Many thanks to NetGalley and Thread for gifting me an audiobook of this true crime story by Ellen J. Green, wonderfully narrated by John Chancer - 4 stars!

On September 6,1949, twenty-eight-year-old Howard Barton Unruh shot thirteen people in less than twelve minutes on his block in East Camden, New Jersey. This is considered the first recorded mass shooting in America. Told through the eyes of then 12-year-old Raymond Havens, we get an intimate account of Unruh's behavior, background and life.

This was a meticulously researched book - we hear from the neighbor boy who befriended Unruh, who listened to him talk about the war, his stamps, history. We learn ab out Unruh's past as well as the constant bullying he faced in his neighborhood. While I believe everyone has to take personal responsibility for his actions, this book will leave you feeling somewhat sympathetic towards Unruh even while deploring his actions. It's hard to believe how far we've come since the 1950s - it seems like hardly a night goes by where we don't hear of a mass shooting somewhere in the US on the news.

This is the story of America's first recorded mass shooting. True crime, history, and psychology -- this had it all, which is why I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well researched and written, great narrator (audiobook), and alternating POVs. Will definitely recommend!

True story, New Jersey September 6, 1949
How does an 11 year old child react to seeing a person whom he had a friendly relationship with suddenly go crazy and kill thirteen people?
Howard Barton Unruh a twenty eight year old decided to take revenge.
A World War II hero returning home became the subject of pestering by the neighbors. His sexual orientation added conflicts with his religious believe. When his secret became known it only increased the ugly attitude towards him by everybody in this fairly tightknit community.
Nobody deserved to be killed and the kids were innocent but the adults were guilty and did cause him to snap. Raymond our eleven year old boy seems mature for his age and is the only one that tries to understand what has happened. I loved to read about Raymond, fell sorry for Howard and his mother, hated most of the neighbors and their treatment of Raymond.
Book is well worth reading

This is a nonfiction true crime book. Twenty-eight-year-old Howard Barton Unruh shot thirteen people on September 6th, 1949. This is America’s first recorded mass shooter. Told through the eyes of a boy who witnessed everything, a prosecutor in charge of the case, and the mother of the shooter. Information gathered from witnesses, letters, diary entries and trail transcripts.
I loved the way the book was written as a narrative instead of just stating facts. The writer did justice with the way they wrote this book. I love the way this book showed every side of the story and proved that not everything is black and white. The only issue with this audio book is that it seemed to repeat information often. Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for a chance to listen to this audio book.

Description 🔖

On September 6th 1949, Howard Unruh shot thirteen people in under twelve minutes. This was the first recorded mass shooting in America. This book tells the true story of what happened via Howard’s friend and neighbour as well as his mother.

General Thoughts 🤔

It’s been a while since I’ve read a true crime book so I was really looking forward to getting into this one. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the book read more like a piece of fiction than non-fiction which I think helped to make it really engaging and made me feel somewhat closer to the individuals in the story.

I hadn’t heard of this case before getting this book (which is unusual for me as a bit of a true crime junkie). The whole thing made me feel so very sad. Not only for the victims and their families but for Howard too. He was obviously very troubled and I wonder how much of what he did was due to him having had enough of the torment and bullying.

Characters 👫👭👬

I say characters. These were real life people, not fictional characters for me to rip apart. But I did want to touch upon a couple of them.

Firstly Howard. I think he came across as quite a sensitive soul and the crimes that he committed, didn’t match with the Howard from his diary entires in my opinion. I couldn’t help but think how differently his life could have been if it had been a different time with better mental health support and awareness.

Raymond was the sweetest little kid and I fell in love with him. He was the epitome of innocence. He saw Howard differently to everyone else, even after the shootings. I imagine what happened probably had a huge impact on his entire life.

Writing Style ✍️

As mentioned above, I loved the fact that this book felt like reading a piece of fiction. It was written in such a way that didn’t feel like I had facts and timelines and figures being thrown at me, yet I didn’t feel like I missed out on any details.

The author cleverly told the story of the shootings via diary entries, police evidence, psychiatric reports and interviews with surviving family members. The amount of research that must have gone into writing this book must have been so overwhelming and then to turn all of that into something that was easily consumable by a reader was the cherry on top.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

I really enjoyed listening to this book. It was written brilliantly, narrated brilliantly and rekindled my love for reading true crime. This was a heart breaking story that provoked lots of thoughts and emotions for me. If you’re a true crime fan, I think this book will do the same for you and you will like it as much as I did.

On Sept 6, 1949, Howard B Unruh murdered 13 people in less than 12 minutes in his East Camden, New Jersey neighbourhood. People thought he was odd and lazy despite being a war hero. They mistook Howard’s quiet passiveness as stupidity and bullied him relentlessly. What happened that fateful day to push Howard over the edge and brutally shoot 13 people, including 3 children, in cold blood? The author did a brilliant job recounting the history and facts that led up to this assault. It was a chilling account of how many factors collided to create the perfect storm. The psychology of Howard’s situation was fascinating. There was also a mystery of who ripped out Howard’s newly constructed gate, which appeared at first glance to be the impetus that set things off.

The audio narration was terrific. Well told with a clear concise performance. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

For such a difficult topic, Ms. Green did a phenomenal job of telling this true story. It is told with compassion, evenly paced with a stunning entry at the end. Sadly, following most mass shootings there has been an outcry for gun control only to be left aside until the next one happens. This is a cautionary tale on many levels

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thread Books for this ARC!

I liked the beginning of this book, and I really did think it was a very interesting story that surprisingly id heard nothing about. It lost me at the end though. Maybe the chapters were too long, or maybe the story itself didn't make for a good audiobook. All in all, I definitely liked it enough to buy the kindle version when released so I can give it a second shot.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook during my work days. I always love listening to true crime podcasts and was surprised I hadn't heard of the first recorded mass shooting.

I particularly enjoy when non-fiction is written in a novel-like style. I typically steer away from a "history book" style format as I find it boring and drawn out.

I think there were certainly some good chunks here, and I liked the narrator. I felt like there was still something missing but overall it was a great podcast type story to listen to. The grimness and speed of the event is explained well and held my attention. I think this is good for lovers of true crime and those who listen to these types of podcasts, shows, and audiobooks.

3.75/5

On an ordinary September day in 1949 the most unordinary event took place in a small town in America. This was to be the first recorded mass shooting in history and as a true crime buff it was one I had not heard of. Narrated through the lens of a twelve year old friend of Howard Unruh you almost feel for the shooter who was bullied and picked on and was intent on getting retribution for himself. There were more than a dozen dead that day in East Camden, New Jersey, but there were other victims who suffered in the days and years after the rampage too. This untold story is compelling, heartbreaking, and unnerving. That someone who seems so "normal" could just lose it for a day is astounding.

I thought I knew a lot of true crime but I have never read much about Howard Unruh. Who walks through their neighborhood and randomly shoots people? 13 people in 12 minutes. No one is safe. Victims 2-68 years old. I wanted to understand more from reading this. I know more. I don't understand. The ways the mass shooting changed the people of the neighborhood and the people of the US is far more compelling anyway.

If you enjoy learning about history and murder, this audiobook is for you. The first recorded mass shooting. Hearing the diary style telling will pull you in. You’ll be shocked and intrigued.
Thank you NetGalley !

This true crime retelling is a bit different to what I expected.

I was really pleasantly surprised that it read much like a novel told from mainly, two distinct points of view. One being that of a then 11, nearly 12, year old boy Raymond and Freda, the mother of Howard Unruh, the perpetrator.

As a reader, I was impressed by the obvious research that was completed to provide such a comprehensive retelling.

By the end I felt sympathy for all parties involved and believe the only true innocents were the children who died as a result of Unruh's actions.

Justifiable arguments could certainly be put forward as to the severity of Unruh's actions and I wouldn't disagree.

Mainly though this has made me angry that a country that believes in its greatness continues to 'allow' this type of tragedy to happen again and again due to the lack of proper legislation about firearms.

I don't know what the answer is but I know that more than 70 years later the same crimes need not be happening.

Ray Havens is waiting to see if he can get a haircut when something horrible happens. He sees his neighbor, Howard Unruh, murdering their neighbors. In a matter of twelve minutes, Unruh murders thirteen of his neighbors on River Road in Camden, NJ. This horrible day is noted as the first recorded mass shooting in America.

Howard Unruh is a decorated war veteran who came home and was never the same. He is a quiet, odd man who has no job, no friends, and feels the world is against him. Each day he is teased mercilessly by his neighbors who call him "Nancy boy" and allude to the fact that they know his biggest secret - in a time where it is completely unacceptable, Howard is homosexual. One day Howard decides he has had enough of the teasing and bullying and decides those who have tortured him must pay for their sins - with their lives.

This story is told through the eyes of neighborhood boy Raymond Havens and Howard's mother as they try to make sense of what happened and relive how it changed their neighborhood forever. Thanks to newly released documents, the author was able to present a fuller story with intricate detail.

The narrator, John Chancer, does a wonderful job of expressing the horror and dismay of the story of River Road in 1949. He was able to effectively evoke the confusion and dismay that Howard's mother felt when trying to make sense of what Howard had done and why he did it. I was extremely impressed with how easily his voice drew me into the story of this lone man and the havoc he caused.

While the story revealed itself a little slower than I normally would have liked, I believe the author laid out all the details beautifully and gives a great trip from beginning to end.

I love a good true crime and had to snag this as soon as a saw it.

This book follows the first known mass shooting in the USA in September 1949. Howard, a 28 year old veteran, wanders the neighborhood shooting people. It is told from the perspective of Raymond, a young man who lived in the neighborhood. He witnessed the killing spree, but also knew the killer - he interacted with him from time to time. We also hear from Frieda, Howard's mother.

Howard was treated terribly by many of the people in the neighborhood. It is doubtful any of them thought their actions alone could push this man over the edge and send him on a shooting spree.
But you can tell many of them wonder if things could have turned out differently?!

The narrator was wonderful at telling the story, even an adult telling it through the eyes of a child.

I felt for Freida, as a mother who was working hard to support herself after her hsuband left the family, and dealing with her son commiting such a horrific crime. I feel Howard would have boiled over at some point had this event not occurred. Not excusing his shooting spree, which is horrific, but definitely speaks to mental health issues and also providing for those who go to war and return carrying those horrific memories for life.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Thread for this advance audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

On September 6, 1949 Howard Unruh killed three children and ten adults, wounding an additional three, in a mere 12 minutes on his neighborhood street.

This is a very unusual true crime novel because by the conclusion you will not have much pity for the victims of Howard Unruh (excepting the children), for he was their victim first. This book is primarily told through the eyes of a young boy who was friends with Howard as well as Howard’s mother. Howard was hailed as a war hero after fighting in the Battle of the Bulge and returned from the war with what most likely would now be diagnosed as PTSD for the horrors he was forced to commit and witness. The occupants of his town mocked this awkward and socially different man mercilessly, taunting him and playing cruel jokes on him until one day a prank tipped the scales too far and Howard Unruh sought revenge.

This was an extremely interesting dive into the mindset of a killer, and I have to say I felt immense pity for the man. Definitely add this novel to your list if you enjoy true crime! Narration was excellent for the audiobook!

I had not heard of this mass shooting before, so it was quite interesting to listen to the account of what occurred that day in Murder in the Neighborhood by Ellen J. Green. It was sad to hear about the victims and some of them just getting caught in the crossfire of Unruh's snapping. Obviously, there is no justification for the murders Unruh committed; however, the constant ridicule and bullying by his neighbors and others seemed to push him over the edge. The constant pecking and belittling finally got to him after a fence he put up went missing.

We see the story through the eyes of Raymond, a 12-year-old that was a friend of Unruh, and Frieda, Unruh's mother. This book is told from eyewitness accounts, psychiatric records, diary entries, and police reports.

I enjoyed listening to the narrator. He had a nice voice that kept my interest and presented the information in a well-paced manner.

I would recommend either reading this book or listening to the audiobook.

#MurderintheNeighborhood #NetGalley @Bookouture

I typically enjoy true crime and I thought this sounded really interesting, but after the first few chapters, I was not able to continue. It's clearly well researched, but I found it hard to hold interest, so I DNFed this one.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Murder in the Neighborhood is a true crime book about the first recorded mass shooting in the US, told from the perspective of a 12-year old witness to the crime.
The book starts out very interesting but quickly becomes monotonous. There’s not really enough backstory to this very sad event to fill a whole book.

Thank you Thread and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.