Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson

How can one actually enjoy reading about murder and the effects that this murder had on the family and friends of the victim? But I did enjoy it. I was about the same age as the author when this murder happened. I lived in Duluth and it was sensational even at that distance especially when one of the people involved was put on trial in that city. The Kennedy assassination took the case off the front pages and my age took my mind off the case. The case would cross my mind when other murders happened but I didn't know what the result of this case were until this book came out. This was extremely well written and organized and gave insight to the question that often plagues people - what happened to the innocent children?

Pick up a copy of William Swanson's "Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson" and if you are anything like me you will find it very difficult to put it down. For this is a riveting saga detailing the gruesome murder of a popular 34 year old mother of four that takes place in St. Paul, Minnesota late in the winter of 1963. Carol Thompson was the wife of a prominent St. Paul attorney. She was bludgeoned to death in her own home on the morning of March 6, 1963. Police always suspect the spouse in cases like this but this time they had very good reason. Her husband T. Eugene Thompson had taken out more than $1,000,000 in life insurance on his wife in the previous year or so. And although he could account for his whereabouts at the time of the killing a mountain of circumstantial evidence all seemed to point in his direction. It turns out that the hit man he hired to do the deed had second thoughts and subcontracted the job out without Thompsons knowledge. A bizarre turn of events indeed! A little more than three months after the murder T. Eugene Thompson would be arrested and charged with arranging for the murder of his wife Carol. "Dial M" goes on to chronicle Thompson's murder trial and the verdict. It seems that justice was much swifter in this country in those days. However, what makes "Dial M" so compelling is author William Swanson's focus on the impact these events had on the four Thompson children who at the time ranged in age from 6 to 14. Their world had literally been turned upside down and over the years each child would have to deal with the stark realities of the situation in their own way. Their maternal grandparents Otto and Toni Swoboda would do everything they could to bring some stability to their shattered lives and would remain a huge influence on the Thompson children for years to come. "Dial M" helps the reader to understand how these events affected each of the Thompson children as they navigated through adolescence and marched into adulthood. Now it is quite apparent that author William Swanson had more than a passing interest in this case. The Carol Thompson murder is generally regarded as the most celebrated crime in the history of the Twin Cities. Swanson was just a young teen when this murder took place and like so many others in the Twin Cities area he has maintained a certain fascination with this crime all his life. I found "Dial M" to be quite compelling. This is an extremely well written book. Great summer reading to say the least and highly recommended!

Anyone who grew up in the Twin Cities in the 1950s or 1960s remembers the locally notorious murder of Carol Thompson and the investigation that proved her husband had contracted with a hit man, who then subcontracted with a second hit man to kill Carol Thompson. William Swanson's book evocatively recalls that episode in time and follows it up with interviews with the Thompson children, now grown, and their own "hearing" with their father in which they ask him the truth and ultimately decide to exclude him from the family. The book has an elegance of expression that reminds me of Joe McGinnis at his best, and is far better than most true crime books. I would highy recommend it.