Crime

Murder at Teal's Pond: Hazel Drew and the Mystery That Inspired Twin Peaks

Murder at Teal's Pond: Hazel Drew and the Mystery That Inspired Twin Peaks

  • Downloads：1912
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-12-26 11:20:57
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Mark T. Givens
  • ISBN：1713620642
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Becky Kondritz ，

Gave three stars for the thorough research。 I could not connect with this book。 Probably more like a two star。 Thank goodness for pictures！

Angela Holstedt ，

An interesting story， but told in a very dry fashion。

Barbara ，

Tedious at bestThanks to this book， I will never follow the Twin Peaks series。 This story and everyone and everything in it was so repetitive and boring。 I could barely finish and must admit I skipped ahead numerous times just to find we were still going over the same material yet again。 Save yourself and let it lie。

Michelle ，

Terrific readFascinating story-behind-the-story and well-written and thoughtfully imagined cold case historical nonfiction。 Explores the cultural and political influences that still enable violence against women to this day。 The authors’ theory of what happened is very plausible。 A long and satisfying read。

Sparklin ，

I love a good nonfiction book read。 This one sorry cut didn’t interest me。 What happened to Hazel in 1900。 Was bad in itself， to bad it’s yet to be solved。

Petrina Binney ，

In 1908， the body of a twenty-year-old woman was found floating in Teal’s Pond， Sand Lake， New York State。 With the neighbourhood of various mountain folk and charcoal-makers thrown into disarray， the police inundated with potential suspects and dubious testimony， and speculation running riot in the daily press， the multi-doctor autopsy lacks the conclusive wallop required to definitively point to a likely perp。Thus， the story of Hazel Drew is relegated to the annals of history and campfire lege In 1908， the body of a twenty-year-old woman was found floating in Teal’s Pond， Sand Lake， New York State。 With the neighbourhood of various mountain folk and charcoal-makers thrown into disarray， the police inundated with potential suspects and dubious testimony， and speculation running riot in the daily press， the multi-doctor autopsy lacks the conclusive wallop required to definitively point to a likely perp。Thus， the story of Hazel Drew is relegated to the annals of history and campfire legend until the emergence of the TV series， Twin Peaks: created by a man who heard the story as a child and considered it a source of inspiration for his show。This novelised true crime investigation into the murder of Hazel Drew is hampered by two things。 Firstly， the writers have researched the area， the key players and possible suspects for five years， and as such， there’s far too much detail for the reader to keep track of。 There are too many characters， with too little characterisation to make them memorable。 The imagined thought processes of the key players are laborious and speak to many hours of writing， rewriting， tweaking and overthinking; as such， they lack plausibility。The book starts with the Dramatis Personae， which helps as a quick reference but is intimidating once you realise there are so many characters to be introduced。 Then， after the bulk of the story is dealt with， there’s a very brief Here’s What We Think Happened section， and we’re straight into the Author’s Note and Acknowledgements。 Thus， the book feels overstuffed and then， quite suddenly， flat as a pancake。Secondly， and I don’t like myself for saying it， but there’s no getting past the idea that this book is written by two fanboys who want to impress the creator of their favourite show。 The authors’ love of Twin Peaks is clear and runs right the way through the story。 I suspect it goes some way to explaining the incongruous imagined thoughts of the main characters。 These are fans， with an interest in forensic investigation， but I’m not sure they’re really writers。For a while， I held out hope:“Who was Hazel Drew？ Because almost all of the people who controlled the narrative contemporaneously - chiefly investigators and reporters - were men， the story was filtered through the male gaze， and Hazel - like Laura Palmer and her antecedent， the eponymous protagonist of the 1944 Otto Preminger film noir Laura - became a projection on a screen， absorbing whatever qualities or shortcomings these unreliable narrators assigned to her: woman as defined by male obsession。”6% in， Introduction， Murder At Teal’s Pond by David Bushman and Mark T。 GivensAnd okay， it’s a run-on sentence， but it gave me hope that these authors wouldn’t give a pantomime facsimile of a lead female character。 Unfortunately， as Hazel is imagined， walking fearlessly through the woods at night， near the pond where she’d be found a few days later…“She wipes at her brow with her sleeve。 Her hair has dampened and matted in the heat。 How many men had complimented her on her radiant blonde hair and glittering blue eyes。“The young woman chuckles to herself。 ‘If they could see me now。’”6% in， Chapter One， Murder At Teal’s Pond by David Bushman and Mark T。 GivensDang it。 I don’t care if it’s 1908 and Hazel is somewhere she knows。 Women have never walked in so cavalier a fashion。 No woman goes anywhere alone at night， her shoes caked in mud， with no torch， keys between her fingers or weapon of any kind， without thinking that an attack is imminent。 And I’m sorry， fellas， but even if she does feel impossibly safe and undaunted， she doesn’t devote all her thoughts to what various faceless men think of her。I'm sure inadvertently， but the authors have retained the female victim as the film noir femme， and removed any real depth from her thoughts， actions and murder。Exhaustive and exhausting。 。。。more

Lisa ，

Honestly， if I could have given the book zero stars， I would have。 The authors managed to take a true life mystery that spawned a series into the most Boring Book Ever。 Do yourself a favor and skip this one。

Karen ，

Very bad readI would not recommend to anyone。 Very hard to read or follow。 I tried reading til page 207 then gave up。

Cathy Simonds ，

skip this oneThe only reason this got two stars instead of one is that I finally learned where the term yellow journalism came from。

Tamera Crombie ，

Hash and re-hash。I found this book to be dull and boring。 The same material is gone over several times。 I do not recommend this book。 Too many unanswered questions about the main character， Hazel Drew。 Was she a "good" girl who flirted？ Was she perhaps a black mailer who collected cash from her victims， this supposition is not mentioned in the book but I think it might explain the nice wardrobe and the many trips she took。 In the end I didn't care。 Hash and re-hash。I found this book to be dull and boring。 The same material is gone over several times。 I do not recommend this book。 Too many unanswered questions about the main character， Hazel Drew。 Was she a "good" girl who flirted？ Was she perhaps a black mailer who collected cash from her victims， this supposition is not mentioned in the book but I think it might explain the nice wardrobe and the many trips she took。 In the end I didn't care。 。。。more

Heidi ，

Very boring。 Could not make it past the first couple of chapters。。。。。

Joe Stafura ，

Interesting enough…This was a good read around an unsolved murder， probably about 75 pages too long and somewhat repetitive。Lesson learned， “The power held by political entities has warped over time to include even the national governments and courts。

Cristi DiBernardo ，

This novel takes place in the towns surrounding where I attended undergrad， about 100 years before I became familiar with the area。 The way the author has written the historical details make this book a slow read for me。 Three days in， I am only on Chapter 5 as I trudge through the details， waiting for a plot to emerge。

Lauren Coleman ，

A thorough investigation Clearly a lot of research went into the book and this is all retold to the reader with objectivity allowing us to make our own judgements with the authors theory being told at the end

Fran Bushman ，

I found this book fascinating on so many levels。 Firstly， I felt like I was actually alive during the time this was happening。 The political undercurrent was intriguing。 I also felt as though the people involved were so fleshed out that they were as real to me as the people I work with。 The horror of what happened to this woman Hazel was heartbreaking。 Her whole life was sad and to end up being murdered and not having anyone help accountable is something that you can actually feel。 I loved it。 C I found this book fascinating on so many levels。 Firstly， I felt like I was actually alive during the time this was happening。 The political undercurrent was intriguing。 I also felt as though the people involved were so fleshed out that they were as real to me as the people I work with。 The horror of what happened to this woman Hazel was heartbreaking。 Her whole life was sad and to end up being murdered and not having anyone help accountable is something that you can actually feel。 I loved it。 Can’t wait for the next one by these authors！！ 。。。more

R。Z。 ，

The writing in this book was so bad that I didn't finish it。 The writing in this book was so bad that I didn't finish it。 。。。more

Mark Shields ，

Running in circlesAfter repeating the same bits and pieces over and over and over， we reach the end having learned virtually nothing except the life stories of a multitude of characters who may or may not have played a role in the death of Hazel Drew。 While the authors certainly invested heavily in researching so many possibilities， the best they were able to arrive at was a "probable" solution with little evidence to back up that theory。 There was too much speculation and after the first fifty Running in circlesAfter repeating the same bits and pieces over and over and over， we reach the end having learned virtually nothing except the life stories of a multitude of characters who may or may not have played a role in the death of Hazel Drew。 While the authors certainly invested heavily in researching so many possibilities， the best they were able to arrive at was a "probable" solution with little evidence to back up that theory。 There was too much speculation and after the first fifty pages or so the repetition became tiresome。 It was also rather off-putting to see the authors' refer in condescending tones to the "mountain people" - - those who make a living off the land。 In reality those people lived less than ten miles from the city of Troy， not hidden away in the central Adirondacks。 They would have had easy access to the same services as the city residents。 And for that matter， the depiction of Troy as a hotbed of corruption， with a multitude of ethnic gangs， misses the mark also。 Yes， there was probably some corruption， but the authors didn't capture the fact that with a population at that time of less than 80，000， Troy was hardly the seething metropolis they imply。It is unfortunate that so much time was spent cataloging information irrelevant to Hazel Drew's story。 What possible relevance is there in knowing that someone who might， or might not have talked to Hazel the night before she died， lived to the age of 67 and died in 1935！？This repetitive， repetitive， repetitive， story wins the prize for the most boring thing I've read this year。 I had to force myself not to abandon it more than once。 You might get a little bit of a feel for life in upstate New York at the start of the 20th century， but it won't really be particularly true to life， and you'll be left hanging in the end without any solution to the mystery 。。。more

Carol Waters ，

The author seems to have really loved this story。 The reader did not。 It is a tiresome catalog of a bazillion things that might’ve happened and a lame suggestion of who might have been the murderer with no support whatsoever for that opinion

Walter Schlillinger ，

Truth or Fiction？We will never know what Happened to Hazel Drew。 The facts are hard to discern but the authors do come about to some rather convincing arguments as to who killed Hazel Drew but do not explain where Hazel got the money to travel as she did or purchase the many fine clothes she had。 Hazel lives and dies as a woman of mystery which is very apropo to a writer of the TV hit Twin Peaks。 The book seems to be an exhaustive study of Hazel and especially the area in which she lived her ver Truth or Fiction？We will never know what Happened to Hazel Drew。 The facts are hard to discern but the authors do come about to some rather convincing arguments as to who killed Hazel Drew but do not explain where Hazel got the money to travel as she did or purchase the many fine clothes she had。 Hazel lives and dies as a woman of mystery which is very apropo to a writer of the TV hit Twin Peaks。 The book seems to be an exhaustive study of Hazel and especially the area in which she lived her very short life。 Much of the book examines in great detail。 life in and around Troy New York at the turn of the 20th century。 I found some of this detail to be unnecessary but does indicate how thorough the authors were。 All in all this is a quick read。 If you were a follower of Twin Peaks you can see the influence this story has on the TV series。 。。。more

Irene ，

The description of this book is deceiving as it mentions a relationship with Twin Peaks， a TV show that I once watched。 If I knew it was going to read like a police report， I would not have read it。

Crator ，

Found it to be an interesting book that surprisingly gripped my attention throughout。 Interesting cast of characters and political drama。 I've seen people compare this to Devil in the White City which I don't think is exactly fair。 It doesn't have nearly as many novel type character scenes as that。 This more just goes the usual non-fiction route of describing events more broadly。 The one critique I do have is it would veer off into oddly detailed history of mostly unrelated subjects like the his Found it to be an interesting book that surprisingly gripped my attention throughout。 Interesting cast of characters and political drama。 I've seen people compare this to Devil in the White City which I don't think is exactly fair。 It doesn't have nearly as many novel type character scenes as that。 This more just goes the usual non-fiction route of describing events more broadly。 The one critique I do have is it would veer off into oddly detailed history of mostly unrelated subjects like the history of newspapers。 Skimmed over those sections。 Personally consider that a minor complaint。 。。。more

Brooke ，

I was skeptical about such a long book based on such an old and unsolved case。 I was then surprised to find myself absolutely unable to put the book down。 Definitely glad I grabbed this one on Amazon！！

Lisa ，

I didn't actually read this book。 I didn't like the writing style。 I didn't actually read this book。 I didn't like the writing style。 。。。more

Leah ，

Hard to follow at times。

Cheryl Scott ，

Maybe they solved it。 Maybe they didn't。 Not every inspiration is as interesting as the art it inspires。 Maybe they solved it。 Maybe they didn't。 Not every inspiration is as interesting as the art it inspires。 。。。more

Anadarko52 ，

A Boring True Crime Book This book involves the early 1900s murder of a young woman named Hazel Drew in New York State。 It is touted as the inspiration for Twin Peaks， but I don’t see it。 The book， while interesting， is overly repetitive and has no clear or apparent links to Twin Peaks。 Finally， the authors have no proof of their conclusions， just speculation。

Lynne Bain ，

Great book， kept my interest to the end。I enjoyed reading this book， it was well written and researched。 It answered questions about he death， but left a lot of questions unanswered。

Nina ，

The story of Hazel Drew’s failed murder investigation is a tale of politics， sexism， and the yellow press。 Although her death occurred in 1908， the story reverberated through the years and became the influence for the contemporary TV series Twin Peaks （which I never saw， but maybe now I’ll check it out）。 I thought the authors’ 5-years of research pretty conclusively identified the likely murderers， who were pretty much protected at the time by the Republican party machine。 Newspapers at the time The story of Hazel Drew’s failed murder investigation is a tale of politics， sexism， and the yellow press。 Although her death occurred in 1908， the story reverberated through the years and became the influence for the contemporary TV series Twin Peaks （which I never saw， but maybe now I’ll check it out）。 I thought the authors’ 5-years of research pretty conclusively identified the likely murderers， who were pretty much protected at the time by the Republican party machine。 Newspapers at the time ran their own parallel investigations of sensational crimes， at times interfering with officials and at times colluding with them。 A couple memorable extracts: “The people who controlled the narrative contemporaneously—chiefly investigators and reporters—were men， the story was filtered through the male gaze， absorbing whatever qualities or shortcomings these unreliable narrators assigned to her: woman as defined by male obsession。” And: “Republicans wanted a mayoral candidate who was ‘subservient， one who would obey commands。 The organization wants obedience。’” Some things never change。 。。。more

Emily ，

Glad I picked this one！This book delivered everything it promised it would be and more。 Really enjoyed it and would love to read more。

Robi A ，

Intriguing Backstory and Mystery I enjoyed this book thoroughly。 Cover to cover。。。in Kindle， Lol。 A true life murder in 1908 leads to a local ghost story which leads to a hit TV series。。。Then to this book。 Gotta read it！