Do you enjoy reading "who-done-its" whether they are courtroom thrillers or cozies? Want to discuss these books with other mystery lovers & discover new authors? Join the Mystery Reading Group. This month: Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City" by Kate Dawson.

Funded by the Fountain Hills Friends of the Library.

 London was still recovering from the devastation of World War II when another disaster hit: for five long days in December 1952, a killer smog held the city firmly in its grip and refused to let go. Day became night, mass transit ground to a halt, criminals roamed the streets, and some 12,000 people died from the poisonous air. But in the chaotic aftermath, another killer was stalking the streets, using the fog as a cloak for his crimes.

All across London, women were going missing--poor women, forgotten women. Their disappearances caused little alarm, but each of them had one thing in common: they had the misfortune of meeting a quiet, unassuming man, John Reginald Christie, who invited them back to his decrepit Notting Hill flat during that dark winter. They never left.

The eventual arrest of the "Beast of Rillington Place" caused a media frenzy: were there more bodies buried in the walls, under the floorboards, in the back garden of this house of horrors? Was it the fog that had caused Christie to suddenly snap? And what role had he played in the notorious double murder that had happened in that same apartment building not three years before--a murder for which another, possibly innocent, man was sent to the gallows?

Things to Consider:
1. Did you know anything about the subjects prior to reading this book? What preconceived opinions did you have and did these change after reading the book? Why do think the author opened the book this way?

2. Do the issues raised in this book affect your life? How so? How about in the future?
3. Consider the writing style and language of the book. Was the language engaging, inflammatory, etc.? Did it draw you into the story or not? Was the language easily accessible? Were unfamiliar terms and concepts explained?

4. Is the focus of this book more interior/psychological or exterior/action oriented? What are the book's strengths and weaknesses?

5. It took London a long time to recover and rebuild from World War II. How was the war's influence affect the events of this book?

6. Who were the first people to identify the problems?

7. Have you learned anything new about yourself by reading this book?

8. How did the events featured in this book change English society? World society? How are these issues still relevant today?