Whodunnits and Other Mysteries

From The New Yorker’s archive: stories about secrets, mass hysteria, and unsolved crimes. View in browser | Update your preferences Whodunnits and Other Mysteries In 1955, A. J. Liebling published a piece in The New Yorker about a mysterious murder that had occurred at the turn of the twentieth century. On the afternoon of June 26, 1897, a man’s dismembered body was discovered floating in the East River, a killing that became known in reporting circles as the Ghastly Find. Some papers attributed the crime to a maniac like Jack the Ripper, while others saw parallels with additional unsolved homicides. A young newspaper reporter with some medical training believed that there was a more prosaic explanation for the crime. Liebling’s piece follows the writer as he investigates each new clue about the murder. As the story unfolds, it becomes a tale about how a young journalist’s persistence led to the discovery of a torrid love triangle and, ultimately, the identity of the murderer. This week, we’re bringing you a selection of whodunnits and other mysteries. In “Who Killed Carol Jenkins?,” Mark Singer explores the unsolved murder of a Black woman in Indiana in the late sixties. In “The Buffs,” from 1967, Calvin Trillin follows a group of conspiracy theorists as they work to uncover new details about the J.F.K. assassination. In “The Plagiarist’s Tale,” Lizzie Widdicombe examines the secret behind a spy novelist’s prolific work. In "Where the Bodies Are Buried," Patrick Radden Keefe revisits the I.R.A.’s connection to the abduction of an Irish mother in 1972. Berton Roueché investigates a perplexing case of mass hysteria at a Florida elementary school, and Judith Thurman explores the obscure origins of the earliest known cave paintings. In “We Two Made One,” Hilton Als describes the complicated plight of identical twins who retreated into their own world before going on an arson spree. In “Remembering Satan,” Lawrence Wright chronicles the hidden truths behind a landmark case involving “recovered” memory. Finally, in “Mysterious Circumstances,” David Grann writes about the baffling death of the world’s foremost expert on Sherlock Holmes. A good mystery captivates whether or not it’s eventually solved. We hope that these pieces add some intriguing thrills to your holiday weekend. — Erin Overbey, archive editor From The New Yorker’s Archive Annals of Crime The Case of the Scattered Dutchman A murder mystery from 1897—and the race among the decade’s star reporters to solve it. By A. J. Liebling | September 24, 1955 U.S. Journal Who Killed Carol Jenkins? What a thirty-three-year-old murder has done to a town. By Mark Singer | January 7, 2002 A Reporter at Large The Buffs Was Lee Harvey Oswald innocent? By Calvin Trillin | June 10, 1967 Life and Letters The Plagiarist’s Tale The author of “Assassin of Secrets” had a secret of his own. By Lizzie Widdicombe | February 13, 2012 Letter from Belfast Where the Bodies Are Buried Gerry Adams has long denied being a member of the I.R.A. But his former compatriots claim that he authorized murder. By Patrick Radden Keefe | March 16, 2015 Newsletters Sign Up for The New Yorker’s Books & Fiction Newsletter Book recommendations, fiction, poetry, and dispatches from the world of literature, twice a week. Annals of Medicine Sandy The staff and students at a Florida elementary school thought that they’d been poisoned. Were they right? By Berton Roueché | August 21, 1978 Letter from Southern France First Impressions What does the world’s oldest art say about us? By Judith Thurman | June 23, 2008 A Reporter at Large We Two Made One Why did identical twin sisters decide to speak only to each other in a way no one else could understand? By Hilton Als | December 4, 2000 A Reporter at Large Remembering Satan—Part I Claims of sexual abuse and satanic ritual unravelled the Ingram family—and escalated into a landmark case in the national obsession with cults and “recovered” memory. By Lawrence Wright | May 17, 1993 A Reporter at Large Mysterious Circumstances The strange death of a Sherlock Holmes fanatic. By David Grann | December 13, 2004 This e-mail was sent to you by The New Yorker. To insure delivery, we recommend adding newyorker@newsletters.newyorker.com, to your contacts, while noting that it is a no-reply address. Please send all newsletter feedback to tnyinbox@newyorker.com. For more from The New Yorker, sign up for our newsletters, shop the store, and sign in to newyorker.com, where subscribers always have unlimited access. Contact us with questions. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2020. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.