Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

True Crime General

Shadow of Doubt

The Trial of Dennis Oland

by (author) Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon

Publisher
Goose Lane Editions
Initial publish date
Oct 2016
Category
General, Rich & Famous
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780864929211
    Publish Date
    Oct 2016
    List Price
    $19.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780864929402
    Publish Date
    Oct 2016
    List Price
    $11.99

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

Winner, New Brunswick Book Award for Non-Fiction

Shortlisted, Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence (Non-Fiction)

On July 6, 2011, Richard Oland, scion of the Moosehead brewing family, was murdered in his office. The brutal killing stunned the city of Saint John, and news of the crime reverberated across the country. In a shocking turn, and after a two-and-half-year police investigation, Oland's only son, Dennis, was arrested for second-degree murder.

CBC reporter Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon covered the Oland case from the beginning. In Shadow of Doubt, she examines the controversial investigation: from the day Richard Oland's battered body was discovered to the conclusion of Dennis Oland's trial, including the hotly debated verdict and its aftermath. Meticulously examining the evidence, MacKinnon vividly reconstructs the cases for both the prosecution and the defence. She delves into the Oland history, exploring the strained relationships, infidelities, and financial problems that, according to the Crown, provided motives for murder.

Shadow of Doubt is a revealing look at a sensational crime, the tribulations of a prominent family, and the inner workings of the justice system that led to Dennis Oland's contentious conviction.

About the author

Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon is a reporter and web editor for CBC New Brunswick. She previously worked at the Toronto Star, the Ottawa Citizen, and the Telegraph-Journal. She is the winner of a Saint John Arts Award and an Atlantic Journalism Award, and a finalist for two National Newspaper Awards and three Atlantic Journalism Awards. The first edition of Shadow of Doubt was a national bestseller and a finalist for an Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada. It won the New Brunswick Book Award for Non-Fiction.

Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon's profile page

Awards

  • Winner, New Brunswick Book Award for Non-Fiction
  • Short-listed, Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence (Non-Fiction)

Editorial Reviews

"In Shadow of Doubt, MacKinnon offers up the Oland family history, guiding readers through the many twists and turns of the story, from the murder to the trial itself. A thorough journalistic investigation."

<i>Sun Times</i>

"Shadow of Doubt is a fast-paced account of one of the most sensational murder trials in recent history. Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon covered the case from start to finish and loads her story with new details and revealing anecdotes, briskly sketching how a family soap opera turned to tragedy. For Oland trial junkies, this is the big, satisfying hit they've been waiting for — by the only journalist who could have told the story so compellingly."

Jacques Poitras

"Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon's Shadow of Doubt provides a fly-on-the-wall viewpoint to one of Canada's most sensational murder cases. The reader is taken on a roller-coaster ride from the crime scene to the grieving family to the cops, the Crown, and the jury trial. It's an epic tale that both engages and teaches — Canada's criminal justice system with all its twists and turns is in full view right from crime to verdict."

Kevin Donovan

Related lists