3 stars for Goat Castle: A True Story of Murder, Race, and the Gothic South.

This was an interesting read on a subject I knew nothing about: true life crime in 1930s America. Fascinating and horrifying for its study of the differential treatment offered to whites vs black people in Jim Crow America, this book was at times difficult to read, emotionally speaking. As a Scot, it was a wake-up call to hear of former slave plantations and planters’ homes having names like Scotland, Melrose, Glenwood and Glenburnie.

I received this ebook free from NetGalley and the publisher, The University of North Carolina Press. UK publication date: 9 October 2017.

An interesting delve into a little-known true crime story. Well-written and obviously well-researched, I felt like the author spent too much time on the 3 central figures' parents and grandparents; I'd much rather read more about them.

Imagine a day out in an American southern state during the 1930's - what might you see? Well popular tourists on the Natchez Pilgrimage to Adams County which is one of the oldest settlements on the lower half of the Mississippi River would be treated to fantastic antebellum mansions ( similar to those in 'Gone with the Wind') and would also have been attended by local negroes dressed as slaves, cooks and serving and singing for their white visitors.. They would also have made a beeline for a ramshackle property inhabited by many goats and other animals and even paid to venture inside and perhaps spy the notorious residents 'Wild Man' and 'Goat Woman.
For these were the inhabitants of Goat Castle and they (Octavia Dockery and Dick Dana) were still linked to the murder of their neighbour, the fading Southern Belle and now recluse Ms Jennie Merrill.
This was a famous murder that set off a fashion for reporters, tourists and criminologists to study what happened in the more affluent and tidy home of Jennie Merrill and how the treatment varied towards black and white suspects in the Jim Crow south of America then and still now of course.
The author, an historian herself, has totally immersed herself in the lives of those involved directly and the book is fascinating with added photographs which bring the main incidents and people into sharp focus for us to feel immersed in the story.
I was intrigued that the factors covering supporters of the Union vs Confederates were also highlighted by the varying ways in which lives were transformed for the ancestors and families of the main people involved in the story. Even today the echoes of the divisions of the sides in the American Civil War still raise tensions and reading this book brings an understanding of where generational tensions have lingered.
During the early 1800s the families of the white plantation owners built their wealth on the backs of slaves. What this book reveals is that, although free, blacks living in the town of Natchez alongside descendants of those slave owners were still on the margins of society. The law too would easily dismiss even the guiltiest of white suspects, whilst on flimsy evidence sentence an innocent black victim to prison or to hanging (so nothing much changes there wither perhaps).
Overall the social history is excellent but because the main characters (particularly associated with the gothic ruin that was Goat Castle) are so intriguing I think this makes a brilliant read to learn more about what lay beyond the strong mansion and traditions of the southern states.

To super simplify, this is basically a story of a "Have" living next to a "Have not" and tensions boiling over after a years-long neighbors feud. Jennie (Joan) Merril is the "Have" with her inherited money from family plantations, etc. Next door you have kooky Dick (Richard) Dana and Octavia Dockery, otherwise known as Wild Man and Goat Woman, the "Have nots". They live in what was formerly known as Glenwood but mostly called "Goat Castle" now because the main house is filled with goats and chickens and vermin as it's falling down around them. There has been a years-long feud between them since Dick and Octavia moved back into Dick's former home because of the animals wandering over onto Jennie's property and causing damage. The Sheriff has been called repeatedly, the lawyers have been dragged into it and lawsuits filed. So when Jennie Merril turned up murdered one night after a botched robbery attempt, and evidence pointing towards those in Goat Castle was found, questions need to be answered. The authorities go off on another tangent, however. A sad and provocative story. True crime and history fans should enjoy this one, I sure did, a wonderful story with lots of background and history. I was given an ARC by Netgalley and the publisher, for my review.

This book has a great deal of wonderful information but is somewhat loosely put together, jumping back and forth in time a bit. I found the characters to be rather flat though they clearly were people of great interest in the time of the crime, especially those characters of color. The facts appear to be very well researched, just not entertainingly presented. I was also put off by the use of the term "the Jim Crow South" so frequently, as if somehow we as readers would forget that this was the time period being represented.....one or two mentions would have been more effective. This being said, there is something of interest here to be sure and I'm certain that the events caused quite a scandal at the time! (This title was reviewed on Amazon & Barnes and Noble on 9/19/17)

Many thanks to Karen Cox, the University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

A cast of characters that could easily turn this into a fantasy novel set the stage for this crime. These is a derelict antebellum mansion inhabited by goats, a man with no teeth and greasy hair who can play the piano, and his caretaker/paramour who wears the same overalls day after day. They say they own this "goat castle" but they have never paid property taxes. There is also a charming Victorian housing a grande dame of the South rumored to hide money in her walls but who actually has dollars to her name. One of these is killed. One is arrested along with an African American servant and her visiting man friend. Now just take a guess who gets prosecuted? Wild guess anyone?

I found this sorry excuse of justice a typical example of Southern courts of this time period. I also found the people involved quite eccentric. This would be a great book to throw out there in a discriminatory debate - a little known case but prime example.

The Goat Castle is a fascinating read. I've toured many of the majestic antebellum homes of Natchez, but I had not heard of the Goat Castle story. Cox does a good job describing the history of Natchez as well as the very interesting families of the main characters surrounding the murder. The story also reflects how Jim Crow laws allowed one person to take the brunt of the blame for the crime, while two others avoided long term prison and capitalized off the story.

Good read about a murder in the South during the Civil War Era. It is also a look at race relations back during that time. The book was well written and flowed very easily. The history provided is also informative. There were some slow spots in the book and sometimes the character backgrounds was a bit much. Overall, good read. The story was interesting. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

I enjoyed this historical crime. The history behind the crime was very interesting and well written. I do think it is a little wordy in parts and felt like some was repetition. But all in all I really enjoyed this book.

I thought that the author did a great job outlining the murder of Jennie and the lives of her murderers. I liked all of the pictures of Goat Castle and of the principle people involved in the crime. I think its a great true crime book that illustrates the double standard of Jim Crow in the deep South.
I just wish that the two main culprits, who were white, would have had some kind of consequence for their actions. Yet that was not to be.
I did find that towards the end of the book, the author tended to repeat herself, I know she felt it was necessary since it was repeated during the court proceedings, but it was over kill. and dragged the book down.
Overall a great book that was thoroughly researched.

A fascinating tale of Southern gothic that almost defies description. I don't want to add too many spoliers here, but if you love a read that almost seems too far-fetched to be true then you'll absolutely love this book. Two eccentrics, Richard Dana and Octavia Dockery—known in the press as the "Wild Man" and the "Goat Woman"—enlisted an African American man named George Pearls to rob their reclusive neighbour, Jennie Merrill, at her estate. During the attempted robbery, Merrill was shot and killed. If this was the blurb for a new movie, you'd dismiss it as far too bizarre to be true and this is only the tip of the iceberg. I absolutely loved this book and have been recommending it to people who like their true crime with a side order of random. Five stars from me - it had me googling and researching for hours after finishing it. What a book!

Many thanks to Karen Cox, the University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Goat Castle is a meticulously researched re-telling of the murder of Jennie Merrill, a wealthy Natchez, Mississippi citizen and descendant of plantation/slave owners. Karen Cox succeeds in breaking down the romanticism of the post-slave trade era in Mississippi and brings to life the 'real south'. Her book excels magnificently in it's gritty realism, not only detailing the events of the actual murder and the suspicions surrounding Jennie Merrill's oddball neighbors, but also bravely takes the narrative off course and paints a wonderfully vivid picture of the south, it's race relations, economic climate and the people who lived there.

I've not read anything by Karen Cox before, but its plain to see that she is a exquisite researcher and has a fabulous gift for true crime narrative.

I'm a self-confessed true-crime fan, having read quite a lot of books, and this is easily up there with the best of them.

An interesting book but a little dry at times. It is sad the way African American's have and are treated in our country. How nasty the jim crow law type justice was is so sad and this book really showed it. I highly recommend it.

A unique insight into the fading world of antebellum life and shows the harsh reality of being black in the south even though the civil war has long passed. The murder story is almost incidental against this backdrop and is well researched and written.

Karen L. Cox's book, Goat Castle: A True Story of Murder, Race, and the Gothic South, is a sobering read and a disturbing story of prejudice and crime in 1932 Natchez, Mississippi. Apparently this strange tale made headlines when it occurred; readers were fascinated by the lurid details about two eccentrics, Octavia Dockery and Richard Dana, persuaded a man to kill their wealthy neighbor, Jennie Merril, with whom they had an ongoing dispute. . Known as the Wild Man and the Goat Woman, the pair lived in squalor, with goats and other animals roaming freely through their ruined home.

The actual killer died before he went to trial, but in that racially charged era, a innocent black woman named Emily Burns was eventually convicted of Merrill's murder. Dana and Dockery went scot-free, and even profited by opening their notorious home to sightseers.

This well-written book about racial hatred will anger readers and remind them that we must forever guard against this kind of terrible injustice and wrongdoing.

This non-fiction book reads like a novel because the events are just that out there. It is a story where race, gender and greed during the great depression combine to create a historical moment that reveals much about the issues of the day.
Well written, with a cast of bizarre and fully developed characters, the story is one that is as relevant today as it was then.
I read this quickly as it just swept me up. I highly recommend it

This true crime books gives you a look of the Old South that may shock and surprise you. Murder has many reasons

Growing up near and traveling through the region referenced in this book piqued my interest in the story. Add in the oddities and inequities of the case, and the book became a must read for me. I enjoyed the obvious research that went into the book, and that the story was presented as accurately as possible. This is a quick and entertaining read. The book does start a bit slowly, but the details assist the reader in fully appreciating the characters throughout, therefore, the slough is worth the effort.

This was such an interesting story. Richard Dana and Octavia Dockery, who are eccentrics and allow goats to roam freely in their house, live next door to Jennie Merrill. During a robbery, Jennie is murdered. The occupants of Goat Castle are immediate suspects. This book is the story of the investigation into this murder and how it affected this town. It left me wanting more. I went on line and looked up this murder. I like books that make me want to dig in and learn more. Highly recommend!

Goat Castle is an extremely well written tale of a long forgotten murder and a painful reminder of the racism that is unfortunately sprinkled in the history of the south.