Actual Rating: 3.5. I first heard of this book after the author appeared on a Know Your Enemy episode, at which point I read her previous book, The Real Lolita. While I liked The Real Lolita fine, I vastly preferred Scoundrel, which felt like a solid improvement. However, a lot of the issues I found with Weinman's previous work are here as well.

The best part of this book is the story itself, which is fascinating, appalling, and at times ridiculously funny (the Hatkik chapter had me in tears while brushing my teeth, thank you audible). This isn't a part of criminal justice history that a lot of people know about, and I think Weinman overall did a good job of rendering it in a compelling way. I found some people say they found the writing dull or boring, but personally I disagree and think it suits the genre just fine.

Despite appreciating the story, I had several issues with the book overall. For one, while I loved the way Weinman emphasized women (Buckley's wife and secretary stand out in particular) as especially perceptive of Smith's bullshittery, I found that his actual victims fell to the wayside much of the time. This is compounded by the fact that there was a lot more graphic description of assault and murder than I expected, as that was generally absent from The Real Lolita. The book opens by saying the true crime genre has progressed in terms of its depiction of victims, becoming more progressive and respectful in its portrayals. However, Scoundrel itself seemed not to put much focus on the women Smith murdered, instead focusing much more on the Buckley/Wilkins/Smith dynamic. I understand this choice, but it still did not fully sit right with me.

My larger issue is that I think Weinman could have done more systemic analysis throughout this story. In a weird way, she crafts a "Great Man Narrative" around Smith, depicting him as simply so cunning and manipulative that there was no way any prison system could contain his brilliance. But, she does no analysis about how Smith's characteristics and victim typology (disenfranchised young women) assisted in his getting out. She references these facts but does not dig into what it really means, and how much Smith's release was contingent upon the social construction of redemption and "what a good man looks and talks like." I think this makes the story feel a lot weaker, as tying in a more systemic analysis could have made the story feel more impactful and resonant. As it stands, Scoundrel feels more like an anecdote than an indictment.

Still, I thought this was an interesting book and am glad I read it, if for nothing else than the extremely funny/shocking Hatkik section. I would be interested in reading whatever Weinman wrote next and I really hope she dives more into systems and analysis than she has previously.

As a young married father, Edgar Smith was sentenced to die in June, 1957 for the hideous death of young Vickie Zielinski. He took full advantage of her naivete and audaciously blamed her for his rage and death. Yet he died of natural causes in 2017 in prison aptly (or inaptly) called Death House at the age of 83. How did this happen? He used everything in his power to manipulate, cajole and fool everyone. He confessed but then changed his mind, he confused and abused. Sadly, his legal team members (especially William Buckley) were taken in and defended him to the nth degree, eventually enabling him to walk free. After release, Smith viciously attacked a second young woman, Lisa Ozbun, severely injuring her and was arrested and imprisoned once again. It was not until then that his legal team admitted they had made a terrible mistake.

Vickie Zielinski was a teenager and had everything to live for. But as the author explains when victims are killed, their lives are over. The killer has the power. Vickie's and Lisa's families paid dearly. Book Editor Sophie Wilkins was taken in, too, and entered an emotional affair with Smith and exchanged hundreds of (at times very inappropriate) letters to each other while he was in prison (and later deeply regretted it). Yes, Smith wrote books from Death House. Not only that but he married three times in his lifetime. After he was freed he even launched lawsuits and wrote book reviews. The author also writes about what happens to each person involved. Smith outlived nearly all of them.

This tragic true crime story is a difficult read in a way as it is graphic, contains abuse and other triggers. I had not heard of this case before and therefore learned a lot, not only about the case but was reminded of the capacity of human beings from foolishness to predation to manipulating to killing. Learning about Mary Higgins Clark's connection was interesting. The photographs are crushing. Though fascinating and informative, this book is not for everyone due to the content. The author researched meticulously and what she wrote is absolutely riveting. That ending...wow!

My sincere thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this insightful book about a despicable killer, infuriating injustice, trickery and heartbreaking repercussions for the families affected for many years, into subsequent generations.

3.8 stars

Interesting true story of how one man, convicted of murder and sentenced to death, struck up an unlikely friendship with a man in the public eye and used him to turn both public opinion and the judicial system in his favor.

Don't be put off by the narrator giving everything away in the prologue, the story is fleshed out with intimate details taken directly from the correspondence between the main villain and his newfound friends - the famous political debater and the literary editor who fell in love with the man on death row, as the writer endeavors to explain how both became convinced that they must help an innocent man.

This book started and ended strong, but I got a bit mired down in the middle with all of the legal machinations. I was also left waiting for a bit about how his white, male privilege (and the privilege of other white, male and female supporters) played a role in his being released - I'm no expert, but I seriously doubt a Black man on death row in the 60s for killing a white woman would have had the same outcomes.

I love smugly mocking William F. Buckley as much as the next person, but this book wasn't quite as satisfying as I hoped. The analysis of why so many people were fooled seemed a bit shallow. Solid narrative though.