Charleston Reads Announces Next Book Club Selection

Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin today announced the February/March featured book for the Charleston Reads city-wide book club initiative. Murder on Staunton Road by Charlie Ryan & Mitch Evans will be the book club selection. The book club will meet and discuss the entire book on Tuesday, March 23 at 6 p.m. The discussion will contain a question and answer section with the authors.

“Murder on Staunton Road is a riveting book that shares a tragic piece of Charleston history,” said Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin. “I’m thrilled that Charlie & Mitch will be with us to share stories about their creative process and also give updates since the book was published.”

“It is an honor to receive this invitation.  It is gratifying that ‘Murder On Staunton Road’ has received such enthusiastic response,” said author Charlie Ryan. “I look forward to a vibrant Q & A with our readers!”

“It is gratifying that our book has had such impact that readers are contacting us, almost daily, with their theories on who the murderer of Juliet Staunton Clark might have been. The upcoming Zoom session may provide even more insight regarding that question,” said author Mitch Evans.

This club is a partnership between the City of Charleston, Kanawha County Public Library, Taylor Books and Charleston resident Margaret McLeod Leef. This monthly club will, initially, be held via ZOOM video conference but will transition to in-person meetings once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

Books can be checked out from the Kanawha County Public Library in-person or online at kanawhalibrary.org. Books can be purchased from Taylor Books in-person or by calling 304-342-1461 or Capitol Market in-person or by calling 304-720-2244. Taylor Books will donate 20% of each book purchase to Faith in Action of the Greater Kanawha Valley. Books can also be purchased at murderonstaunton.com.

About Murder on Staunton Road: MURDER ON STAUNTON ROAD is a fast paced narrative of a sensational unsolved homicide that captured the attention of the nation in 1953. On the night of August 21, in the haute monde neighborhood of South Hills, in Charleston, WV, Juliet Staunton Clark was savagely beaten to death. She was the owner of THE CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL, the capital city's prosperous afternoon newspaper. Her murder set off a flurry of investigation under the direct supervision of Charleston’s flamboyant Mayor “Jumpin” John Copenhaver. Accusations flew as the investigation swept through the city. Many charged then, and some repeat the charge today, that there was manipulation to protect prominent Charlestonians who were being questioned as possible persons of interest in the Clark murder. THE CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL, THE CHARLESTON GAZETTE, and newspapers throughout the country reported every detail of the fascinating story of the brutal beating of the esteemed socialite. Nationally prominent investigators traveled to the “Rose City” to apply the newest forensic physiological test to probe criminal suspects -- the polygraph machine, known as the “Lie Detector”. The tale of sadistic murder follows the pioneer Staunton family roots from Nottingham, England to the banks of the Kanawha River in southern West Virginia. There, family members recall that fateful night of August 21, 1953, when a wave of blood flowed freely across a green carpet rug in a living room on Staunton Road.