Perfection To A Fault - by Janice S C Petrie (Paperback)

About the Book

This is a non-fiction account of the events that encompassed a 1916 murder and trial in Ossipee, New Hampshire. When Florence Small's body was found murdered & partially burned in her lakeside cottage, her husband was immediately suspected. But Frederick was in Boston with an airtight alibi. Many believe the cottage is still haunted by this crime.

Book Synopsis

Voted "Best in New Hampshire" by New Hampshire Magazine and was a featured segment on WCVB-TV Boston's Chronicle.

"Petrie expertly puts details into historical context and annotates each chapter with newspaper and court documentation. Written in 2000 but even more intriguing as the 100th anniversary of the crime approaches, this thorough account will appeal to fans of true crime."- Publisher's Weekly

"Petrie vividly re-creates the circumstances and aftermath of an early 20th-century murder in this true-crime book. Exhaustive detail and flawless re-creations make for real suspense in this nonfiction tale." - Kirkus Reviews

This second printing of "Perfection To A Fault" is the exact same story that was so favorably reviewed by Publisher's Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, among others. A new cover design and a much requested Photo Gallery were added, as the 100th anniversary of the story approaches. This book is the non-fiction account of the events which encompassed a murder and trial at the turn of the century in Ossipee, New Hampshire. When Florence Small's smoldering body rose to the surface of the basement water, local folks immediately suspected her husband of the crime. Frederick Small was an outsider, a Boston man, who had moved to Ossipee Lake to semi-retire. There was a deep distrust of "city fellas up there behind the Ossipees," in 1916 and perhaps this suspicion was warranted. But how could Frederick have been responsible for a murder and a fire that happened 7 hours after he had left for Boston on a business trip? The sensational trial that followed was unlike any previously experienced in Carroll County. And although everybody from the Boston area to Portland, Maine, had an opinion, nobody anticipated the decision the jury would reach. The unrest on the ill-fated property remained even in 1956, when Anna Foley's unsuspecting son and daughter-in-law felt the effects of the events of 1916 one August night while vacationing on the property.

The Manchester Leader and Evening Union newspaper wrote in anticipation of a verdict, "If the state has proved its case, it has developed a new type of New Hampshire criminal. It has brought forth a cool, daring, mechanical and chemical genius, a man who scorned the ordinary forms of murder but who brought forth to the mountains of this quiet village a science which would baffle a Craig Kennedy or Sherlock Holmes. The jury of his peers will decide whether Frederick L. Small is that man or the normal individual who has been made a victim of circumstances and is being tried for a crime which he never committed and of which he had no knowledge."

Review Quotes

"Petrie expertly puts details into historical context and annotates each chapter with newspaper and court documentation. Written in 2000 but even more intriguing as the 100th anniversary of the crime approaches, this thorough account will appeal to fans of true crime."- Publisher's Weekly

"Petrie vividly re-creates the circumstances and aftermath of an early 20th-century murder in this true-crime book. Exhaustive detail and flawless re-creations make for real suspense in this nonfiction tale." - Kirkus Reviews

"...I can honestly say that Janice has done a wonderful job, and historically accurate, in portraying the persons and events..." -- Barry Hill - President of the Ossipee Historical Society

"...a fascinating case, and Janice had an unusual and somewhat eerie connection to the story...it is riveting and suspenseful..." -- Ossipee Historical Society, Summer 2000 Newsletter

"Petrie decided to research the source of the haunting. The result is an engaging ghost story, murder mystery, courtroom drama." --New Hampshire Magazine, July, 2001 Rebecca Rule- Best of New Hampshire Issue

"Petrie's account of the sensational trial and legacy are well told. Nobody writes about a haunting with more chilling effect..." John Robinson, Portland Herald Press, Maine Sunday Telegram, May 6, 2001