Riveting read

I'm an historical fiction fan and a crime caper addict as well. Think Iain Pears, even CSI Las Vegas in a pinch. Recently a friend loaned me a dog-eared copy of The Cassock and the Crown, a true-crime story about a murder that took place in Montreal in the 1920s. Written by the grandson of the judge who presided over the first trial, the book tells the story of "Canada's most controversial murder trial", the four trials of 35-year-old Catholic priest Adelard Delorme who was accused of murdering his brother Raoul. The book reads like a work of fiction, replete with quirky characters, of which Adelard takes the cake, evokes a city landscape rich with culture, describes one of the first uses of both ballistics and forensics in the Canadian judicial system, and attempts to tackle issues such as the role of notoriety in a court case and the rivalry between Church and State. The Cassock and the Crown has all the makings of a good movie, in fact.