a motion in district court asking that his plea of guilty be withdrawn and for a new trial upon the merits of the testimony and some new evidence that had been discovered; but the nervous judge (we vote for our judges) would not allow consideration of motion. It's hard to complain that your rights are invaded when law enforcement forces a confession, even if that confession is not related to the crime. Wouldn't you think that new evidence should be presented not simply to a judge, but in a court.
Today people, companies, law enforcement, and politically elected judges are no different than they were in 1920. This nation has a constitution with an original commitment to freedom from government intrusion into the lives of innocent people. In many ways everyone must help to protect our freedoms.
Furthermost, funding, instead of going toward collecting and storing the DNA should emphasize rehabilitation and credible investigations. In this story the poor farmer, a very cooperative man, should and could have been restored to a useful life, but it seems that that was the last thing the politicians, including the judge, would have wanted.
Scientific American Magazine, March 2013, has a related article by Erin Murphy: "THE GOVERNMENT WANTS YOUR DNA". This article reports that as few as 10 to 20 percent of crime scenes for most serious offenses are examined for evidence. The article says that "Crime-scene samples are generally not in pristine laboratory condition but contain a mix of material from multiple individuals. Analyzing those mixtures is a highly subjective process." The article also reveals names of private interests eager to lobby congress for your DNA and for the funding to provide the programs, instruments and the software necessary to interpret the results.
What's your opinion? What if you were arrested because you had a cow that strayed onto the neighbors property, or because you had a hat that looked like the hat of the perpetrator of a crime? Vernon Keel's true story: "The Murdered Family: Mystery of the Wolf Family Murders" seems like something we should all be aware of.
Mel
September 2, 2020
2.5 ⭐️ Based on the true story of a murdered farm family in the early 1900’s. The story kept me interested but some parts of the book were hard to get through - not very well written and a lot of repetition.
March 23, 2012
This book provides great insight into one of the worst mass murders in North Dakota history. Although things tended to be repeated multiple times and there were quite a few grammatical errors, I really enjoyed this book. If you enjoy North Dakota history or true crime novels, this is the book for you.
January 15, 2024
I was hoping for an interesting read of a true life murder, but found this book tedious to read. The description of farm living 100 years ago was interesting though. But I was wishing I could hit “skip recap” after reading the details of Layer’s Thursday, the day of the murders, for the third time or fourth time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2010
I really liked this book. It was fascinating to me.
August 20, 2011
Very engrossing - you feel very much apart of the events
December 11, 2018
Repeat, repeat was all that I got out of this one. Started out great but didn't go anywhere.
August 2, 2022
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 3.5, for this one. Back in 2010, my Gramps gave this to me and told me to have a read. I was in North Dakota visiting my grandparents at the time. I only read the first 2 chapters and then literally bothered him for days, to take us all to Turtle Lake to see where the Wolf family (minus the baby- she was spared), and their hired boy were buried. That’s 8 total that were murdered on the Wolf’s family farm, back in 1920. Seeing the burial site in person is something I will never forget, and my Gramps hollering at me “Megs!!! They’re over here, c’mon!!!”— and me running through the cemetery to get to the area. Now I’ve finished the book and it, being Historical Fiction, was okay. I feel like the involvement of politics was off base a little bit. I feel confused, and a little mad because when all was said and done, there was no true answer as to who “actually” murdered the Wolf family and hired boy. A lot of the same things were repeatedly talked about, so I was like “alright, I get it!”… I also feel like there was some foul play with investigators against the man (Henry Layer) who confessed to the killings after “third degree treatment” until nearly 3AM (of course they all denied that- but I don’t believe them)- the barber saw the bruises and swelling on his head and face— then, the last 2 chapters had me intrigued- only to read a note from the author stating that the last 2 chapters were ENTIRELY FICTION. Ughhhh. I really thought we were getting somewhere but it was all a tall tale, in the final chapters. I’m glad I read it, it encouraged me to look up more on the Wolf murders on my own. Although my taste for historical fiction is rather bitter. Maybe others will change my mind?
May 11, 2017
Great insight into the murders of the Wolf family. The use of records and facts mixed with logical thoughts as to what was said between key parties during the investigation was incredibly helpful to gain an understanding of how murder investigations were handled in the early 1900s and in rural areas. I look forward to visiting the grave site to pay respects.
As far as the writing, it was slow in some areas and took some time to read but overall, incredibly informative. Sad that we still have so many unanswered questions.
As far as the writing, it was slow in some areas and took some time to read but overall, incredibly informative. Sad that we still have so many unanswered questions.
November 25, 2021
I really wanted to like this more, since I am from ND. It is very amazing to me that I can live in this state and not know of such a horrific event as the murder of the Wolf family. However, that really is how this case was handled. It was not investigated very thoroughly and perhaps the true killer was never found. A book is supposed to stimulate you to want to learn more so this book did that for me, unfortunately there is not enough research on this case.
March 10, 2019
As a lot of people have already said, this book contains poor writing and no editing. But as a North Dakota native and having heard a lot about this murder, it was fascinating to read a factual account of what happened. Although, the last two chapters were completely unnecessary as they were total fiction (as stated by the author).
April 12, 2018
Q: What’s more boring than a book that promises to be about a sensational murder, but ends up detailing North Dakota politics, and repeats the suspect’s confession page after page after page?
A: Nothing.
Less than 1 Star
A: Nothing.
Less than 1 Star
July 7, 2021
Interesting story, it’s based on real events. Unfortunately this book is not well written, very repetitive as if there was a word count requirement so the author just wrote the same thing over and over. The best part is the final two chapters which are all fiction but they were better prose.
October 8, 2019
Thoroughly researched historical fiction. Having never heard of this mass murder, I found the book to be written in the most interesting way.
November 19, 2019
I was surprised at how quickly I read this book. I am not familiar with the author, but the book held my interest.
April 20, 2020
I am a ND resident and grew up hearing about the Wolf family murders. I thought this was a well presented novelization.
June 26, 2020
The fact that it’s based on a true story is riveting. I was thinking the book would be more historical fact. All, in all, a good read with such a sad story. Two families shattered.
April 24, 2025
History of North Dakota
Fascinating story of a horrific crime in North Dakota. Gives you a glimpse of the layers of cultures that make up the fabric of the state
Fascinating story of a horrific crime in North Dakota. Gives you a glimpse of the layers of cultures that make up the fabric of the state
November 8, 2025
Very repetitive storyline. Same thing was stated over and over and over.
October 14, 2014
This is a fascinating story especially because I am a North Dakota girl but the writing is very stilted and almost reads like the about town column (if you are from a small town you will know what I am talking about).
This was such a horrible murder 8 people children included only one small baby survived and she was left in her crib alone for at least a day. You have to remember that this was the 1920’s so the way this case was handled and publicized was very different than it would have been handled today. The Sherriff from Bismarck seemed to have his suspicions about a neighbor right away and lo and behold not to long later this man Henry Layer confessed to the crime was booked and in the State penitentiary within days no trial no nothing he confessed and the judge sent him away. Soon thereafter Layer was making noise about his innocence and that he was beaten and coerced into making the confession, but no one would listen and he unfortunately died in prison within a few years.
There are so many unanswered questions in this case first and foremost how did one person shoot 3 people in the yard and 5 people in the house without one person running or getting away? A shotgun makes a very loud noise plus it needs to be re-loaded; how did this one man get the people to stay still while he reloaded the gun? This book does give us another suspect but that person died even before Layer did so it is all just speculation and I don’t think the full story of what happened that day will ever be known.
This book though poorly written was fascinating if only to see how things were investigated and it was surprising how the newspaper men were such a huge part of the investigation it was all so different from the way things would be handled today.
I don’t know if Layer did it or not but I am sorry he died before he could at least get a fair trial.
3 stars
This was such a horrible murder 8 people children included only one small baby survived and she was left in her crib alone for at least a day. You have to remember that this was the 1920’s so the way this case was handled and publicized was very different than it would have been handled today. The Sherriff from Bismarck seemed to have his suspicions about a neighbor right away and lo and behold not to long later this man Henry Layer confessed to the crime was booked and in the State penitentiary within days no trial no nothing he confessed and the judge sent him away. Soon thereafter Layer was making noise about his innocence and that he was beaten and coerced into making the confession, but no one would listen and he unfortunately died in prison within a few years.
There are so many unanswered questions in this case first and foremost how did one person shoot 3 people in the yard and 5 people in the house without one person running or getting away? A shotgun makes a very loud noise plus it needs to be re-loaded; how did this one man get the people to stay still while he reloaded the gun? This book does give us another suspect but that person died even before Layer did so it is all just speculation and I don’t think the full story of what happened that day will ever be known.
This book though poorly written was fascinating if only to see how things were investigated and it was surprising how the newspaper men were such a huge part of the investigation it was all so different from the way things would be handled today.
I don’t know if Layer did it or not but I am sorry he died before he could at least get a fair trial.
3 stars
June 28, 2014
In about 1900 Jacob Wolf and Lydia Brokofsky immigrated from Russia to North Dakota. They met there and married in 1905 and started a family. Jacob was a farmer and they lived north of Turtle Lake in western North Dakota where he had a well established farm. In 1920 they had six children and a hired boy living on the farm.
It was then that the entire family and the hired boy was murdered in a bloody slaughter one Thursday afternoon. It was an horrendous site and a neighboring farmer was arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the crime. The book recounts the investigation and covers the facts (?) in the case. It's a heart rendering story that to this day is not settled in the minds of the local people of North Dakota.
Very interesting because of the politics involved.
It was then that the entire family and the hired boy was murdered in a bloody slaughter one Thursday afternoon. It was an horrendous site and a neighboring farmer was arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the crime. The book recounts the investigation and covers the facts (?) in the case. It's a heart rendering story that to this day is not settled in the minds of the local people of North Dakota.
Very interesting because of the politics involved.
August 11, 2014
I really enjoyed this book because I grew up in North Dakota and had heard the horrible stories of the Wolf Family, "The Murdered Family." In April of 1920 the entire family of 7 plus their hired boy were brutally murdered at their family farm. A few weeks after the terrible murders, a neighbor, Henry Layer, confessed and was sentenced to life in prison the very same day. Immediately after confessing, Layer denied his guilt, but was sadly never granted a trial. It seems as if there was a lot of political motivation to "solve" the case quickly during the time of the murders and it is my opinion that the only thing Henry Layer was guilty of was running his mouth too much. The ending left my feeling incredibly sad for both families.
May 19, 2014
What a twist. It is pretty rare that a book surprises me, but it is a true story after all. Real life often surprises me. The story takes place not far from where I have just moved, so I read it in hopes of gaining some insight into the areas history. I realize I have a different perspective on the value of reading this book than others outside of North Dakota. I am not sure it would have been so entertaining otherwise. As it is, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am so glad to have read it and have gained historic knowledge about the area in which I live.
October 11, 2016
Had to read this for my book club for this month's discussion, and I would never recommend it. The title is unimaginative (yes, I know it's the epitaph), the cover is morbid, and the story is not written well, in my opinion, and goes no where fast, just repeats and rewinds. Glad I only borrowed it from the library. I wasted too much time reading this when I could have been reading something enjoyable. Blaaaach!
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