Mystery on the Isles of Shoals, by J. Dennis Robinson (2014)
I picked up this book for two reasons: First, it is
about the Isles of Shoals, the mysterious islands off the coast of Maine and
New Hampshire, where I spent my childhood. Second, because it reminded me of my
late mother. My mother first told me about the ax murders that had taken place
in the 1870s on Smuttynose Island. This book isn't really a mystery, per se, as
we known from the start that the murderer was captured, tried, convicted and
executed. The "mystery" is the legend that surrounds the murders.
Almost as soon as the murder of two Norwegian
immigrant women were murdered on Smuttynose Island, their deaths became local
legend. The author of this book attempts to dispel the legend and compile the
evidence that supported the trial of Louis Wagner and show that justice was
served.
The two women, Karen Christensen and her
sister-in-law, Anethe Matae Christensen, were brutally murdered on the night of
March 6, 1873. The women, along with Maren Hontvet, were alone on the island
that evening and, with their husbands, were the sole residents of the island.
On that night, the women were all together in the house owned by the Hontvet's,
Anethe and Maven's husbands were on the mainland preparing their nets for a
fishing expedition. John Hontvet, Maren's husband, was a successful fisherman
and was believed to have some money hidden in his house.
Enter Louis Wagner. He was a Prussian immigrant
down on his luck. He stole a dory and oared out the 10 or so miles to the
island in the dark of the night with plans to seal John Hontvet's stash of
money. He knew the men of the house were on the mainland (in fact, he was going
to assist them in preparing their nets), so thought he could easily enter the
house, grab the money and return to the mainland with no one being the wiser.
His planned robbery, however, went terribly wrong, when, upon entering the dark
house on Smuttynose, he awakened Karen, who was an unexpected visitor in the
house.
He picked up an ax and began bludgeoning the women.
Maren was able to escape, but Karen and Anethe were not so lucky. After
stealing approximately $16, Wagner rowed back to the mainland and set off for
Boston, where he spent to stolen money on a haircut and new clothing.
Wagner quickly became the main murder suspect and
was caught. He never actually confessed and offered numerous theories and
stories explaining his sudden departure for Boston, not of which made any
sense. Despite this, many people questioned whether or not he was the actual
murderer, and in the a trial that went on for days, many technician theories
were raised. He was ultimately found guilty and hanged.
Many books have been written about the Smuttynose
ax murders, including Anita Shreve's novel, The Weight of Water. Her book takes
a fictional spin on the murders and depicts Wagner in a more sympathetic light
than the fact show.
I found this book an interesting read. As I noted,
it is not so much of a mystery as it is a compilation of facts the support a
finding that Louis Wagner had the means and opportunity to commit this
horrendous crime. The author also provides an interesting history into life in
the New England fishing villages and thoughts on capital punishment at this
period in time.
3 Stars
