Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Connie's Secret: The True Story of a Shocking Murder and a Family Mystery at a Time When Appearances Were Everything
Connie's Secret: The True Story of a Shocking Murder and a Family Mystery at a Time When Appearances Were Everything
Connie's Secret: The True Story of a Shocking Murder and a Family Mystery at a Time When Appearances Were Everything
Ebook285 pages4 hours

Connie's Secret: The True Story of a Shocking Murder and a Family Mystery at a Time When Appearances Were Everything

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

On February 4, 1939, Connie Sommerlad was brutally butchered and her brother left for dead in their family farmhouse in rural Tenterfield. It was a murder that would rock the tight-knit community; a murder made all the more shocking by the fact that their assailant was a local man working for the Sommerlads. Jack Kelly, who was to become the last person to be hanged in New South Wales, struggled to explain his awful crime even as he faced the gallows. Yet this was far from the only mystery to be exposed by Connie's tragic end. What really happened to Connie in those lost years between her move to Sydney as a young woman and her fateful return to her home town? And what was the secret so shameful that, even as Kelly stood trial for her murder, the Sommerlads conspired to keep it from the public record? Vividly evoking small-town Australia in the months leading up to the outbreak of World War II, Connie's Secret brings to life the story of a highly respectable family desperately trying to protect their talented but wayward daughter's reputation at a time when religion, virtue, and maintaining appearances held sway over every thought and deed. This fascinating insight into another era is written with the emotional force of a novel, but these events did happen—and their devastating impact continues to be felt by those left behind even today.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherAllen Unwin
Release dateSep 1, 2008
ISBN9781741765885
Connie's Secret: The True Story of a Shocking Murder and a Family Mystery at a Time When Appearances Were Everything

Related to Connie's Secret

Related ebooks

History For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Connie's Secret

Rating: 4.333333333333333 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

3 ratings1 review

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I absolutely loved this book. Connie suffered a tragic death and it's a shame what family secrets will do.

Book preview

Connie's Secret - Anne Lovell

/h1^book_preview_excerpt.html\[rGvJǡhB|J" 1 2 }fWew^S4_ڃYh%>̪j"]y(C?tM_}ӗ_ګϮwl?^e=ˮ߾-{sv]}/do~}}vz*O<~>}soWg7\_9>]fޝ?|yvnp,;W\|}EJgzuwo6M7d;gkrφ&˛zp ;C;\֔wYۮ)Yq}N:]lJgh1}orG9\~gW.C"t>I:ϡуߥ_NNg[_Gw]ㄽn}q]6Y ._]7 $qrhl\Wa>d8xůZy\|ÎB*~vGr,B]34 ~YAyyPsu7R \;tBM|a5# }۰}X'5~0{WWgOϾ+ފl!d1TcE57|x,X]wVѤ4-OR q%8Q"pM.oǮmhPm(h`;ge`W uTam-AXR7CU m}6G_0,JdaX\~Zwtj&(K7\R`*yOo_7Gɾ{iw_ٳd=r|.gǓ`#Oqjga~?]ʗIOús4''|W6}?ѪM̮;kwOdᦋyr={Ia3+|55DWO^[iKBM櫰/]l;@gwٷ7I8{=L1: |:`PFҬd:\B!Du @_;of_b뫸ɔ_"i mC5YYuEk-Mt}a ?r; W`HٻjG}dz6|* Y?>^5xGw4E}N .0yG@CFwrԮA Ɠnd3bπg f_l6Gp2 b1Q(+1*kaZwM~\COKk-x"@a'vUoH\[:nxntrĭO0-|E>  T|&hI#f$4p=q<پ)ϣ#SJj oes(R޸ۖI @x>E ޅOe*>u n]jqjO%G8Jv:[D]dq ٷ%v׃$ 8dmWbi7 d swXeo\utP*{[n޵e0 7e<0/xW%9_#xt&HO]@ٶ4/Ձ+AF lm=G+U@d#amK3 ,Aԁ[cSK? 9vfo'@Z-APXVfdYJL-}ؑ9c:a30@.:;px\2ɆMt;Ɏa a9w&e{Sah{]3nwH/D_s]@QPP-Dp|5j3~>$;Kwwv[rO L , XG?m||RhU `S#R>+r~5BpWR$S^Ak?~ S) |z䒡v  (]c8yu(j[Y4 n( ;~ 's9<Oй~ˑVr{l_)<6<%T^pcIei"BX6 R\&~P؅V1ކ>P;=0i,np)ls%8h?c,!P&;#f'sȢ')Ji6 :WZ,h ?8JC@BMϛPLfn:CYAfaڋ8=jp9϶U% ޮ6bA\$0xKS+H@ >J:~#΄mX<F1v!RϞ<I ǀtk!/RHZb5jiR'ً䚜&_%3Nl ay$C:bz_n_pڮX#Nte "Ќo DMA;x~}į [[{Iu3h0P"KQd?-.zdp17YhtHFQż5 o%u7:뮷 38q`| ވ C7 1 r]pEb1 rr*vl |FC3 EF:SXk$Q}+i5n\#p[ abWmXNܻxgEcQeCLp9ׁh#r|n>2Ytkr2,y25;ƨ%ʵw#hH *cI֖g}&@=O&Xc>TR\ۑEva qѴyf|4iey#R )uIS x4$6>A`cB BDA:Q|K\i"eKtf TL1tk, cGsf bEMI4j}$jf}SV6T׉(%]M,P JY=0;SIJ S_]~CS&Cfٓh 2dEp"F $nY4@@oD> uJbQQ*@䛠Vqסe]?b*ث,mDE\*Bז`&-BrȔ<0Y7 y`b>yf=[;xPƼgM^1c|Q-mF5H7C:mʬh bJÊXz&"/YvCRG wD TZGfғZ֨%|Hk4e,T4HN8NX|X5&E 3V)m4qױ&zxHT on->'VƢ  )JF7Omd_lA\ܤ 6X{X1PT;vgU;)ɾd5mʱ%@ݍsn%e`̟6|y߷b`GMS{Q #tHZ-hdZeu=|L{%xٝNg.Χ=x*  +/]Bq,8 _eoT,P`N^,{s,* *zէ!3vwlv/"'LMacFxy3W2Ui}3ic*!76 lk.<} ۰d ~o!JB!œؗP՗C%CVmgEއ~^"݋8 FC??Ҡ&c E{zآ|+b^d"_-PhaeXc&Jp•EnR%66UU"bWr„;xj0F|dzV0cG,,hoP1iQôX9^oFbLѾp=?f#ౚ>L /lN)3v!׬"Z8kU6`X*-Nx(MyBn>Zs *g#0BENs;chZ%bJMO t 6mEvH?5cs1'K~qTw1'yJcbҧ)i22`9ieQIDBX`+l=usv=ccIjf|l]Wt?~Wm8UƇej.ܰ71I8x(fpoLRHf,PL@QJV}Fjyg摿pS1u RP'Nt"u< gIkqٰtjg0fR6lg1.H_M,aZ庙pmhxF8J"ge]fIӝ *8V$JKAeM3*W=۟X=WO r|Na 6anκ_ƆL^l-h8$FX hWtftGXlZv#_ΊC?1}k)'\*V|.<#z RXw*s|B\MEjzi9lL&5XY({aQF{V0ӫ f0JE ZmcA/W ?{dkzcL3Gc֢z5R#v$9TqwmηziuVO8\[pe0 Fb+A -#tLv~.^eK1ߌ@1xX&mM0W0a:0Ae\Nԇ*,9,_fɜRb[؁6^ZhG灻.J۬JWJMXRY1]S"җ> -3& M6} ҹhoJ1y@$"ᢅG~nTҼ|B)x7g)ET*!_ ⨆z 6GulB *#ڸ:5w$I7*ofYl8S pn peg4:8w%ɔDDU^a6z ){ Cgav`^O't"3xE e[Є5G`wVCĒnIf{]@°G#-Hei.zaN4Ab8>kRN&ab9}6mPCv-,Fo};f%4DpQ?{_DぺRG KgFuhPfb+6n*2Ϭ-:ʦa8Va3LEM_*Ӗ|Soܩ^P^q1}}L{g$_Of%>iXtiOIYKK9CknYR^Uk0گBё!}s0C8 2+O)cȡ^i!16OUwd%".WhyI;V D֌ZĊiȿ S \mMq& ne),d|{v; *-G7|Sw|/ͽm [ΐx߹Se@MA儳-ԝ ĥ>1DLL6H++Ф]T ӓ425N TH vN݁Ra%{V;N>;SPyXg0c"vus)RAfeȷc^Ҏn2'K\V3"!288UWN ^hYoJ Ǻhz|ݰRLJqd$֨0lZBGklVl L=un?c*DU+luW5 `D*A0+[VF5\̍+/`䥫~L5 |{ĪRTjԄgŎ4\^zJ7yi} v0WR??J Ϭ)Jk L*Y7h@ZDh*8?c}ӆJ`'ًysס&R.kBcKeq2,R:qpWBl #9|K.ڰĘ+o M- $nLT sN8ܯ 2r1b, ,XΑm Ght|j2ծG&Da5խiX~UXqMƾbnCjw5;6 Y+?^tZo 7J]M!YPt]6[Eг' t DŽv*UhHDaHW9MZAh ZwuLu3s`ip.4@n.ၝD$85->IX&WY_*HK0 vg1# GQ_սlf.LEhg>}^U.*Ժ[ `Llof1]ƣGV6 Oʯ7$ua]7#MIT:NiV@= 0.3KEü'( ->EȩUK)),x.U)Gl\A,\ȓT)i Qp%*zE^1cg.G į( G9N5&[]E e&[1V2Y7t:. lK#hώyjn~d-:.V=__EteW1LQ3;<2$If>i/ׅ`HSI)*TeX}B'oGg׉U&ɹ*A)b根4Y,؏ 9-`m&c<$$}ĸ0#BRƸWvq#S&Da8ۡu[e 2nh^):B|#,Sۛ,ڨ'/2 'zSZI_r 戛_h7E63c"}gQXҥAѨiદ.zBVTeha9 Eb&"ǒoU4g8-sBnC7\W,*(Чl_؟Oۯ/{Yk!'T6+MqԚ=LӝyJm.s+ O:CK6,sZBw4ָ,[L()TaYh\s5^)т:+nElUh#˥f_1 dVmlm-uK(ʞci>gn3<9x)h}|N1d1$N-G W yz"M;M#jiL닑tY>-1h? W{M*yej!LSz5!Ⱦ*dPS-oЂ:dI˷&O?MqP
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1