Murder in Canaryville: The True Story of a Cold Case and a Chicago Cover-Up

In this riveting account, Coen (Family Secrets: The Case That Crippled Chicago’s Mob) paints a vivid picture of underworld Chicago while detailing one man’s quest to close a cold case. In 1976, 17-year-old John Hughes was partying with friends in a park when he was shot dead by someone in a passing car. What should have been a simple case wound up going nowhere. Forty years later, Det. James Sherlock, on loan from the Chicago PD to the FBI’s cold case file, pulled a slender file on the murder and began to reconstruct the case. Though it was never officially solved, Sherlock’s dogged police work pretty much makes it clear who killed Hughes, why the incident led to a second murder years later, why there was a cover-up, and just how high it went. One of the suspects had a relative in the police department, judges were likely bribed, and Coen alleges that Mayor Richard Daley could have been involved. Along the way, Coen details the history of the mob in Chicago and the corruption within the city’s police department. With this fascinating survey, Coen burnishes his reputation as a top-notch crime writer. (Jan.)