A CHILD OF CHRISTIAN BLOOD : MURDER AND CONSPIRACY IN TSARIST RUSSIA : THE BEILIS BLOOD LIBEL
by Edmund Levin

Near Kiev, which in 1911 was part of the Russian Empire,  a thirteen-year-old Christian boy was discovered in a cave stabbed to death. Four months after the murder, Mendel Beilis, a Jewish brick factory clerk and father of five, was arrested by the police in his home. Two years later, the trial took place and made headlines internationally. Beilis was charged not only with the murder, but with the Jewish ritual killing (blood libel) of a Christian child. There was no evidence linking him to the crime and his main accuser was a known criminal herself.
The prosecution team was backed by Tsar Nicholas II, whose government was corrupt and fading fast. The attorneys for the prosecution called in "expert witnesses," a laughable bunch of pathologists, a theologian, and a psychological profiler. Their incompetent and clumsy testimonies would bring them spiraling down. On the other hand, the defense team was brilliant and garnered support from people for Beilis, around the world, who realized how absurd the entire debacle was. 
Edmund Levin, who is a writer/producer for Good Morning America, first heard about the Beilis case from his Russian Jewish grandmother, but never wrote anything down. Years later, when the archives became available due to the fall of the Soviet Union, he went to Ukraine. The research he did to create such a masterpiece is phenomenal. His writing is superb and keeps you riveted.
With this book you have: true crime, history, meticulous details of all the characters involved, plus black-and-white photographs of the possible killers, the Beilis family, the defense team, the wacko witnesses for the prosecution, and other interesting pictures.
It's definitely a stupendous read and not to be missed.
Very highly recommended.