Finished With Oxygen Book Club's October 2022 Pick? It's Time To Discuss!

Oxygen Book Club highlights books in the crime sphere each month and features exclusive interviews, guided discussions, and more.

When two people were found dead in a lover's lane area in New Jersey in 1922, a media firestorm erupted.

There was the brutality of the double murder, and the way the killer posed the bodies afterward. Add in the fact the victim was well-respected reverend Edward Hall and his choir girl mistress Eleanor Mills — and that Hall's heiress wife became a prime suspect — you had a case that fascinated all of America.

A deep dive into the murders,  "Blood & Ink: The Scandalous Jazz Age Double Murder That Hooked America on True Crime" by Joe Pompeo is the October 2022 pick for Oxygen Book Club. 

Once you've finished reading the book yourself, consider examining these discussion questions with your friends:

1. Had you heard of the Hall-Mills murder case before reading this book? 

2. Part of the book's focus is on the rise of tabloid coverage. What do you personally think the appeal of tabloids is? What effects has it had on American culture?

3.  Evidence at the crime scene was compromised after onlookers ended up at the scene. What were other ways the investigation seemed mishandled?

4. The victims were killed on a Lover's Lane with their love letters near them. What did this say to you about the motive for the murder?

5. What did you make of the Pig Woman and her testimony? Was it reliable to you? Why or why not?

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6. How did the general atmosphere of the Roaring '20s impact the public's interest in the case?

7. What did you think of the relationship between Hall and Mills? What of his relationship with his wife, Frances? 

8. All three defendants in the case were ultimately acquitted. Why do you think that was? Did they get a fair trial?

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9. Who do you believe was the most likely culprit in these murders? Why?

And if you have more thoughts let us know! Use the hashtag #oxygenbookclub to keep the discussion going on social media.