Stolen from the Garden: The Kidnapping of Virginia Piper by William Swanson

Stolen from the Garden: The Kidnapping of Virginia Piper by William Swanson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Something about the description of this book piqued my interest, though I'm not sure what. I read a lot of true crime but this is the first time the case has not been about a serial killer or at least a murder. No. Here we have a fairly simple crime. A wealthy socialite is kidnapped in the 70s, a ransom note for $1,000,000 is sent, the money delivered and the woman found, scared and disheveled but unharmed. What follows however is a very long and twisting case. It goes cold, until 7 years later an arrest is finally made, but then that is when all the strangest parts of all happen. I enjoyed the book well. It's written in an easy to read style, The author is more than respectful to the victim and her family. Included are pages of actual court case testimony and a few pictures. I had never heard of this case before; probably because many high-profile kidnappings happened during this time period (including Patty Hearst). But this is an absorbing and interesting case and Swanson has presented it in a compelling read.



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