[.ca] The Last to Die: Ronald Turpin, Arthur Lucas, and the ... (ISBN 1550026720)

Outstanding true crime book!:
The Last to Die is the best true crime book I've read in a long time. Rich in detail, what makes it unique is that the author (Robert J. Hoshowsky) details the awful childhoods of Turpin and Lucas, and traces their lives all the way to the end at Toronto's Don Jail on Dec. 11, 1962. The author combines material from dozens of original interviews, court transcripts, and secret fils to create a wondeful atmosphere that is vivid and creative at the same time. What makes The Last to Die stand apart from other recent true crime books is how he traces the fate of all persons involved, not just the killers and their victims. This untold story would make a terrific film!

Shocking book on a controversial subject:
Of all the books I've read on the death penalty, this ranks among the best. A lot of books on 'the ultimate punishment' are one-sided, either for or against the state-sanctioned taking of a human life. The Last to Die: Ronald Turpin, Arthur Lucas, and the End of Capital Punishment in Canada, does not take sides, which is a remarkable challenge for any writer. Instead of raging on either side of the death-penalty debate, Robert J. Hoshowsky cleverly tells the story of the last two men hanged in Canada (a country which kept the death penalty on the law books for 14 more years after the hangings of Turpin and Lucas). It is a powerful work by an experienced storyteller. Robert J. Hoshowsky has managed to blend skilfully-researched fact with fast-paced, atmospheric writing, pulling out details which leaves the reader bewildered that these two men had to die. This is not a book that you will read over and over again.

A great, easy and informative read:
Mr. Hoshowsky has done a wonderful job with his book The Last to Die. I was born in the late 1980s, and am not old enough to remember Canada having the death penalty. This book combines True Crime with history, and puts it all in the perspective of Canada in the 1960s; all the crooks, con men, drug dealers, killers and cops you'd likely meet if you lived in Toronto in 1962, the year the last hangings happened. I like to read a lot of True Crime books, but this one is really different. The author lets the story unfold as it actually happened, and more and more details are filled is as you go along. This should be required reading in my high school's law class!