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This read gave me so much more than I expected and I'm very glad I read it. The true crime aspects are well-researched and handled with much tact and delicacy. I've never read a true crime book set in such a recent past, so the gentleness and respect with which Ling handled the details feels especially important and worth noting.
I also appreciate how deeply the text examined the modern history of crime against the queer community and how that impacts its relationship with law enforcement. Elements like abuse of power and mistrust of the system played a huge role in these cases and Ling explores those connections with a hard honesty that I deeply respect and value.
This is a quick read that will be sticking with me for a long time. Much food for thought and many moments of quiet reflection within these pages.
I also appreciate how deeply the text examined the modern history of crime against the queer community and how that impacts its relationship with law enforcement. Elements like abuse of power and mistrust of the system played a huge role in these cases and Ling explores those connections with a hard honesty that I deeply respect and value.
This is a quick read that will be sticking with me for a long time. Much food for thought and many moments of quiet reflection within these pages.
dark
informative
sad
tense
I rarely read non-fiction, but I wanted to read this book because I lived and worked in that community for 19.5 years and during these cases.
Although I have not met any of the victims, I did frequent some of the same locations and walked on the same streets, so everything was very familiar and too close to home.
I thought that the author did a good job of journalism but I really wished that he had left his personal opinions and judgments out of the story and had focused in the main investigation. Sometimes he was preachy.
Regardless, I was hooked and completely enthralled, hence my 4 stars. I didn’t find a moment of boredom.
I did listen to the audiobook, which is narrated by the author and I enjoyed even more, as I could feel how much heart he put into this work.
Paperback: 304 pages
E-book (Kobo): 307 pages (default), 83k words
Audiobook: 8.9 hours (normal speed)
challenging
dark
informative
fast-paced
The degree of separation in this book was unnerving. I work at the office that used to be vice Canada in liberty village. I remember this story in high school and aside from the serial killer aspect of this story didn’t think much of it. This book does more than cover the story and isn’t sensational. The way the book covers the history of the queer community in Toronto, the history and failures of the Toronto police and the emphasis on the community/ other victims that forced the police to recognize these missing men all paint a larger and poignant picture of the larger issues at play that surround the mcarthur case and then men who crossed his path. This was deeply informative, harrowing, and empathetic.
informative
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
This book was written with tact and empathy for the victims and their families. The author made sure to seek the help of those whose loved ones he was working to memorialize, to ensure that the attempt at enshrining them wasn't instead causing harm. Missing from the Village addresses issues of community, and the explores the amorphous idea that community exists inherently among people who share a marginalized identity. The book calls into question the organization and priorities of the Toronto police, and offers solutions to the issues inherent in how the current system treats cases outside of the purview of general policing, especially missing persons cases. These issues allowed a killer to slip away from punishment for decades. Despite living in an area of the United States that is close to Canada, I don't have much more than a cursory insight into Canadian social issues and politics, and I'm astounded by the policing, harassment, and profiling issues that still plague queer and other marginalized populations.
I'm glad to have read this book.
I'm glad to have read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Deportation
Minor: Gun violence
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Murder
Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia
Ling's sensitivity and focus on the broader contextual elements surrounding this horrific story elevates Missing from the Village from true crime to something far more thoughtful. I also really enjoyed the nuanced discussion of emotional labour toward the end of the book.
dark
sad
slow-paced
Narration is great, just didn't think this was a good pick *for me* as an audiobook since there's so many names and dates/a long timeline to follow. Also made for a slow-feeling read, in part because it spans 5+ years of investigation. Gets a bit moralizing at the end--but--I'm in agreement with a lot of it? I appreciate the author bringing up the ethical and moral issues in journalism and how they have the potential for, and/or do harm to victims and survivors in their line of work. And the huge problem that's come with the rise of social media and true crime "fandom."