NOT a Book Club – Abingdon’s Boardinghouse Murder
Join us on for the first meeting of NOT a BOOK CLUB, where we pair books with movies or recordings that correspond to the book. Don’t have time to read the book in advance? Maybe the screening will inspire you to go back and read the book. This month’s pairing is…
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OCTOBER 23rd @ 6pm – Abingdon’s Boardinghouse Murder by Greg Lilly (2024, eBook available free on Hoopla)
Read the book before, or not, then come watch a screening* of author Greg Lilly presenting his research, interviews, and methodology in writing the book, previously recorded by and screened with permission of the College for Older Adults in Abingdon, VA. On a bitter November night in 1945, a widow shot her young boarder, a WWII veteran, and left him to die on the floor of his room. Helen Clark tossed the gun under the neighbor’s porch and then took a taxi to join her teen daughters at a movie in Bristol. When the body was found, after several conflicting statements, she settled on the claim that he shot himself four times, twice in the back. The Commonwealth of Virginia called it murder in a jealous rage. The trial enthralled the nation. The historical true crime explores the lives and conflicts of the victim and the accused, as well as the culture, lore, and legends that have grown over the past eighty years. The book is nominated for best non-fiction awards for the Agatha (Malice Domestic convention), the Anthony (Bouchercon), the Macavity (Mystery Readers International) and earned a spotlight by the International Thriller Writers.
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Additional scheduled meetings of NOT a BOOK CLUB include:
DECEMBER 18th @ 6pm – The World’s Worst Opera Singer
The BOOK: Florence! Foster!! Jenkins!!! by Darryl W. Bullock (2016, eBook available on free Hoopla) OR the BOOK: Florence Foster Jenkins by Nicholas Martin (2016, eBook & audiobook available on Hoopla) paired with the MOVIE: “The Florence Foster Jenkins Story” documentary* directed by Ralf Pleger (2022)
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FEBRUARY 19th @ 6pm – On the Trail of Murder
The BOOK: The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston (2008, available as both eBook & audiobook via Hoopla) paired with the MOVIE: “The Monsters of Florence” documentary directed by Paul Russell (2022)
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APRIL16th @ 6pm – A Musical Legend
The BOOK: Madonna: Like an Icon by Lucy O’Brien (2009, eBook available free on Hoopla) paired with the MOVIE: “Crazy for Madonna” documentary* directed by Carla Duarte (2021).
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Have questions?
