All Titles

The Darker Side of Hampton County   

Founded as a “white county” during the violence and political turmoil of Reconstruction, Hampton County’s roots are steeped in wickedness and blood. From the “Wild East” days of gunfights, train robbers, rustlers and rough-and-tumble timber towns to the shadowy era of moonshining and infamous solicitor “Buster” Murdaugh’s involvement in the “Great Whisky Conspiracy,” the county is rich with true tales of murder, crime and corruption. Meet colorful characters such as the banker who befriended a notorious bank robber and courageous heroes like the jailer’s teen daughter who saved an accused Black prisoner from death at the hands of a vigilante lynch mob. Travel this historical journey with award-winning storyteller, journalist and local author Michael M. DeWitt Jr.

Caryl Hopson and Susan R. Perkins collect historic narratives of murder and mayhem in Herkimer County.

Herkimer County is steeped in history, from the settlement of the Mohawk Valley by Palatine German settlers to the flood of western migration with the opening of the Erie Canal. But the region also boasts an infamous history of high-profile homicides and crimes. Roxalana Druse murdered her abusive husband and became the last woman to be hanged in New York in 1887. The death of Grace Brown on scenic Big Moose Lake became one of the most famous cases in the country in 1906, inspiring author Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy. Psychological tests of intelligence were admitted into court for the first time in an acquittal of sixteen-year-old Jean Gianini in 1914.

This is the horrifying tale of the random crime spree that shocked residents of southwestern Pennsylvania in 1979.

During the winter of 1979, southwestern Pennsylvania was rocked by a series of sensational murders, sparking a thirty-year criminal justice saga. A week of brutal, seemingly random killings culminated in the provocation and fatal shooting of Patrolman Leonard Miller, an officer new to the town of Apollo's police force and only twenty one years old. Little more than a year later, two men were convicted of the rash of homicides and sentenced to death-- yet both are alive today. Incorporating details of the central characters' personal lives as well as the state's court system, criminologist Michael W. Sheetz here relays the awful story of the so-called ""kill for thrill"" crime spree with the drama of a novelist and the insight of an officer of the law.

Ride Ohio's rails with some of the bravest trainmen and most vicious killers and robbers to ever roll down the tracks.

The West may have had Jesse James and Butch Cassidy, but Ohio had its own brand of train robbers. Discover how Alvin Karpis knocked off an Erie Railroad train and escaped with $34,000. Learn about the first peacetime train holdup that took place in North Bend when thieves derailed the Kate Jackson, robbed its passengers and blew the Adam's Express safe. Make no mistake--railroading was a dangerous job in bygone days.

Chronicles of a Rochester Major Crimes Detective details the detective work of Patrick Crough.

Patrick Crough served more than twenty years as a Monroe County Major Crimes detective, where he investigated some of the region's most tragic crimes. They include horrifying acts, like that of a Valentine's Day killing rampage that left four people dead, as well as the case against Ed Laraby, the serial rapist who terrorized women in Rochester and Monroe County. But they are also stories of heroism and bravery--strangers coming to the aid of those in peril, parents who laid down their lives to save their children and the team of people who put violent criminals behind bars. In these pages, Crough details four of his most memorable cases in which he was forced to confront evil and chose to pursue truth.

Prepare to be surprised and unnerved as the dark side of Charlotte is brought to life by native and long-time writer David Aaron Moore. Learn about Nellie Freeman, who nearly decapitated her husband with a straight razor in 1926. Discover how the ghosts of Camp Green infantrymen, the doughboys of World War I, still scream in the Southern night. Read about the seventy-one passengers who lost their lives as Eastern Airlines Flight 212 fell to the earth one foggy night in 1974. Come along and experience the grisly past of the City of Churches.

Alva Hunt and Hugh Gant began their infamous "careers" fencing automobile parts as the Florida land boom became a bust. After doing hard time in state jails, they emerged as bank robbers and embarked on a crime spree across the Deep South. In the end they were captured and served time in Leavenworth, Alcatraz and other penitentiaries. Their reign was one of terror for Florida and many Southern states. Their story reflects an intriguing period in Florida's own history--the Depression era and the desperate days when Southern gangsters were armed, notorious and deadly.

Author and historian Chris Dier reveals the horrifying true story behind the St. Bernard Parish Massacre.

As African American men gained the right to vote, white Democrats of St. Bernard Parish feared losing their majority. Armed groups mobilized to suppress these recently emancipated voters in the hopes of regaining a way of life turned upside down by the Civil War and Reconstruction. Days before the tumultuous presidential election of 1868, the parish descended into chaos. Freedpeople were dragged from their homes and murdered in cold blood. Many fled to the cane fields to hide from their attackers. The reported number of those killed varies from 35 to 135. The tragedy was hidden, but implications reverberated throughout the South and lingered for generations.

When Henry Debosnys arrived in Essex, New York, the sleepy town was unprepared for the string of dark events that trailed the exotic European stranger. Within weeks of his appearance, he had romanced wealthy widow Betsey Wells, charming her friends and children and presenting the picture of an ideal new family at their spur-of-the-moment wedding. Yet when authorities discovered Betsey's mangled body in a nearby forest, Debosnys's image as a caring family man began to unravel. During his incarceration, Debosnys slowly revealed himself to be a genius fluent in six languages, a master cryptographer and the murderer of at least two previous wives. As the scrutiny on Debosnys intensified, he began producing coded messages, allegedly confessions to a lifetime of villainy. Author Cheri Farnsworth reveals never-before-seen evidence of this Upstate tragedy, including reproductions of the legendary, unsolved Debosnys cryptograms, in an effort to finally uncover the truth about this depraved con man. The only question that remains is who will be the first to crack the "Debosnys Code"?

Visitors gazing out over the Highlands of coastal New Jersey might never guess that these rolling hills have been a stage for mankind's darkest deeds.

Author John King shines a spotlight on the region's violent history of kidnapping, murder, smuggling, and extortion. From axe-wielding lunatics to killers who leave calling cards, King presents each case with the care of a criminal investigator, including details from coroners' reports and witness testimonies. In this sensational and gripping read, uncover the gritty history of the Highlands, where suspicious death typically meant foul play and staying in a hotel might cost you your life.