Welcome to a short Best Evidence series on overlooked Edgar nominees/winners. Susan Howard is capsule-reviewing some true-crime classics over the next few weeks; perfect for the true-crime completist on your holiday list. Click through on some of the links and Best Evidence makes a few cents! - SDB

Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Love in the Suburbs by John Bloom and Jim Atkinson was nominated for a 1985 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime. It, like many other true-crime books from the 1970s and 1980s, has found a new audience through paperback re-issue and digital download. I stumbled across the re-issued paperback at a local bookstore in one of those “recommended if you like…” displays (the referenced title was Capote’s In Cold Blood).

If the crime detailed in Evidence of Love occurred today, it would no doubt garner widespread attention for its pure shock value. In the summer of 1980, in the suburbs of Dallas, Candy Montgomery brutally murdered Betty Gore in her own home with 41 strikes of an ax. Candy then went about her day, teaching Vacation Bible School at the church the Gore and Montgomery families attended. Early in the narrative, we learn the jaw-dropping details of the crime and the identity of the perpetrator. The “why” unfolds over the course of the book and it’s a compelling journey.

Bloom and Atkinson effectively chronicle the backgrounds of the two couples embroiled in this saga: their families of origin, professional pursuits that led them to the booming Dallas suburbs in the 1970s, and outlooks and perspectives on marriage. The level of detail may not be to every reader’s preference, but I appreciated the authors’ demonstration of how the intermingled paths of these four individuals led to this bizarre and tragic end. The book is also fascinating for its exploration of the inner lives of the two women at the center of this story. Both Candy and Betty seem to have suffered from some pretty serious traumas which were never fully addressed, and while it feels a bit clichéd to paint them as suburban moms suffering in silence, the coping methods they employed to get by had an impact on the way this tragedy unfolded.

The book follows the course of the investigation and trial, including the surprising defense Candy employed. And while we know from the get-go that she did it, I was left perplexed by the absolute textbook “overkill” and brutality of the crime as well as her ability to disassociate. What could have led Candy to carry out this crime in such an extreme manner? I found myself thinking back to the “Lululemon murder” in which a young woman brutally murdered her co-worker inside the Bethesda, MD branch of the high-end athletic store using just about every tool and method available to her. Years later there’s still no discernible explanation for this level of brutality.

As was the custom in this era of true crime, there is a made-for-television movie about this case. I haven’t seenA Killing in a Small Town, but fun fact: it was directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal (yes, Maggie and Jake’s dad).

I couldn’t put Evidence of Love down and would highly recommend it for the true-crime buff who's looking to revisit some titles from decades past. -- Susan Howard

Fans of Uncuffed might enjoy this behind-the-scenes interview. Uncuffed is a new NPR-produced podcast made by people who are currently serving time in California prisons. Since its launch in October, it’s racked up three episodes, all produced by Greg Eskridge (who is at San Quentin State Prison) and Steve Drown (he’s at California State Prison, Solano). On the latest episode of Civic, a podcast produced by the San Francisco Public Press, Eskridge and Drown explain how podcasts like their allow incarcerated folks to remain productive, even behind bars. You can listen to the interview here, and catch up on Uncuffed here. -- EB

Another Manson follower has been denied parole. Bruce Davis has been denied the big-screen placement other incarcerated followers of Charles Manson have enjoyed, as his convictions weren’t for the slayings at the Tate/Polanski or LiBianca homes. Instead, Davis went down for the 1967 deaths of stuntman Donald “Shorty” Shea and musician Gary Hinman. Davis is 77 and his defense says he poses no threat to society, but the Associated Press reports that, as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown did before him, Gov. Gavin Newsom disagreed with a state board that recommended Davis be paroled. According to Newsom, Davis lacks a “comprehensive understanding of how he came to participate in such extreme violence” and does not have “the current insight and skills to abstain from violent situations in the future if released.” -- EB

Does it get any more meta than a true crime inspired by true crime? I don’t mean to make light, but, jeez. So here’s the deal: According to the Irish Times, 43-year-old Thomas Lynch allegedly attempted to poison Owen Sheehan by smearing Thallium (a toxic substance that’s been used in rat poisons) on the door handle of Sheehan’s car. Though Sheehan wasn’t injured, when the alleged act was revealed, the resulting anxiety led him “to comfort eat,” he said in a victim impact statement, “which led to him putting on two stone in weight.”

Lynch reportedly got the idea after “watching a documentary on unsolved crimes,” and subsequently ordered the Thallium online, prosecutors say. Lynch eventually pled guilty in the case, and was sentenced to one year in jail. -- EB

Wednesday on Best Evidence: It’s The Blotter Presents, Episode 121! This week, Sarah and Stephanie Early Green look at The Devil Next Door.

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