Wish You Were Here (Allore and Pearson book)
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| Author | John Allore and Patricia Pearson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | True crime, Autobiography |
| Publisher | Penguin Random House |
Publication date | September 22, 2020 |
| Publication place | Canada |
Published in English | September 2020 |
| Media type | Print, Audio, E-Book |
| Pages | 376 |
| ISBN | 0735277168 |
Wish You Were Here: A Murdered Girl, a Brother's Quest and the Hunt for a Serial Killer is a 2020 book, part investigative journalism and part memoir, by John Allore and Patricia Pearson about the 1978 unsolved murder of Theresa Allore.
Summary
19-year-old Theresa Allore was a Canadian college student who vanished on November 3, 1978, from the Eastern Townships of Quebec. Her body was discovered five months later, on April 13, 1979, approximately one kilometer from her dormitory residence. Authorities initially suggested she was a suicide, the victim of a drug overdose, or perhaps was accidentally killed, then disposed of with the assistance of fellow college students.
The Allore family, assisted by investigative reporter and friend, Patricia Pearson, developed compelling evidence suggesting she was murdered, and that her death was linked to the unsolved cases of 10-year-old Manon Dube in March 1978 and Louise Camirand in 1977. The book links two other unsolved murders from that era; the 1977 deaths of Helen Monast from Chambly,[1]: 284 and Denise Bazinet from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.[1]: 285 Wish You Were Here suggested systemic and criminal investigative failures at the hands of the Quebec police allowed for a serial sexual predator named Luc Gregoire to operate in the Quebec region in the late 1970s.[1]: 263-290
Gregoire moved to Alberta in the late 1980s. In 1993 he was charged with the murder of a 7-Eleven clerk in Calgary. Gregoire was given an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. He died in Quebec's Archambault prison in 2015. He is suspected of several other 1993 murders in the Calgary area.
The book ultimately is a study of perception and memory ending with the words, "Closure. I've never heard a crime victim use that word. It always comes from the mouth of a journalist, or an inexperienced justice activist. They've heard someone else use it when discussing victims' issues, so the figure it must be right."[1]: 321
Development
Wish You Were Here was written by John Allore, brother of murdered college student Theresa Allore, with investigative journalist Patricia Pearson.[2][3] The two had limited resources when researching and writing the book, and in a 2020 article with CBC.ca Pearson stated that at times it felt like someone was deliberately hindering the investigation in favor of Luc Gregoire.[4]
Release
Wish You Were Here was first published in print and e-book formats in Canada on 22 September 2020 through Penguin Random House.[1] An audiobook adaptation narrated by Francoise Balthazar was simultaneously published, also through Penguin Random House.[5]
Reception
La Presse held a favorable opinion of the book, noting that the indifference of the police tasked with investigating the disappearance and murder was striking.[6]
Continuing investigation
John Allore hosts the podcast Who Killed Theresa?, concentrating on unsolved murders in Quebec, and other justice issues.[4] He launched one of the first crime blogs and the website theresaallore.com, which focuses on unsolved cases in Canada and the US.[1]: 377
References
- ^ a b c d e f Allore and Pearson (2020). Wish You Were Here. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0735277168.
- ^ Renzetti, Elizabeth (2020-11-11). "In her new book, Patricia Pearson partners with the brother of a 1978 murder victim to investigate the crime". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
- ^ "How a brother's search for truth in his sister's death may have revealed a Calgary serial killer". calgaryherald. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
- ^ a b "John Allore remembers sister in new book on her disappearance, death". CBC.ca. November 1, 2020.
- ^ Allore, John (2020), Wish you were here : a murdered girl, a brother's quest and the hunt for a serial killer, Patricia Pearson, Francoise Balthazar, [Canada], ISBN 978-0-7352-8172-1, OCLC 1199081451, retrieved 2022-07-07
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "La quête d'une vie après un meurtre impuni". La Presse (in French). 2021-01-03. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
External links
- Official website
- Wish You Were Here at Penguin Random House Canada