A Death in White Bear Lake

This is a brutal read, a story that fills me with anger, outrage, and despair.

I am 51 years old. While I was not alive for these events, I've lived long enough to understand the truth of how our perceptions of abuse, and who is capable of being an abuser, has evolved. Equal for me to the facts of the case was the material about the invention and evolution of policies, procedures, and professions put in place to protect children.

Lord knows children are still so vulnerable and at risk, but there was a time within memory of many when children had no safety net at all. Today, this story would be an epic failure of the system ... back then there was hardly a system at all.

Before I criticize the book, I want to say I felt like Sherlock Holmes when I read the name and location of a relative of the murderer, and realized this woman (June Bol) was the mother of the guy who invented Little Free Libraries, Todd Bol. She was one of the few people in this book who tried to protect children, and she raised a son who – as an homage to her – started a program that's enriching communities and changing lives. Her legacy stands in sharp contrast to that of Lois Jurgens, the murderer of Dennis, the abuser of other vulnerable children.

Okay, the central story was fascinating, as was the aforementioned history of the treatment and handling of child abuse. The rest was so dull, so dry, so unnecessary. The founders of White Bear Lake probably didn't care this much about the minutiae of the founding and running of White Bear Lake. Locals were mentioned for pretty much no purpose, but we know the author did his research. There could have been an interesting thread there about the rise and fall of the optimism and prospects for this town, but instead of it being merely a thread or a ribbon, it was an – I don't know – absurdly large handkerchief.