Books for the Armchair Detective in Your Life

Name: The 1926 Orland Park Murder Mystery
Brand: Matthew T. Galik
SKU: 9781467139915
Price: 17.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Inside some of the mildest people we know is a penchant for reading dark stories of small-town murders, or chilling serial killers. Why not arm the armchair detective in your life with true crime books from every dark corner of the American dream? Here are fascinating stories of unsolved cases, organized crime, historical murders, detective memoirs, epic manhunts, and everyday small-town murder. For the true crime fan in your life, we offer these gripping cases served hot, cold, strange, and straight – so go ahead, throw the book at them!

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The 1926 Orland Park Murder Mystery

$23.99 $17.99 Save 25%

Wicked Philadelphia

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Wicked Springfield

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

The Tri-State Gang in Richmond: Murder and Robbery in the Great Depression

$23.99 $17.99 Save 25%

Miami's Criminal Past

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Wicked Atlanta

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Wicked Charlotte

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Wicked Lexington, North Carolina

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Utah Outlaw Patrick Coughlin

$24.99

Mystery, Millions & Murder in North Jersey

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Seattle Prohibition

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Historic Tales of Colorado's Grand Valley

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Wicked Columbus, Ohio

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

The Murder of JoAnn Dewey in Vancouver, Washington

$23.99 $17.99 Save 25%

Prohibition in Columbus, Ohio

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Murder in Visalia

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Central Florida's Most Notorious Gangsters

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Charleston's Trial

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Wicked Washtenaw County

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Wicked Mohawk Valley

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Wicked Bridgeport

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Murders in Monmouth

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

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The 1926 Orland Park Murder Mystery

9781467139915

$23.99 $17.99 Save 25%

On the morning of April 14, 1926, the Inland Steel payroll delivery was hijacked in Indiana Harbor. Later that afternoon, Will County deputy sheriff and Mokena resident Walter Fisher died in a hail of gunfire just outside Orland Park. That night, the bullet-riddled body of Santo Calabrese turned up on a Broadview road. The exact sequence of events remains uncertain, but a jury was able to trace enough of the day's violent trajectory to send Daniel Hesly on the path to Alcatraz. Matthew Galik leaps into a drama of high-speed pursuit and mistaken identity that shocked the jaded sensibilities of Prohibition-era Chicago and plunged the town of Mokena into mourning.

Wicked Philadelphia

9781596297876

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Historian Thomas Keels tells many ribald stories in his book, ""Wicked Philadelphia: Sin in the City of Brotherly Love,"" including various methods of body snatching and murder. --Marty Moss-Coane, WHYY-FM

Prim and proper Philadelphia has been rocked by the clash between excessive vice and social virtue since its citizens burned the city's biggest brothel in 1800. With tales of grave robbers in South Philadelphia and harlots in Franklin Square, Wicked Philadelphia reveals the shocking underbelly of the City of Brotherly Love. In one notorious scam, a washerwoman masqueraded as the fictional Spanish countess Anita de Bettencourt for two decades, bilking millions from victims and even fooling the government of Spain. From the 1843 media frenzy that ensued after an aristocrat abducted a young girl to a churchyard transformed into a brothel (complete with a carousel), local author Thomas H. Keels unearths Philadelphia's most scintillating scandals and corrupt characters in this rollicking history.

Wicked Springfield

9781596299016

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

In the twenty-four years that Abraham Lincoln lived in Springfield, the city saw its share of crime, corruption and scandal, much of it at the hands of Lincoln's law clients and acquaintances. Erika Holst sheds light on these shady characters, from the man being sued for divorce who claimed that he caught his venereal disease from an outhouse to Governor William Bissell, whose near duel with Jefferson Davis almost made him ineligible to hold office. Learn what prompted a congressional candidate- in an election clerked by Lincoln- to shout down his accuser as some 'spindle-shanked, toad-eating, man-granny, who feeds the depraved appetites of his patrons with gossip and slander.' Read the true stories that fed those depraved appetites, drawn from the newspapers Lincoln read and the docket where he practiced law. In these pages, discover the wicked side of Lincoln's Springfield.

The Tri-State Gang in Richmond: Murder and Robbery in the Great Depression

9781609495237

$23.99 $17.99 Save 25%

The 1930s was a tough decade, one made even tougher by Prohibition. During this lawless time in American history, a group of criminals called the Tri-State Gang emerged from Philadelphia and spread their operations south, through Baltimore to Richmond, wreaking bloody havoc and brutally eliminating those who knew too much about their heists. Once termed the "Dillingers of the East," Robert Mais and Walter Legenza led their men and molls on a violent journey of robberies, murders, and escapes up and down the East Coast. Join historian Selden Richardson as he recounts the story of this whirlwind of crime and how it finally reached its climax in Richmond.

Miami's Criminal Past

9781596293885

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

From Scarface to Miami Vice, Hollywood has created indelible images of Miami's criminal underworld. Yet beyond the lurid depictions exists a fascinating history of dramatic true-life crimes--tales of vigilante justice, family tragedies, politically motivated homicides and rampageous cross-country killers. And of course, the inevitable stories of celebrities behaving badly--as when Jim Morrison allegedly exposed himself during a 1969 Doors concert--along with accounts of celebrity murders, such as the shocking 1997 slaying of fashion designer Gianni Versace.
Edgy and compulsively readable, Miami's Criminal Past presents the dark acts that have marred Florida's most alluring metropolis.

Wicked Atlanta

9781626191051

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Atlanta is the only American city to have been destroyed by fire as an act of war, and it has its share of salacious stories. Wealthy felons hosted elaborate parties inside the federal penitentiary.

Billionaire bootleggers and murderous rich boys practiced corruption that reached all the way to the White House. Fast and fearless drivers, complete with glamorous reputations and criminal careers, gave rise to auto racing. Join author Laurel-Ann Dooley as she navigates the underworld of Atlanta's past filled with kidnapping, bribery, wives hiring hit men and all sorts of criminal debauchery.

Wicked Charlotte

9781596291607

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Bootleggers, swindlers, gold miners and serial killers--Charlotte has courted them all. The Queen City is renowned for its skyline, sports teams and dizzying growth, but just below its smooth, polished exterior lies a dark past full of crime and myriad misdeeds. This second history of Charlotte has been concealed and denied by those who retell the city's story, and by those who have lived it. Until now.

In Wicked Charlotte, discover the tale of the Chicago gangsters who invaded the city looking to pull a heist to fund sinister maneuverings in their boss's criminal trial. Learn how a golden nugget found in a nearby creek changed Charlotte from a trading crossroads into a rough and tumble town full of fortune seekers bent on finding a quick dollar and instant riches. And read about the details of the death of one of Charlotte's most gifted writers, who met his end in a seedy hotel room in Mexico.

This raucous book sheds light on these incidents and many more, revealing a side of Charlotte's history that few will recognize. The sordid events described here took place on familiar streets and in well known neighborhoods, but rarely have the stories passed beyond the circles of those who lived them. Charlotte has played host to a multitude of villainous characters, and has seen scores of unsavory deeds played out on its shadowy streets. Wicked Charlotte brings it all to the forefront, as never before.

Wicked Lexington, North Carolina

9781609493097

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Nestled within the heart of North Carolina's Piedmont lies Lexington, a town with a history so iniquitous that few dare to tell the tales. Discover how a veritably unknown young singer named Elvis Presley wiggled and gyrated his way through town, and how the Jolly Black Widow claimed her third husband (and victim) in a string of doomed love affairs. It was here in Lexington that an obscene mail menace sent hundreds of depraved letters to wholesome families, and on a sleepy summer day, police seized nine barrels of illicit liquor only to be stolen back and imbibed by the original owners that night. Travel with local author Alice Sink down the streets of old-time Lexington to view a city riddled with all manner of unsavory deeds.

Utah Outlaw Patrick Coughlin

9781467159869

$24.99

Before Butch Cassidy, there was Patrick Coughlin.

It began with the theft of some strawberries from a street peddler in Park City, Utah Territory, in 1895. By the time it was over, two lawmen were dead, and Patrick Coughlin was facing a firing squad. The young gunslinger, in a desperate bid to escape the punishment for his initial crime, caused one of the most thrilling manhunts in the state’s history. The outlaw and his sidekick went on a crime spree, escalating from stealing horses to gunfights, all with the posse tailing them, ending in a shootout at a remote cabin. When Patrick Coughlin was finally recaptured and tried, he would become the first prisoner sentenced to death in the state.

Join author and lawyer Brian Craig as he recounts the thrilling story of Patrick Coughlin, Utah’s original desperado.

Mystery, Millions & Murder in North Jersey

9781467137942

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Author John E. O’Rourke recounts the crime that rocked a sleepy community and brought the nation’s eyes to North Jersey.

On a spring morning in Morristown in 1992, authorities discovered a car idling in a driveway with the door open and the driver missing. After they learned the driver was Sidney Reso, the president of Exxon International, the FBI joined the investigation. Over the next two months, law enforcement received cryptic communications that led to a cat-and-mouse chase for those responsible. Retired cop Arthur Seale and his wife, Irene, demanded one of the largest ransoms in U.S. history, and authorities struggled to solve the case.

Seattle Prohibition

9781467140201

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Prohibition consumed Seattle, igniting a war that lasted nearly twenty years and played out in the streets, waterways and even town hall. Roy Olmstead, formerly a Seattle police officer, became the King of the Seattle Bootleggers, and Johnny Schnarr, running liquor down from Canada, revolutionized the speedboat industry. Frank Gatt, a south Seattle restaurateur, started the state’s biggest moonshining operation. Skirting around the law, the Coast Guard and the zealous assistant director of the Seattle Prohibition Bureau, William Whitney, was no simple feat, but many rose to the challenge. Author Brad Holden tells the spectacular story of Seattle in the time of Prohibition.

Historic Tales of Colorado's Grand Valley

9781467136297

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Colorado's Grand Valley has an extensive geological and human history going back millennia. Franciscan priests worked in tandem with the native Ute people to plot passage through the territory, opening the valley to unprecedented settlement. The region became the playground of enterprising visionaries, murderous outlaws, hooligans and harlots alike. From the gruesome Meeker massacre and its tragic consequences for the Ute nation to the mysterious murder of Sam McMullin and a showdown with the Ku Klux Klan in 1925, uncover the engrossing stories of an unyielding land. Author Kate Ruland-Thorne recounts many of the defining and damning moments throughout Grand Valley history.

Wicked Columbus, Ohio

9781626199224

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Ohio's capital city once teemed with crime bosses, rampant corruption and unpunished perversion. The Bad Lands of Columbus was a nationally recognized slum controlled by Smoky Hobbs. Columbus native Dr. Samuel B. Hartman, the world's most successful snake oil salesman, was almost single-handedly responsible for the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act. Local gambler Pat Murnan had an unlikely love affair with Grace Backenstoe, the madam of the most popular brothel in town. The two were a symbol of the area's salaciousness. Authors David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker explore the heyday of Columbus's most notorious fiends, corrupt politicians and con men.

The Murder of JoAnn Dewey in Vancouver, Washington

9781467138857

$23.99 $17.99 Save 25%

Before midnight on March 19, 1950, several startled bystanders watched two men force a screaming young woman into a car and drive away from Saint Joseph's Hospital in Vancouver. One of them yelled out that she was his wife and was drunk. That was the last time anyone saw JoAnn Dewey alive. Her battered, naked body washed up on the banks of the Wind River seven days later. Suspicion quickly fell on two brothers, Turman and Utah Wilson, who fled town before police caught them in Sacramento. Their arrest and sensational trial captivated and divided the peaceful community. Author Pat Jollota uncovers the chilling details of this tragic story.

Prohibition in Columbus, Ohio

9781467137218

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

The Prohibition era often conjures up images of Tommy guns and speakeasies, but prohibition in Columbus added up to more than a crime stat sheet. It continued to dramatically shape the city far beyond its conclusion in 1933. The story begins with the temperance agitators who fought for decades for the elimination of alcohol. It is also the story of the families who made the alcohol, along with the neighborhood they built and then rebuilt in the Noble Experiment's aftermath. Alex Tebben relates how both temperance groups and the brewers adapted to the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment and the permanent mark it made on the city's heritage.

Murder in Visalia

9781625859808

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

One October morning in 1979, a stamp and coin dealer was gunned down in his Visalia shop. There were no witnesses. Persistent police efforts across jurisdictional lines connected it to another death. Two months earlier, the body of a Fresno coin dealer was found locked in the trunk of his car. The trail of evidence led to a most unlikely suspect. Author Ronn M. Couillard, retired judge and former Visalia district attorney, lays out the facts in this compelling case from the investigation to the court proceedings and the surprise that almost derailed the conviction.

Central Florida's Most Notorious Gangsters

9781596294141

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Blazing gun battles, bank heists and high-speed escapes: this is the story of Alva Hunt and Hugh Gant--central Florida's own Dillinger and Capone.

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.

Charleston's Trial

9781596295766

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

June 1910, Charleston, South Carolina. A Jewish merchant, Max Lubelsky, lay murdered in his clothing store on Upper King Street. The black man eventually convicted of the crime was arrested several weeks later as an angry mob called for his lynching. What followed became the story of one man's quiet protestations of innocence in the face of overwhelming condemnation by the white community. Drawing on local historical records and detailed court transcripts, Charleston historians Danny Crooks and Doug Bostick give an intimate account of the proceedings, as well as provide the historical background on the vices, violence and victims of the Holy City during the Jim Crow era. Join them as they reveal the tale of a man whom justice passed by in the hot Southern summer.

Wicked Washtenaw County

9781596299122

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Washtenaw County has a dark and sordid history, filled with unexplained murders and vicious crimes. Venture into the dead of night with medical students from the University of Michigan as they snatch bodies from fresh graves. Discover how Irene Walling Smith, born and raised in Ypsilanti, became known as the Bandit Queen of the despicable Kozak Gang. Head back to Ann Arbor in 1878, when Howard Williams was found dead in his home with an empty bottle of morphine by his sidewas it murder, suicide or overdose? Revisit the puzzling details of the unsolved 1913 murder of seventy-three-year-old Elizabeth Stapish, something of an eccentric in Chelsea, who was strangled and buried under a pile of cornhusks in her barn. Join local history author and columnist James Mann as he reveals the enigmatic history of this Michigan county.

Wicked Mohawk Valley

9781609493905

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Would a decorated lawman risk his career for garden fresh vegetables? What crime family terrorized chickens in two counties? What dastardly murder happened on Potato Hill Road? And why would anyone dare guzzle the "creeping death"? Be prepared to have these questions answered, and discover a dossier of some of the most notorious and unbelievable criminal cases in the history of the Mohawk Valley. From bootlegging to brothels to racketeering, local author Dennis Webster has collected the most thrilling stories of deception and mayhem within the Mohawk Valley.

Wicked Bridgeport

9781609493790

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Join Bielawa as he navigates a precarious path through the unforgettably macabre and scandalous misdeeds of Bridgeport.

Beneath the smokestacks of the gritty cityscape of Bridgeport, Connecticut is the shocking criminal underbelly of this New England community. Sin and vice have long had a home on the shores of the Long Island Sound, and Bridgeport's sinister past is littered with tales of pirates, mobsters, bizarre Victorian murders, and even rumors of a doctor's attempts to reanimate the dead. Historian Michael J. Bielawa investigates such bizarre crimes as the unsolved murder of philanthropist James Beardsley, and the grisly discovery in Yellow Mill Pond during the 19th century, which helped legitimize forensic science. Join Bielawa as he navigates a precarious path through the unforgettably macabre and scandalous misdeeds of Bridgeport.

Murders in Monmouth

9781596293489

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

Why do people kill? In the case of the young and mentally unstable Frank Zastera, the rationale was as simple as the act was brutal: he wanted William Sheppard's money. In other homicides, such as the still-unsolved 1913 murder of George Harris, the motive for committing the ultimate crime remains obscured for eternity. In Murders in Monmouth, author George Joynson unflinchingly assembles the who, what, when, where and why surrounding twelve high-profile killings perpetrated by various individuals in early twentieth-century Monmouth County.