Murder in the Family
How the Search for My Mother's Killer Led to My Father
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to Cart failed.
Please try again later
Add to Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wish list failed.
Please try again later
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
LIMITED TIME OFFER
Get 3 months for $0.99/mo
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm PT.
Amazon Prime member exclusive: get any 2 titles with your free trial. Terms apply.
Just $0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 audiobook per month of your choice from our unparalleled catalog.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Murder in the Family
Narrated by:
Roger Honeywell, Nicola Correia-Damude
Buy Now for $22.09
-
Narrated by:
-
Roger Honeywell
-
Nicola Correia-Damude
-
Written by:
-
Jeff Blackstock
About this listen
Diplomat father. Murdered mother. Emotionally neglected children. An apparent cover-up. Family dinners will never be the same.
"I think that my father murdered my mother."
That terrible belief spurs author Jeff Blackstock to investigate the circumstances of his mother Carol's death when he was a child. Carol Blackstock died at age 24 in 1959--poisoned by arsenic--but the cause of her death remained shrouded in mystery for decades. Jeff's father George Blackstock was a career diplomat in Canada's foreign service, posted to glamorous Buenos Aires with his wife Carol and their three children. A little more than a year after the family's arrival, the vivacious young mother, now emaciated and in terrible pain, was transferred to Montreal for treatment of a mysterious illness that proved fatal. In the following year, George Blackstock remarried, and a young woman named Ingrid became the feared stepmother to Jeff and his two siblings.
Carol's parents soon had suspicions about their son-in-law George but were unable to get justice for their daughter. Class privilege--George was the scion of a Toronto establishment family and Carol was from modest beginnings--and an aversion to scandal all figured in an apparent cover-up. But secrets have a way of eventually disrupting all families. A damning autopsy report about arsenic poisoning, found among their grandmother's effects, leads Jeff Blackstock and his sister to horrifying revelations about their father. Eventually, they confront him and accuse him of their mother's murder. But George offers only vague explanations that don't add up. George died a broken man, mostly abandoned by his adult children.
A compelling story of a high-society murder, a heartbreaking tale of emotionally neglected children, and an inquiry into the power and privilege of the Anglo upper classes of the time, Murder in the Family chronicles the shocking legacy of deeply buried secrets and betrayal in one's own family.
What the critics say
One of The Globe and Mail’s “Five new thrillers to warm up your autumn weekends”
Shortlisted for the 2021 Crime Writers of Canada Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book
Nominated for the 2021 Heritage Toronto Book Awards
Praise for Murder in the Family:
“[S]tunning.”
—Toronto Star
“Murder in the Family hit all the high notes: a dogged investigation, a true murder mystery, and a sense of time and place that only someone who lived it—Jeff Blackstock—could achieve. A page-turner that keeps you guessing to the very end.”
—Kevin Donovan, author of The Billionaire Murders
“I don’t know which shocked me most in Jeff Blackstock’s account of his mother’s mysterious death: the cold blooded actions of his father, or the deafening silence of the Canadian diplomatic service. He writes in a measured tone without anger or blame, which makes the story all the more chilling.”
—Carol Hay, Writer/Producer Frankie Drake, Murdoch Mysteries
“This fascinating book provides captivating insight into family dysfunction in the aftermath of a mysterious death, likely a murder. It answers that oft-posed question, ‘What were they thinking?’ with a compelling portrait of family members in denial—until they weren’t.”
—Ann Brocklehurst, author of Dark Ambition: The Shocking Crime of Dellen Millard and Mark Smich
“In this intriguing book, Jeff Blackstock relates the tragic events that led to his mother’s death and later the devastating conclusion that his father, George, was responsible. With his superficial charm, lack of empathy or remorse, and ability to lie convincingly, George demonstrated the classic core features of a criminal psychopath. A great read.”
—Dr. John M.W. Bradford, internationally renowned forensic psychiatrist, recognized for his work on the Bernardo, Pickton, and Russell Williams murder cases
“In [Murder in the Family], Blackstock, a 69-year-old retired Canadian diplomat, presents—in the meticulous language of his profession—a convincing account of how and why his mother died. . . . [He] lays out facts but leaves the conclusion unspoken.”
—Maclean’s
—The Globe and Mail
“[A]n incredibly interesting story. . . . Blackstock’s research is original. . . . Even for those who aren’t true crime fans, Blackstock’s personal connection to the story makes the book feel like a heartbreaking memoir at times, rather than a true crime story. It is a very worthwhile read.”
—Foreign Service Magazine
Shortlisted for the 2021 Crime Writers of Canada Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book
Nominated for the 2021 Heritage Toronto Book Awards
Praise for Murder in the Family:
“[S]tunning.”
—Toronto Star
“Murder in the Family hit all the high notes: a dogged investigation, a true murder mystery, and a sense of time and place that only someone who lived it—Jeff Blackstock—could achieve. A page-turner that keeps you guessing to the very end.”
—Kevin Donovan, author of The Billionaire Murders
“I don’t know which shocked me most in Jeff Blackstock’s account of his mother’s mysterious death: the cold blooded actions of his father, or the deafening silence of the Canadian diplomatic service. He writes in a measured tone without anger or blame, which makes the story all the more chilling.”
—Carol Hay, Writer/Producer Frankie Drake, Murdoch Mysteries
“This fascinating book provides captivating insight into family dysfunction in the aftermath of a mysterious death, likely a murder. It answers that oft-posed question, ‘What were they thinking?’ with a compelling portrait of family members in denial—until they weren’t.”
—Ann Brocklehurst, author of Dark Ambition: The Shocking Crime of Dellen Millard and Mark Smich
“In this intriguing book, Jeff Blackstock relates the tragic events that led to his mother’s death and later the devastating conclusion that his father, George, was responsible. With his superficial charm, lack of empathy or remorse, and ability to lie convincingly, George demonstrated the classic core features of a criminal psychopath. A great read.”
—Dr. John M.W. Bradford, internationally renowned forensic psychiatrist, recognized for his work on the Bernardo, Pickton, and Russell Williams murder cases
“In [Murder in the Family], Blackstock, a 69-year-old retired Canadian diplomat, presents—in the meticulous language of his profession—a convincing account of how and why his mother died. . . . [He] lays out facts but leaves the conclusion unspoken.”
—Maclean’s
—The Globe and Mail
“[A]n incredibly interesting story. . . . Blackstock’s research is original. . . . Even for those who aren’t true crime fans, Blackstock’s personal connection to the story makes the book feel like a heartbreaking memoir at times, rather than a true crime story. It is a very worthwhile read.”
—Foreign Service Magazine
Very Intriguing Story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A beautifully written crime story.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a mother, I can imagine abusing any child biological or not. These resiliency of these children is mind blowing. Their bio mom would be so proud. Their father, well
I have no words appropriate to describe my feelings of him. This big is in honour of the mother they were never allowed to grieve!
Loved this book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Convenient Collusion the tale of a perfect murder.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Why?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.