Most true crime books fall somewhere between the poles of sensationalism and a careful weighing of the evidence and facts. The Class Project, by veteran Toronto Star reporter Bob Mitchell, is no exception.
    In the book, Mitchell recounts how, in 2003, two sisters – 15 and 16 years old at the time – fed their alcoholic mother copious amounts of booze and pills, and then drowned her in the bathtub of their rented townhouse in Mississauga, Ontario. And while that crime was horrible enough, it became even harder to stomach when it was revealed in the investigation that several of the girls’ friends helped them plan both the crime and their alibis, making it a true “class project.”
    But while Mitchell’s detailed look at this horrible series of events certainly feeds our appetite for sensationalism, he also has the research part well covered. As the only journalist who had full access to the case’s defence team, as well as complete co-operation from the Crown and police investigators, Mitchell has been able to compile an extremely detailed – in several instances, it must be said, unnecessarily detailed –
look at the trial. Perhaps most chilling is the communication between the girls and their friends in plotting the murder.
    Mitchell sifts through court records, interviews with police, and e-mail messages, but never really offers convincing explanations as to why these two girls would actually take the steps they did in ending their mother’s life. This may leave The Class Project falling short in the eyes of true-crime fans.