Valentino Affair: The Jazz Age Murder Scandal That Shocked New York Society and Gripped the World - Hardcover

Colin Evans has written for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, History magazine, and the medical journal Scope. The author of 16 books on forensics and true crime he lives near Bath, England.

This meticulously reconstructed account of a 1917 murder trial features a lurid cast and copious melodrama. Almost as soon as Chilean heiress Blanca Errázuriz married New York real estate mogul Jack De Saulles in 1912, she suffered terrible humiliations. The rakish De Saulles schemed to get access to his wife’s family fortune to finance his business deals and taste for luxury, and was notorious for his philandering. The birth of their son, Jack Jr., failed to put things right, and after muddling along for four years, Blanca filed for divorce in 1916. Less than a year later, she shot and killed De Saulles in front of several witnesses during a custody dispute; she was acquitted during a sensational trial in 1917. As the marriage fell apart, De Saulles’s liaisons with actresses and Broadway stars, including the dancer Joan Sawyer, pulled Sawyer’s dance partner, a struggling tango dancer named Rudolfo Guglielmi (who became silent film star Rudolf Valentino), into Jack and Blanca’s orbit. While Valentino provides modern readers with a reference point, his rumored connection to Blanca is an aside in Evans’s work, which documents one in a string of the era’s 'wronged women' cases that all ended in acquittals of the killers. (Publishers Weekly)

"A narrative reminiscent of the background melodramas of The Great Gatsby or the musical Chicago ... A sordid narrative presented in brisk, entertaining fashion ... A well-researched tale of a distant-seeming era and crime, echoing our own time’s obsession with celebrity transgression and capacity for justifying violence."
—Kirkus Reviews

"This meticulously reconstructed account ... features a lurid cast and copious melodrama."
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for The Casebook of Forensic Detection:

“Pithy, concise, and remarkably accurate.” —Science Books & Films

“A mystery novelist’s essential resource guide.” —Book News

“Even the most dedicated devotee of the genre will find much that is new in these brief but exciting accounts.” —Publishers Weekly
Praise for The Father of Forensics:

“Evans’s account ... grips from the outset like a thriller. It is a riveting story.” —Good Book Guide

“A full plate of murder ... Evans proves to be a verbally agile narrator of the macabre. ... A page-turner.” —Booklist
Praise for Blood on the Table:

“A fascinating story ... complete with clues to be discovered, internal intrigue, cut-throat politics and lots of local color. Evans writes with vibrant detail ... and keeps things clicking while sticking to the facts; true crime buffs will not want to miss it.”
—Publishers Weekly starred review

“Pithy portraits ... Rendering these grim stories with verve, Evans ... again taps a loyal readership.” —Booklist
Praise for Slaughter on a Snowy Morn:

“With a cast of characters brought to life in superb style, Evans cannot fail to keep you gripped until the very last page.” —History Books Review

“An astonishing story, and Colin Evans tells it with tremendous gusto. ... He marshals all his research with great skill to produce a narrative as gripping and exciting as most thrillers.” —Waterstones Quarterly

“A detailed and very readable account” —The Crime Writers’ Association