<div><DIV>At 9:00 on the morning of March 6, 1963, in the quiet St. Paul neighborhood of Highland Park, Mrs. Fritz Pearson glanced out her window and saw something almost unimaginable: slumped on the front steps of the home across the street was a woman, partially clothed in a blue bathrobe and bloodied beyond recognition. The woman, Mrs. Pearson would come to learn, was her beloved neighbor Carol Thompson, wife and mother of four.</div><div> </div><div>Earlier that morning, T. Eugene Thompson, known to friends as “Cotton,” dropped his son off at school and headed to the office, where he worked as a criminal attorney. At 8:25 am, he phoned home, later telling police that he did so to confirm evening plans with Carol. Mr. Thompson lied.</div><div> </div><div>Through police records, court transcripts, family papers, and extensive interviews, William Swanson has re-created Middle America's “crime of the century,” the deadly plot by a husband that made headlines around the world. But <I>Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson </I>also tracks the lives of the Thompsons' children. Their journey from disbelief to acceptance culminates in a private family trial where they decide whether their father truly was responsible for the violent act that crushed their childhood and forever altered their views of the world. <BR><br> “Engrossing, emotionally compelling. . . . An unlikely tale of resilience and redemption, told in a sensitive, straightforward fashion.”—<I>Entertainment Weekly</I> (graded “A”)</div></div><div> </div><div>“I have never read a book that dealt so expertly and dramatically with the private lives of those who survive incomprehensible tragedy. I highly recommend it.”—Ann Rule, author of <I>Green River, Running Red<BR><br> </I><B>William Swanson,</B> a senior editor at <I>Mpls.St.Paul Magazine,</I> has written and edited for various publications in the Twin Cities and elsewhere for more than 30 years. </div>