A Murder on the Hill: The Secret Life and Mysterious Death of Ruth Munson

"At 7:00 a.m. on December 9, 1937, St. Paul firefighters battling an arsonist's fire in the abandoned Aberdeen Hotel discovered the badly burned body of a woman. The victim was soon identified as 31-year-old Ruth Munson, a waitress at the Union Depot--a "small-town girl" who had moved to the big city in search of a new life. Using original police records, Ruth's own diary and letters, newspaper accounts, public documents, and other primary sources, author Roger Barr meticulously retraces the investigation, as detectives examined Ruth's background, work history, relationships, and social life in search of clues to her killer. As they looked into her sexual relationships, the detectives uncovered hints of Ruth's secret, double life, which included legal but culturally taboo connections with Black men. Despite years of searching, police never caught the murderer. Their work was met with mistrust, silence, and denial among both white and Black people. Barr provides a careful examination of the missed opportunities, secrets, and racism that hampered the investigation" -- Publisher.