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Evelyn, Did She or Didn’t She? by Sarah Farr, will be released in 2026. Book updates here!

A black and white framed photo of 214 Rosslyn Avenue sat on a small table by the window in Barbara Harding’s living room. She took it out of the frame so that I can snap a shot of it and told me that her parents took the photo shortly after they’d moved in, two days before she was born.

Her parents bought the house from Donald and Alexandra MacLean, Evelyn Dick’s parents.

The home rattled periodically, the trains on the railway track right across the road squealing along the tracks. On the other side of the road, next to the track: the brick factory. It was built in 1906 and blew up in the seventies but remained operable until 2016 when the kilns fired up one last time. Burning away into the night.

Barbara didn’t notice the trains going past anymore, and she doesn’t recall ever meeting Mr. and Mrs. MacLean, or their infamous daughter. But she can remember the stories her parents told her.

Like how Evelyn, on the same day that she’d left Mount Hamilton Hospital with her newborn baby, came into the fancy clothing store downtown near the Royal Connaught Hotel where Barbara’s mother worked, and bought a coat from her.

“There was no baby with her,” Barbara’s mother had said, adding that Evelyn had paid in cash.

Or how her parents had received a ‘Congratulations’ card from Mrs. Alexandra Maclean when Barbara was born. She showed it to me once, there at the dining room table, shuffling through a collection of paper to find it.

You may not know it, baby, but you’ve got luck to spare, because your Mom and Dad are the nicest anywhere!’ the card read, ‘With best wishes from Alexandra Maclean.’

It was signed with a decorative swish.

Evelyn, Did She or Didn’t She? will explore the facts of the case, the distinct personalities involved, and dive a little deeper through discussion on handwriting traits with a graphologist. The book – ten years in the making – is the product of extensive research into archive files, trial transcripts, newspaper stories, discussions with experts and interviews with those who have a relationship with the case, even if they were not present for the proceedings in 1946.

Evelyn, Did She or Didn’t She? will be released in 2026. Please complete the (super easy) form to receive updates: Book Sign Up