Fleming, Candace. Murder Among Friends: How Leopold and Loeb Tried to Commit the Perfect Crime. Anne Schwartz Books, 2022. 978-0-593-17742-6. 355 p. $19.99. Grades 9-12. 

Award winning author Candace Fleming is back with another top notch history title. This true crime history volume explores what was then known as the “Crime of the Century,” the kidnapping and murder of fourteen year old Bobby Franks in 1924 Chicago. The perpetrators of this horrendous crime were nineteen-year-old Nathan Leopold and his friend eighteen-year-old Richard Loeb. These intelligent and wealthy friends had become consumed with the idea of committing the “perfect crime.” They had planned for months to kidnap and murder a random youth, and fleece his frantic family out of a ransom payment. With their superior intellectual capabilities, they were sure they could outwit the local police. But their plan fell apart within days as a dropped pair of eyeglasses by their victim led police straight to their doors. Facing the death penalty, their wealthy families employed the services of one of the most gifted lawyers of the day, Clarence Darrow, in an attempt to spare their lives. The resulting courtroom drama captivated the nation. Fleming makes extensive use of primary sources, including newspaper excerpts, letters, police interviews, courtroom transcripts, and more to follow Leopold and Loeb from their troubled childhoods, to the chilling details of their beliefs and crime, and to the courtroom, where Darrow sought to spare them from the death penalty.

THOUGHTS: This historical true crime title will hold appeal for older teen readers who enjoy the genre of true crime (reading books, listening to podcasts, or watching television programs like Dateline). Students researching famous figures of the 1920s or the history of the death penalty in the U.S. also will find this volume a valuable resource.

364.1523 Crime          Elizabeth Henry, Lampeter-Strasburg SD