Mr. Tresniowski shows us through brisk and cinematic writing the horror confronted by Marie’s parents ... I admit that, at this point, I wondered how Mr. Tresniowski would conjoin the stories of Williams and Wells, which occurred several decades apart. Was it a bit of a literary feint? A marketing nod to the issues of race and policing currently wracking our country? And yet the stories are so vividly told, so filled with velocity, I thought: Who cares? We’re watching heroes and villains change history; let’s see how they do it ... That the “link” between Wells and Schindler is slight—a small donation from the NAACP to Williams’s defense fund—turns out not to matter. Each makes the other’s dedication shine more brightly. And while Mr. Tresniowski notes that up to now Wells and Schindler 'are not linked in any textbooks, or in any telling of the crime and its aftermath,' with the publication of The Rope they are. I think they would have appreciated each other.

Author Alex Tresniowski weaves together the stories of two people who never met but who would have a tremendous impact on Williams: Ida B. Wells, an African American journalist, and Raymond Schindler, probably the most famous private detective in 20th-century America. Tresniowski traces how Wells was impelled by the brutal murder of a dear friend to evolve from a reporter into an anti-lynching activist of extraordinary courage, determination and effectiveness. Her work eventually results in the NAACP’s intervention in Williams’ case. Schindler’s involvement in the Williams case is more direct, as he is hired to find the true killer. Rejecting the racist assumptions of the Asbury Park police, Schindler relentlessly employs psychological insight and intellect to solve the crime. Wells and Schindler are utterly dissimilar people except that they shared a firm belief in the value of every human—and the courage to act on that belief ... full of rich historical detail, forensic insight and, most especially, a keen understanding of human motivations. It is also a timely reminder that justice is best served when it is compassionate and unbiased.

Anyone interested in Wells’s evolution from obscure schoolteacher to civil rights icon and co-founder of the NAACP will find The Rope compelling and inspirational. They may find it plenty upsetting, too, as Tresniowski documents harrowing incidents of mob law, including one that took the life of Wells’s close friend. The book’s driving force, however, the thing that accelerates the page-turning, is the mystery surrounding the sexual assault and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Asbury Park, N.J., in 1910 ... outstanding, meticulously researched.

History and true crime collide in this sensational murder mystery featuring characters as complex and colorful as those found in the best psychological thrillers ... Gripping and powerful, The Rope is an important piece of history that gives a voice to the voiceless and resurrects a long-forgotten true crime story that speaks to the very divisions tearing at the nation’s fabric today.

In 1910, Asbury Park, N.J., was in its glory days as a seaside escape. The town was a candy-colored Victorian fantasy of wholesome amusements — an elaborate whirling carousel, the Crystal Maze fun house, baby parades. But, as Alex Tresniowski skillfully recalls in The Rope: A True Story of Murder, Heroism, and the Dawn of the NAACP, it was a fantasyland built for whites ... What plays out makes for riveting reading, although the book inexplicably lacks endnotes or a bibliography, making it difficult to assess the accuracy of Tresniowski’s account. And in the end, the two strands of his narrative don’t quite come together. The Smith case was only tangential to the founding of the N.A.A.C.P., and you can’t help feeling that he uses Wells’s story to try elevating an otherwise solid true-crime tale into something akin to a social justice crusade, which seems a stretch.

Tresniowski breathes life into a largely forgotten murder mystery in this gripping true crime story ... Tresniowski richly details the investigation into Marie’s murder, and how the techniques for criminal detection used in this case helped to form the early basis of forensic criminology at the turn of the century ... This gripping story is an important reminder of the many layers of injustice still present in the United States, and would be a timely, relevant addition to most true crime and history collections.

The parallel stories are engrossing, and the action continues apace as the two strands come together. The satisfying conclusion describes the trial and its aftermath, and fills in the later lives of Williams, Tarbell, and Schindler. A condemnation of lynching on a stark, personal level.

In this vivid history, journalist Tresniowski intertwines the story of journalist Ida B. Wells’s anti-lynching crusade with the case of a Black man wrongfully accused of murder in 1910 ... skillfully builds momentum as Schindler attempts to elicit a confession from his prime suspect before Williams stands trial. This thrilling true crime story documents a critical chapter in the crusade against racial violence in America.

This suspenseful, well-written true-crime tale will be an eye-opener for anyone who assumes that after Reconstruction, lynching remained a serious threat only in the South ... Unfortunately, Tresniowski supplies no endnotes, bibliography, or other data on how he reconstructed the details of his narrative, and their absence leaves open to question some aspects of his story ... High-velocity historical true crime lacking supporting data that would have enhanced its credibility.