"Scoundrel" provides a fascinating look at a deeply horrible person who was previously unknown to me, and it's a horrifying, frustrating read.

Sarah Weinman does an excellent job of writing about this without sensationalizing it. The intersection of these three figures was fascinating. Recommend for fans of true crime.

Scoundrel is a fascinating book and the research is extraordinary! I am having difficulty identifying how I feel about the book. Is my discomfort about the murderer getting away with murder? Or it it because sociopaths live among us and we can easily be conned? Or is it that there is so much rich detail in this book to the point of overload and I felt I didn't want to spend any more moments of my life hearing about the con artist and all those he conned. And by the way those who were conned had their own personal agendas and gained something personally (love? ego stroking? publicity?) by allowing themselves to be seduced by flattery and turn the other way even when presenting evidence would indicate this man Edgar was a liar and murderer.

I do like true crime and this goes beyond just true crime of "who dunnit" to an indictment of a society that enables the cult of personality (whether it be William F. Buckley, Jack Henry Abbott, Norman Mailer or the murderer here - Edgar Smith). So back to how I feel -- from a writing and research perspective this book is a 4 or 5. But not sure if I found it compelling enough to recommend to others -- maybe because of some of my discomforts above. Thank you to Netgalley and Ecco for an ARC for my honest opinion.

This was an exceptional example of the true crime genre. The author let the chauvinism of the day reign supreme in her telling of this story, which was supremely effective. I had never heard of this case before, which is rare enough on its own! Such a good addition to the genre.

A brilliantly crafted piece of true crime historical narrative that sheds light on how Edgar Smith duped William F. Buckley Jr. into freeing him from his death sentence conviction for the heinous murder of 15-year old honor student Victoria Zielinksi. The story flows so effortlessly in Ms Weinman's prose. She captures the horror, scintillating courtroom tension, and unraveling of this mystery that made a mockery of the American justice system. A fantastic read for any fan of true crime and studying the criminal mind at work.

This meticulously researched & engrossing book shares the story of Death Row inmate Edgar Smith. Smith’s story veers off in a different direction than most due to the support—& celebrity—he gained from friendships w/Nat’l Review creator & conservative thinker William Buckley & the literary establishment (including a sexually charged penpal relationship with his book editor, Sophie Wilkins). Yes. He published a best-selling book about his crime (& who he said really did it), while on Death Row. Weinman shows how this reality assisted in the release of Smith, even after his conviction.

Weinman's heavy use of research--and larger concepts derived from that research--set this book apart from most true-crime tales. There's the way-too-frequent (and infuriating) analysis about the danger to women from violent, angry men. Yet, through this story readers get to see Smith's thoughts about women from his writing. He portrays his first victim as a woman (she was 15!) who taunted men with provocative, tight clothes and the reputation of being loose with her sexual morals. In essence, Weinman shows how Smith blamed Victoria for his behavior, not himself (sadly, again, way too common). To think so many women (including Sophie Wilkins) willingly fell under his spell is both infuriating and sad.

The unusual aspects of this, at its core, too-familiar tale, make this true-crime book a true original. Smith’s saga is especially galling considering how he was able to manipulate so many people (oh, Sophie, really?!) to get his conviction overturned—giving him the opportunity to try & kill again. If you like true-crime books but are looking for one that stands apart from the rest, this is it.

Scoundrel tells the story of a man convicted of murder but who was so convincing that he ultimately got released. However, he went on to commit more crimes and ended back up in jail.

I was so excited for this because I really enjoyed The Real Lolita, but I struggled more with this one. The description made it seem like it was going to be this wild story but it seemed more ordinary. I thought there were would be more after he got released from jail as well.

Maybe I live under a rock, but I had *no* idea about any of this, and I flew through the book. My only critique is I would have loved more analysis of the three relationships at the heart of the story and of public reception of Smith. This is a fascinating story, but what is its greater significance? 4/5

I received an ARC of, Scoundrel, by Sarah Weinmen. This is a well written book. I just did not like Edgar at all. He got skate through life doing whatever he wanted even murder. What people get away with.

I had not heard of this case before but greatly enjoyed Weinman's other book, The Real Lolita, and thought I would give it a shot.

Weinman presents the case articulatly and in an easy to read way while still keeping it factual. You can tell she spent a great deal of time researching and putting together this book which I truly appreciate.

I would definitely recommend this one for fans of the true crime genre.

The crime
Edgar Smith killed 15-year-old Victoria Zielinski in 1957 as she walked home from a friend’s house in a New Jersey suburb. Years later, after William J. Buckley helped secure his release from prison, Smith attacked again, kidnapping a California woman at knifepoint.

The story
In the early pages of Sarah Weinman’s new book, Scoundrel: How a Convicted Murderer Persuaded the Women Who Loved Him, the Conservative Establishment, and the Courts to Set Him Free, one of Weinman’s sources says that the story she’s telling “would have made a wonderful novel or a wonderfully trashy one.”

It also makes a strong true-crime book. With it, Weinman lives up to her reputation as one of the genre’s most thoughtful writers.

Scoundrel, the masterful result of a years-long investigation, focuses on the unlikely relationship between Edgar Smith, a convicted murderer on death row; conservative scion William J. Buckley; and book editor Sophie Wilkins. The last published Smith’s jailhouse memoir, which made the case for his innocence.

Smith and Buckley started to write to each other in 1962 after the magazine publisher read a newspaper story that quoted Smith saying he read National Review in his prison cell. Through their correspondence, Buckley became convinced of Smith’s innocence, thinking his brilliant prose and witty letters showed he was too intelligent to be a crass killer. Buckley wrote a story for Esquire arguing Smith had been framed, launched a legal defense fund, and hired some of the nation’s top lawyers to defend his new friend.

Buckley also introduced Smith to Wilkins, after learning the editor was interested in publishing Smith’s memoir, A Brief Against Death. Smith’s and Wilkins’s relationship quickly transitioned from professional to romantic, with the pair exchanging dozens of sexually explicit letters transported by Smith’s lawyer to evade jailhouse censors.

Through a combination of Buckley’s advocacy, the success of A Brief Against Death, and a series of Supreme Court decisions, Smith’s conviction was overturned, and he was freed.

Weinman wisely incorporates extensive quotes from Smith’s letters into her narrative, showing how the imprisoned murderer manipulated Buckley and Wilkins into believing in his innocence. At times, Smith even attempts to play his two friends on the outside against each other. She demonstrates how two educated, intelligent people became ensnared in a liar’s web.

In Scoundrel, as in her previous work, Weinman places careful emphasis on the lives of Smith’s victims. She notes in her introduction, “It is the voice of the women, sacrificed on the altar of the literary talent of a murderer that animate the narrative of this book. The nonfiction crime genre increasingly makes greater room for the stories of women, embodying their full spectrum as human beings rather flattening them into products of seductive killers.” Weinman takes us into the lives of Victoria Zielinski and Lefteriya Ozbun, and the ripple effects of crimes.

True-crime fans will find a lot to like about Scoundrel. It’s carefully and meticulously reported, entertainingly written, and a fascinating, lurid tale. [“With more than a few echoes of the Norman Mailer/Jack Henry Abbott saga.” -- SDB] The book will also likely find readers outside the genre as well, with its exploration of Buckley and the broader media. It’s well worth a read. — Elizabeth Held

This was an interesting true crime book about a case I had never heard of. The story is truly unbelievable at parts, but knowing the justice system and white men…you can't be too surprised.

Weinman recounts the life of Edgar Smith who was convicted of the murder of 15 year old Victoria Zielinski. He is sentenced to death row and becomes the longest living death row inmate in the country in the 1960s. He wrote a book declaring his innocence that was published while he was still in prison, he eventually is released. He then goes on to commit an attempted murder in California and is sentenced to life. He hoodwinks several women, his mother, wives, and well known conservative William Buckley into believing his lies.

This book was easy to read and I found the story gripping. As always I leave these stories hating men more and more. Smith is truly the most deplorable human and the definition of a psychopath. He was incredibly narcissistic and able to charm a nation with his lies.

Around the middle of the book I struggled. The majority of it was reading Smith's letters to his friends and the explicit love letters he wrote the women he grew close with while on death row. The letter were pretty graphic. It got very repetitive and so tiring reading these deplorable words from a murderer. It did give a lot of insight into Smith as a human and we learned a lot about Buckley as well.

Near the end of the book, things started to progress and we were told an additional story of Smith's transgressions that I think would have been helpful to have heard in the beginning of the book. Otherwise the book was informative and had great sources. Weinman recounted Smith's crimes as the true scoundrel he was.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ecco for an ARC of this title.

I was a fan of the thorough approach Sarah Weinman took in [book:The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World|37959891], and her curatorial eye in [book:Unspeakable Acts: True Tales of Crime, Murder, Deceit, and Obsession|48613296], so I was very excited to see she was writing another true crime book about a case I hadn't heard anything about.

Edger Smith is a real piece of work, and Weinman does a great job of using various sources to show us just how he committed his many crimes, but also convinced everyone he was innocent (until that all fell apart in the 70s). I would have maybe loved a little more about his (apparently mostly terrible) work as a published author, but otherwise this does a great job of telling this story without glorifying its central figure.

Basically.....this book can be summed up by one word...

MEN!!!!!!

more words:

MEN ARE THE WORST!!!

UGHHH

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

A beautifully written, compelling true crime story. It hooks you from the beginning, and after each chapter you just want to read more. Easily one of the most interesting and fun-to-read true crime books I’ve read in a while.

Scoundrel
by Sara Weinman
Pub Date: February 22, 2022

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. I really enjoyed this book. I will recommend it.
4 stars

Scoundrel is perfect for true crime fans! Sarah Weinman is a stand-out in the genre always doing solid research while not bogging down the plot with too many unnecessary details. I look forward to reading more from Weinman!

This was really one of those "truth is stranger than fiction" books. How no one knew this man was conning them is beyond me but he did! Weinman is very good at true crime. She doesn't get bogged down in the details but presents them clearly and without too much commentary. I enjoy how much time she gives to the victims as well. So many true crime books gloss over that but she doesn't.

I picked up this one because I enjoyed an earlier book about Clark Rockefeller and this seemed similar. But, perhaps because it was similar, this just didn’t grab me.

Could not put this book down I have read other books by the author and they also were excellent. True Crime fans this book is for you.I will be recommending.#netgalley #eccobooks.