When Evil Came to Good Hart
Despite tireless efforts by investigators, the solution to this case has remained just out of their reach. And Link does a meticulous job of detailing their efforts and their frustrations. Her exhaustive research shines as she spins a fresh look at a 40-year-old tale of murder, mayhem and mystery. As a former police reporter, I'm always interested in how writers weave usually dry police and court documents into a narrative that is not only readable, but compelling. Through use of dusty documents, current-day interviews and interesting bits of local history and lore, Link has found those nuggets and crafted a book that keeps one turning the pages. She combines the tenacity of a good reporter with the literary ability of a talented novelist to provide readers with a book that deserves attention in northern Michigan and beyond. --Traverse City Record-EagleIt's one of the best accounts of the homicide I've seen. Probably the most factual. --Emmet County Sheriff Pete WallinMardi Link's look at a 1968 case is a stellar example of how a mystery, when well presented, can be even more compelling than one that's been solved. In digging through evidence, reading numerous newspaper accounts from that time, and talking to a score of Good Hart residents, Link doesn't come up with any answers about whodunnit, but she does explore more than just the Robison case. In presenting the facts, she asks questions about the nature of evil, and comments on loss of innocence in many ways, her own, the town's, the era's. Her descriptions vary from melodic and wistful to hard-hitting, a combination that keeps the pages turning fast. For the Robisons, she writes, it was to be their first full summer in Good Hart, a result of business success: "It was a simple but enduring dream, shared by thousands of Michigan families, but one that for the Robisons this summer in 1968, lasted just eight days." --ForeWord MagazineSeven year old Mardi Link was in the back seat of the family Ford, on her way to a relative's cottage, when WJR interrupted a ballgame to break news of the grisly discovery. Link is the author of the first nonfiction account of the murders. 'I guess I was struck by the fact that Susie and I were the same age,' Link says. 'I was always intrigued by the case. Who would kill an entire family? And why?' Police asked those same questions. --Hour Detroit magazineThere is an intemporal quality to Good Hart, the kind born of ancient rocks, mature mixed forests, enduring Ottawa legends, and the turquoise waters of Little Traverse Bay. Hovering over this paradise is the dark chapter in the village's past that locals still don't care to talk about: the massacre of six members of the vacationing Robison family in the summer of 1968. In the first nonfiction book about this baffling and still unsolved crime, Link offers up a balanced and absorbing account of this mystery, allowing readers to form their own opinions and leaving them wanting more from this very talented writer. --author Richard Bak