I don’t read a lot of true crime, but after reading Conti’s The Jacklighter, I may start reading more.
In THE JACKLIGHTER: Murder, Betrayal, and Justice in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains, Carla Conti has crafted an intense, complex and compelling true crime story of murder, buried truths and systemic injustice. “50 years ago, Martin Dillon walked into the Pennsylvania woods and never came home.”
Martin Dillon was married to Patti Dillon. One afternoon, he was accompanied by Dr. Stephen Scher, a one-time friend (but now also Patti’s lover) to Dillon’s hunting camp in the hills. Dillon died there of a gunshot wound to the chest which Scher called an accident.
The Jacklighter is an investigative true crime book about a decades‑long Pennsylvania cold case, the small town it tore apart, and a murder that refused to stay buried. It’s about family, friends, detectives and a community that wouldn’t let go. Centered on the small town of Montrose, Pennsylvania, in the “Endless Mountains,” it is a probing and well researched book, with heartfelt, personal accounts of the decades long crime saga, even as it disinters scandalous personal behavior abetted by criminally incompetent police work.
Beyond telling a riveting story, Conti writes engagingly and well. The Jacklighter begins with the tight-knit town of Montrose, and Conti makes you feel the impact of the crime, the stages of grief, along with the frustration and anger the people in the community go through.
From the very beginning, there were issues about the manner of death and things that didn’t add up, but the Pennsylvania State Police’s failures at the scene all-but ensured there would be no finding beyond “accidental.” Failures that would be compounded.
To say much more would be to rob you of the joy–and dismay–of reading the twists and turns of this account.
Highly recommended.
*I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, Crimemoir Press, and this is my honest review.
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James McCrone writes upmarket thrillers that raise questions about the nature of power, the choices we make and the lessons we don’t learn.
He is the author of the Imogen Trager political suspense-thrillers Faithless Elector, Dark Network , and Emergency Powers–noir tales about a stolen presidency, a conspiracy, and a nation on edge. Bastard Verdict, his fourth novel, is about a conspiracy surrounding a second Scottish Independence referendum. His current novel is Witness Tree, where a newly sober ex-con is trapped at the center of a white supremacist plot when he is the only witness to an execution, turning his hopes for a new life into a fight for survival. Set in Oregon’s wine country, it’s a (pinot) noir tale of murder and corruption.
All books are available on BookShop.org, IndyBound.org, Barnes & Noble, your local bookshop, and Amazon. eBooks are available in multiple formats including Apple, Kobo, Nook and Kindle.
He’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, Int’l Assoc. of Crime Writers, and he’s the current president of the Delaware Valley chapter of Sisters in Crime. He lives in Philadelphia. James has an MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle.
For a full list of appearances and readings, make sure to check out his Events/About page. And follow this blog!
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