The Ballad of Jacob Peck

"Constructing The Ballad of Jacob Peck as though she's a prosecutor — dividing chapters with terms such as Res Gestae, scienter, et cetera — Komar builds a case against Jacob Peck for his role in the murder to highlight how current law continues to struggle with prosecuting such accomplices. ... The Ballad of Jacob Peck branches out to not only document the murder, but contextualize the players and era, offering a history of early crime in New Brunswick, and legal proceedings and court in early Canada. ... Her due diligence also does what it can to shape the murdered Mercy Babcock, and other women of the time, into a person, not only providing a sense of justice, but also documenting their lives like no one cared to do at the time or really ever since. ... Komar's voice, skill and insight defibrillate regional history, providing a professional perspective to the underserved genre." -- Mike Landry * Telegraph Journal *
"Komar's voice, skill and insight defibrillate regional history, providing a professional perspective to the underserved genre. Digging up the bones of history, Komar has no use for ghost stories and legend, and neither will you after The Ballad of Jacob Peck." -- Mike Landry * Telegraph Journal *
"[R]ich, feisty prose . . . Komar has produced a grippingly good account of this notorious chapter in maritime history, one chockablock with intriguing side characters who — with names such as Dorcas Babcock, Hezekiah King and Mercy Hall — wouldn't be out of place in a Dickens novel (had he been around to write one). ... The compelling character portraits with which Komar fleshes out this gruesome central event build a vivid sense of the social and political realities of the day. ... Tempting as it is to view The Ballad of Jacob Peck as CSI for the archivist set, the questions it raises, and which Komar explores with such energy and aplomb, are ultimately philosophic and legal ones; ones necessarily resolved in a class or courtroom, not a laboratory." -- Emily Donaldson * National Post *
"The Ballad of Jacob Peck is wonderfully written with historically correct information. It is a very fascinating and informative read. Debra Komar did a wonderful job with this book. This is a must read and I highly recommend it." * e-thriller.com *
"The Ballad of Jacob Peck, by Debra Komar, is a nonfictional account of family, religion, murder, a charlatan, and early-nineteenth-century Canadian law that is as riveting as a good novel. ... This book will appeal to a wide audience, including those with interests in true crime, history, law, and human behavior. ... By simultaneously corroborating and refuting old media accounts of the murder, Komar allows the reader to act as a juror, and provides all available information to decide the verdict." -- Amy Z. Mundorff * Journal of Anthropological Research, vol. 69 *