Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson (2006)

In Dial M, Minnesota journalist William Swanson manages to tell two engrossing, emotionally compelling, yet tonally different stories. The first explores the grisly 1963 murder of St. Paul housewife Carol Thompson. The case that followed ''had everything...blood, money, and sex'' — and would arguably become the most famous in the state's history. Swanson then focuses on a more personal story, the impact the murder had on Thompson's four children as they grew up in the shadow of the crime. In light of the Scott Peterson trial, the story has an especially chilling resonance. Yet it's also an unlikely tale of resilience and redemption, told in sensitive, straightforward fashion. A