Murder at Teal's Pond

Hazel Drew and the Mystery That Inspired Twin Peaks

By: David Bushman, Mark T. Givens, Mark Frost - foreword

Narrated by: Robert Fass

A brilliantly researched reinvestigation into the nearly forgotten century-old murder that inspired one of the most seductive mysteries in the history of television and film.

In 1908, Hazel Drew was found floating in a pond in Sand Lake, New York, beaten to death. The unsolved murder inspired rumors, speculation, ghost stories, and, almost a century later, the phenomenon of Twin Peaks. Who killed Hazel Drew? Like Laura Palmer, she was a paradox of personalities - a young, beautiful puzzle with secrets. Perhaps the even trickier question is, Who was Hazel Drew?

Seeking escape from her poor country roots, Hazel found work as a domestic servant in the notoriously corrupt metropolis of Troy, New York. Fate derailed her plans for reinvention. But the investigation that followed her brutal murder was fraught with red herrings, wild-goose chases, and unreliable witnesses. Did officials really follow the leads? Or did they bury them to protect the guilty?

The likely answer is revealed in an absorbing true mystery that’s ingeniously reconstructed and every bit as haunting as the cultural obsession it inspired.

©2022 David Bushman and Mark T. Givens. Published by arrangement with Cinergistik Inc. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Robert Fass's narration is engaging. His uncanny Robert Stack- like delivery keeps the fascinating details and clues fresh and compelling….A compelling historical whodunit that should keep true crime fans listening with rapt attention.”—Library Journal

“In this taut true crime page-turner…The authors effectively summarize five years of research, utilizing a range of sources, and paint a convincing picture of events that make readers feel like they’re experiencing developments in real time…this account will hold appeal beyond David Lynch fans.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“The story is fascinating and the added historical details add depth. Those interested in true crime, especially of an archival nature, will relish this.”—Booklist

The complex nature of the evidence

This is an exhaustive, fascinating account of the Cold Case murder of Hazel Drew which inspired the murder story at the heart of the famous television series, Twin Peaks, that of Laura Palmer. This investigation shows that such cases were just as complicated then as they are now, and the authors make a decent case for pointing the finger at specific individuals who had every reason to conceal a crime that could have unraveled their political careers. We'll never know why Hazel was killed, but at the end of this book, we have a pretty good idea of who probably did it.

Interesting as this is my home turf

Of course before reading this book recommended by some others who grew up in my area as well, I had not heard of Hazel Drew or the murder, nor did I realize that Twin Peaks was inspired by the murder. I loved hearing all about the various locations I was familiar with and learned some historical information as well. Many names were familiar names of families I grew up with in the 50's and 60's.

The account of the murder itself brought me to my own conclusions, differing from the authors'. That being said, I often got lost in the volume of names and the details and various accountings from all angles. Kudos to the authors for their diligence with this detail, but I think the reporting of much could have, and should have, been abbreviated some.

Interesting to note how politics has not changed much through the years.....and a murderer (or murderers), as a possible result of prominence or position, can still end up getting a free pass. That part of this historical read was a disappointment in justice.....but history constantly repeats itself.

very intriguing

Very well read, easy to listen and follow along. Mr Fass kept you interested. Perfect to listen while the house is quiet.

I Tried…

I tried so hard to get through this. I did enjoy the early parts but skipped a little bit here and there. There were a lot of very interesting little details and mysteries around the case but it just seem to take forever to get anywhere. I found my mind wondering and realizing that I just heard a bunch of words that I didn’t even know what they were. For the Twin Peaks folks (that I am one of) I appreciated little Easter eggs such as Hazel Drew was “filled with secrets” etc. I finally jumped ahead 3 1/2 hours to listen to most of the last chapter and epilogue. I think I would’ve enjoyed the story more if it had been condensed. I also think it would be a perfect story for MFM.

More Painful Than the Murder

It is hard to imagine writing a murder story that bores its audience to insanity. If there were such a literary category, this one would without a doubt be the GOAT. The narrator gets 2 stars for his perseverance. There are no redeeming qualities or moments in 13 hours. Just no, nope, no thank you. And if you take that as a dare, don't say I didn't warn you.

Skip this one! 👎

I was never a fan of the Twin Peaks series but I do enjoy reading true crime stories and decided to give this book a go. I regret the wasted time. In my mind, the murder of Hazel Drew at Teal Pond still remains a mystery as this book didn't solidify any concrete evidence for me. I don't discount a lot of leg work & what fact finding may be available after all these years was attempted to be sought ought but this book needs to be taken with a grain of salt. It's swiss cheese at best, very political, filled with an ungodly amount of unnecessary information not related even remotely, drones on with the narrator that never once changes his tone or pitch throughout the entirety of the book, and is simply uninspiring and downright boring. NOT worth my time, not recommending it.

Did not enjoy

Hardly seems like a book, rather the reading of a compilation of newspaper articles, police reports and court documents.

I Just Couldn’t Get Into It

Sorry, I lost interest in the first 30 minutes. I don’t have anything else to say.

Disappointing

Hazel Drew’s actual life and death are mysterious, but this book doesn’t add anything notable to solving the mystery. Very disappointing! It felt like the authors wasted five years trying to get to the bottom of it but came up short and wrote this book to try to make a name for themselves and profit from their wasted efforts. Their writing is extremely plodding and boring and needed a good editor to delete about 30% of the text. And their conclusion about who killed Hazel was purely speculative and provided nothing concrete about a motive! Don’t waste your time or money on this poorly written book!

I tried but no

The story sounds really interesting so I was excited to hear it. I barely made it through the prologue and up to chapter 3. There is way too much time spent on why the authors wanted to write this book and a lot of boring details about town folk, lawyers upbringing, and the political climate of the day. I’ll just google the story and save myself 9 hrs.