Now Montclair has adirect connection to the saga , because local author �oe �ompeo has written a book — orrather , one of the books — about the case . �loo� an� �n� ( William Morrow ) was published on Sept . �� , almost ahundred years to the day since two lovers were shot to death in aNew Brunswick �eld . ( It was also included in Montclair Magazine ’ s �all issue book roundup .)

The case has lots of �uicy angles , as the book ’ s subtitle , ��e �can�alo�� �azz �ge �o��le�M�r�er ��at �oo�e� ��erica on �r�e �ri�e , indicates . Both Hall and Mills were married to other people ; Reverend Hall ’ s wife was amember of one of New �ersey ’ soldest families , and Mills was married to a�anitor and sang in the reverend ’ s choir .

But what excited �ompeo , �anit� �air ’ s senior media correspondent ,

was the intersection of the sensational crime with a media circus fueled by the �ust-born New �ork tabloids . The book includes a roster of colorful characters , such as �ail� �e�� editor �hil �ayne , who stages afake seance to see if Mills ’ husband will confess to the killings , and the �ig Woman , akey witness who raised hogs on the ad�acent farm . �Like atabloid story , this tale is absolutely stranger than �ction , ��ompeo says .

We talked to �ompeo about how he came to write about true crime , how he uncovered some long-buried details about the case , and how he

found the time to create with a young family and afull-time �ob .

YOU COVER THE MEDIA , BUT YOUR FIRSTBOOK IS A TRUE-CRIME STORY . HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT ? I ’ ve always been drawn to dark , goth-y history , the �ictorian age and �ack the Ripper . When Iwas at Columbia �ournalism School , I took acourse in the history of �ournalism and we studied some of the crime stories that were covered by the penny papers in the ��th century , like the murders of Helen �ewett and Mary Rogers . I was totally hooked . It became one of my main reading interests .

When Idecided Ineeded to write a book — I have two kids , and money is helpful ( laughs ) — I got an agent and we discussed media topics I ’ ve covered that we could turn into a book that would be interesting or �uicy . Media books are ahard sell ; they ’ re not a topic general readers are super-interested in . �lus , if it was a topic Icovered for �anit� �air , they kind of own that .

I wanted to write something immersive and escapist , with a completely new angle from what I cover professionally . I told my agent I would love to write adusty old crime story , which she was happy to hear . True crime is big .

Then Ihad to �nd the perfect crime . There are a wealth to choose

COURTESY OF THE �UBLISHER

22 HOLIDAY 2022 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE