SHALLOW GRAVE IN TRINITY COUNTY

Softcover. 1955 - California - a post-war dream. Stephanie Bryan, a pretty 14yr old from Berkeley, vanished while walking home from school one day. Her parents searched frantically; her disappearance made the news; but nothing turned up - for 3 months. Then one summer night a few miles away in the town of Alameda, a young housewife discovered a burial ground of Stephanie Bryan's belongings in her basement, including bobby pins, schoolbooks, spectacles, and and a wallet. The woman's husband, Burton Abbott, soon became the enigmatic centre of the 9-month nightmare that followed. Abbott claimed innocence, but Stephanie's body was soon found in a makeshift grave not far from Abbott's mountain cabin, hundreds of miles away. Despite the evidence, Abbott stubbornly maintained his innocence throughout the trial, provoking questions that still lingered 4 decades later. Through extensive interviews, original research, and an eye-opening review of long-forgotten police files, the author has crafted a chilling re-creation of an unforgettable crime - and a dark parable of evil amid the suburban bliss of 1950s America. Illus. + Maps, Bibliog. and Index. 321pp. trade size softcover. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. with no creasing to covers.