True crime Books

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Book SynopsisSixty years ago, the discovery of bodies at 10 Rillington Place in Notting Hill, London, led to one of the most sensational, shocking and controversial serial murder cases in British criminal history - the case of John Christie. Much has been written about the Christie killings and the fate of Timothy Evans who was executed for murders Christie later confessed to - the story still provokes strong feeling and speculation. But most the books on the case have been compiled without the benefit of all the sources that are open to researchers, and they tend to focus on Evans in an attempt to clear him of guilt. And many simply repeat what has been said before. So a painstaking, scholarly reassessment of the evidence - and of Christie's life - is overdue, and that is what Jonathan Oates provides in this gripping biography of a serial killer.

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Book SynopsisThese hardened killers opened up to her in a way that they would never do to psychiatrists, prosecutors and other authority figures...revealing terrifying chapters of their lives that might otherwise have stayed hidden forever. In this chilling book, you will meet Wayne Adam Ford, who walked into a California police station in 1998 with a severed woman's breat in his pocket; Bobby Joe Long, who assaulted and murdered at least ten women; Gary Ray Bowles, killer of six; truck driver Keith Hunter Jespersen, who travelled from state leaving a trail of bodies in his wake; and Robin Gecht, one of the members of the terrifying Ripper Crew. Redstall has spoken about her experiences on programmes like The Montel Williams Show, in documentaries and in the national press. In this, her first book, she shares every detail and insight, bringing the reader up close and very personal with some of the most dangerous and disturbed serial killers that the world has ever seen.

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Book Synopsis In the late nineteenth century, Jefferson County, Missouri, was striving to emulate its cosmopolitan cousin to the north, St. Louis, while it battled to wipe out the remnants of its frontier lawlessness. The West was truly wild all the way back to the Mississippi River, and while progressive St. Louisans were installing telephones, the sheriff in Hillsboro was trying to find out who was stealing all of the pigs. One of the last of the bad men in Missouri was Mack Marsden. For over three years he was suspected of every major crime in Jefferson County. Though the newspapers labeled him a desperado, he was tried only once and never convicted of any wrongdoing. When he was ambushed, shotgunned, and left dying on a dusty road, his life became even more mysterious. Who murdered him? And if Mack wasn’t the desperado behind all those crimes, who was? For the first time, all of the available resources, including oral histories, are mined for the clues that answer these questions and more. This narrative nonfiction book is a true mystery that bears striking parallels to the life of Missourian Jesse James—and is as thrilling as any of the more famous tales of the Old West.

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Book SynopsisOn a peaceful August morning in 1985, grim-faced FBI agents led a dawn raid on an eighty-acre farm outside Rulo, Nebraska, said to be occupied by a group of religious survivalists led by the charismatic Mike Ryan. What they found on the farm shocked even experienced investigators. For months Ryan's Nebraska neighbors spoke in whispers of gunfire in the night, the disappearance of women and children, neo-Nazis and white supremacists. But little did the locals know what was happening to those Mike Ryan decided to punish for their “sins.” In Evil Harvest, Rod Colvin re-creates a chilling story of torture, hate, and perversion, and how good, ordinary people could be pulled into a destructive, religious cult—a cult that committed unthinkable acts in the name of God.

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Book Synopsis9.30am on 22 January 1993. The moment in crime history that one of Britain's most audacious thefts ever took place and the legend of 'Fast Eddie' was created.This is the story of how Securicor guard Eddie Maher managed to pull off a £1.2 million heist, fled the country despite every port being closed, spawned an international manhunt, and managed to evade capture for 20 years. As Britain's Most Wanted Man, he led 30 detectives, FBI and Interpol on a wild goose chase across the USA.Dubbed 'Fast Eddie' by the press, he was always one step ahead and after two decades on the run with his family using a series of of aliases and identities, Eddie began to think he'd committed the perfect crime until a cruel and dramatic betrayal proved otherwise...Like a Hollywood movie script and told in full for the first time, Fast Eddie is the compelling story of how an ordinary British man became America's most notorious fugitive.

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Book SynopsisA decade of crime, treachery, and adventures of the Medellin Cartel. Andrew Richard Barnes survived crashes, gunfire, treachery, and betrayal and still lived to tell the tale. Snowbird explores the heinous crimes and dangerous expeditions of the man who flew the first cocaine shipment for the Medellín Cartel into the United States.As a young pilot with a family at home and little money to spare, Barnes was easily coerced by promises of wealth to make these daring excursions. After his first trip in 1977, he realized there was no going back and continued the dangerous flights for over a decade.William Norris sits down with Barnes as he recounts his experience smuggling drugs for the Columbian cartel. As a pilot himself, Norris includes anecdotes of aircrafts and flying intertwined with Barnes's captivating drug smuggling adventures.

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Book SynopsisProbing one of most organized and complex criminal enterprises in the United States, this report exposes the dynamics of the Octopus, a globe-trotting undercover intelligence operative. Based on 18 years of investigative research, this account reveals high-level, covert government operations and the elaborate corporate structures and the theft of high-tech software (PROMIS) used as smoke-and-mirror covers for narcotics trafficking, money laundering, arms sales, and espionage. The Octopus connections to a maze of politicians and officials in the National Security Council, the CIA, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Justice are revealed. A detailed look into the recent high-profile arrest of Mafia hit-man Jimmy Hughes is also included in this intriguing analysis.

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Book SynopsisDisclosing new factual material about the Watergate incident, this provocative exposé of the famed break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in 1972 reveals that the burglars were set up and explains how our historical consciousness has been altered to obscure the truth. Written by a confidential informant, this never-before-told story rewrites the accepted truth of the scandal that rocked the political world and the entire nation while taking readers on a behind-the-scenes tour of a major criminal investigation. Drilling to the core of the political nightmare, shocking acts of manipulation and deceit are uncovered as new light is shed on the players and puppet masters behind the event that led to the only presidential resignation in U.S. history.

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Book SynopsisGenovese mob-scion Silvio Eboli lived within the shadows of history, and now for the first time, the untold story of a mafia legend is revealed. The Ganja Godfather is the story about an ongoing organized criminal operation, in real time with firsthand accounts and experiences by award-winning author and investigative journalist, Toby Rogers. Shadowing the Ganja Godfather, Rogers witnesses it all standing next to the Boss himself: violence, drugs, celebrities, girls, construction hustles, crime-family business meetings and social gatherings. From strip clubs in Atlantic City to Sunday night dinner with the wife and kids, Rogers experiences whatever the Ganja Godfather does on any given day. As exhilarating as Silvio’s life had become, it certainly was much more stressful behind the scenes. Being the Empire State’s spliff king was undoubtedly the hardest job in New York. And it was only after Silvio finally got to the top of the mountain that he realized just how easy it was to fall over the edge. With a wife and kids, dysfunctional family business obligations, and an out-of-control social life all pulling him in conflicting paths, Silvio struggled keep the empire moving forward without detection from law enforcement. But when he was introduced to a Colombian cocaine princess with aspirations to become a model, he saw an opportunity to expand the family’s profit margins to unimaginable heights and risked it all despite the collision course with disaster he saw right before him.Trade Review"Toby Rogers is a writer who I and many others have followed religiously since his days at High Times and his 2004 book, Ambushed. He is a top-of-the-line writer, free of hyperbole and high on accuracy and capturing the moment. His voice as a writer and his ability to bring a scene to life with quotes and powerful, persuasive language has always made him a favorite of mine." - Zach Smart, ESPN Sports

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Book SynopsisThis is the epic tale of the motor vessel Helena Star. On April 17, 1978, the U.S. Coast Guard seized the aging freighter 140 miles off Washington State's coast with its hold loaded with 37 tons of marijuana -- the west coast's largest pot bust -- worth an estimated street value of $74 million. Drug agents later seized the sleek Joli, a 61-foot sailboat, for its suspected role in the case. A past winner of the prestigious Victoria to Maui sailboat race, the Joli had been purchased from William Niemi, Jr., former president of Eddie Bauer, by champion freestyle skier Mike Lund. The attorney for the captain of the Helena Star provides an insider's unvarnished account of the case from the trenches. The freighter and the conspirators involved were in the news from its seizure in 1978 to its death by sinking in 2013. This drug bust and the ensuing events comprise a true saga about the inner workings of a Colombian-American drug cartel, smuggling on a massive scale, money laundering, the capture of fugitives in Bolivia, suspicious deaths, the lives of high-profile individuals, and courtroom battles in Seattle and San Francisco.

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Book SynopsisRenowned activist Andy Parker's account of the story that shocked America, the murder of his daughter, reporter Alison Parker, on live television, and his extraordinary ensuing fight for commonsense gun safety legislation and doing "Whatever It Takes" to end gun violence. On August 26, 2015, Emmy Award–winning twenty-four-year-old reporter Alison Parker was murdered on live television, along with her colleague, photojournalist Adam Ward. Their interviewee was also shot, but survived. People watching at home heard the gunshots, and the gunman's video of the murder, which he uploaded to Facebook, would spread over the internet like wildfire.In the wake of his daughter's murder, Andy Parker became a national leader in the fight for commonsense gun safety legislation. The night of the murder, with his emotions still raw, he went on Fox News and vowed to do "Whatever it Takes" to end gun violence in America. Today he is a media go-to each time a shooting shocks the national consciousness, and has worked with a range of other crusaders, like Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Lenny Pozner, whose son was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School and brought suit against Alex Jones and Infowars, who claimed the shooting was staged. In For Alison, Parker shares his work as a powerhouse battling gun violence and gives a plan for commonsense gun legislation that all sides should agree on. He calls out the NRA-backed politicians blocking the legislation, shares his fight against "truthers," who claim Alison's murder was fabricated, and reveals what's ahead in his fight to do whatever it takes to stop gun violence.Parker's story is one of great loss, but also resilience, determination, and a call to action. Senator Tim Kaine, also a fierce advocate for commonsense gun laws, contributes a moving foreword.Trade Review“This is a wonderful book, a beautiful tribute.” —Willie Geist, MSNBC“I couldn't put this book down. I read it all in one sitting.” —Dana Perino, Fox News “This book sends a powerful and inspiring message on the importance of the fight to end gun violence. The strength Andy has shown in turning a tragedy into a force for good in order to make this country and the world a safer place should be an example for us all.” —Senator Mark Warner, US Senator from Virginia “Andy Parker has written a beautiful and important book that grabs your heart with the first sentence and never lets go. I couldn't stop turning the pages with Andy Parker's humanity guiding me through this story as if I was sitting at his kitchen table just listening.”—Lawrence O'Donnell, Host of The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell “Andy Parker suffered the unimaginable loss of his daughter to gun violence. His exemplary activism in gun safety is a testament and a tribute to his great love for her.”—Julianne Moore, Actress and Chair of the Creative Council of Everytown for Gun Safety “A tragic, revealing, and important book that every American needs to read. I thank the Parkers for their courage to take on the gun lobby and fight for justice.”—Terry McAuliffe, Former Governor of Virginia “Fast paced and riveting, Andy Parker is a gifted storyteller. More importantly, he's an angry father who has written a brilliant book that tells the brutal truth.”—Donna Dees, Founder of the Million Mom March “In this no-holds-barred account, Andy makes you feel the pain, the anger, and the longing of a parent who has lost his whole world then uses his considerable gifts as a storyteller to make the reader want to jump up and do something to stop gun violence. This book is an uncensored call to action that cannot be ignored.”—Joshua Horwitz, Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence “This is a book meant for all of us—a wakeup call to a nation devastated on a daily basis by senseless gun violence—as seen through the eyes of a parent who became a member of the club that no one wants to join. Andy's courageous struggle to 'make something meaningful out of a meaningless death' is a call to action on gun violence prevention.”—Levar M. Stoney, Mayor of Richmond, VirginiaTable of Contents Chapter 1: Alison Chapter 2: The Day Chapter 3: The Night Chapter 4: The Whirlwind Chapter 5: Celebrating a Life Chapter 6: The Club No One Wants to Join Chapter 7: Honoring Alison Chapter 8: On Call Chapter 9: Scooter Winks Chapter 10: New Friends Chapter 11: Ashes Chapter 12: The High Before the Storm Chapter 13: Twelve-Dollar Bill Chapter 14: Melancholy Chapter 15: Swamp Thing Chapter 16: The Anti-NRA Chapter 17: The Anniversary Chapter 18: The Opposition Chapter 19: Common Ground Chapter 20: Chris and the Blue Wave Chapter 21: Alison’s Legacy Epilogue

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Book SynopsisStranger things do tend to happen in Schenectady—once a booming metropolis nicknamed the “City That Lights and Hauls the World” thanks to the dominating presence of General Electric and the American Locomotive Company, though those days are ancient history. GE has nearly abandoned the city, and ALCO closed up shot over fifty years ago. Hence, the title of this book: Forget It, Jake, It’s Schenectady: A Police Department Under Siege, and the Man Who Led It, a nod to the bleak conclusion of the classic film Chinatown, one of cinema’s most devastating expressions of abject resignation and defeat.A chance meeting between onetime Schenectady Police Chief Gregory Kaczmarek and author David Bushman in a Lyft car that Kaczmarek was driving was the genesis of this book, originally intended to track the rise and fall of a veteran cop with what appear to be two defining traits—an almost inhuman capacity for perseverance and a truly remarkable ability to attract notoriety and criticism. However, as the author’s research—including interviews with over two dozen people who lived through the events depicted in these pages—progressed, the book mutated into something else: a consideration of the recent history of the entire department—both its failures and successes—especially during Kaczmarek’s six-year reign as chief, but also involving such celebrated cases as the arrests and convictions of child killer Marybeth Tinning and serial rapist-murderer Lemuel Smith, who claimed to be controlled by the spirit of his deceased brother.In one of the more notorious cases of police corruption in New York State in recent times, the FBI set its sights on the Schenectady PD in 1999, launching an investigation that would eventually result in the imprisonment of four officers, the suicide of a fifth, and the resignation of Kaczmarek, who himself would wind up behind bars ten years later after copping a plea to criminal possession of cocaine. The events of this period loosely form the basis of the 2012 crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines—a literal translation of the Mohawk word “Schau-naugh-ta-da”—which starred Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and Eva Mendes and was cowritten by Ben Coccio, who grew up in Schenectady, and Derek Cianfrance, who also directed, and whose wife likewise passed her wonder years there. Much of the blame for these catastrophic events was leveled then—and still is—at Kaczmarek, who spent twenty-seven years on the force, serving as chief from 1998 to 2002 before resigning in the wake of the federal investigation. Kaczmarek—”Kacz” to friends and to enemies, and he had a plethora of both—is the son of a longtime Schenectady police officer who, late in life, married the daughter of a local bookmaker. When Greg Kaczmarek was appointed chief, he was ordered by the mayor, his political benefactor, to hold a press conference publicly denying long-swirling rumors that he was a drug user—which, he insists to this day, he wasn’t at the time, notwithstanding his eventual arrest for possession of cocaine, purchased from the head of a major drug ring who also happened to be a close friend of his stepson. Here you’ll meet quite an assortment of colorful characters—law-enforcement who broke the law, and others who—heroically—didn’t; attorneys who defended the city, sued the city, or built a career on prosecuting those responsible for protecting the city; a public safety commissioner who charmed some, infuriated others (including the mayor, who eventually squeezed him out, reportedly because he was jealous of his popularity), and eventually perished in the September 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center; mobbed-up gamblers who paid off cops while battling to up their piece of the pie; drug dealers with names like Slim and Misty Gallo who ran their product all over New York’s Capital Region before finally being taken down by wiretaps.

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Book SynopsisDuring the early 1990s, the diet drugs fen-phen and Redux achieved tremendous popularity. The chemical combination was discovered by chance, marketed with hyperbole, and prescribed to millions. But as the drugs' developer, pharmaceutical giant American Home Products, cashed in on the miracle weight-loss pills, medical researchers revealed that the drugs caused heart valve disease. This scandal was, incredibly, only the beginning of an unbelievable saga of greed and graft.In Fat Chance, Rick Christman recounts a story that a judicial tribunal member later described as "a tale worthy of the pen of Charles Dickens." As class action lawsuits against American Home Products began to be filed, four avaricious attorneys saw an irresistible opportunity. Bill Gallion, Shirley Cunningham, Melbourne Mills, and Stan Chesley contrived to a bring a class action suit to trial in Covington, Kentucky, where their hired trial consultant, Mark Modlin, had a manipulative relationship with the presiding judge, Jay Bamberger. Their efforts were rewarded with a $200 million settlement - a sum that the four lawyers immediately set out to plunder and misappropriate. Ultimately, two of the attorneys received long prison sentences, another was acquitted after claiming to be unaware of the grift due to his alcoholism, and one managed to escape criminal charges; all four were disbarred, and Bamberger was disbarred and disrobed.Recounting a dramatic affair that bears conspicuous similarities to opioid-related class action litigation against the pharmaceutical industry, Christman offers an engaging if occasionally horrifying account of one of America's most prominent product liability cases and the settlement's aftermath.Table of ContentsIntroduction A Prescription for Disaster Cashing In It Hits the Fan The Master The Troika Brothers in Arms A Very Strange Thing Lowering the Bar The Deal Judge Not Bad Times, Good Times The Alligator The Crucible The Second Bite Cornered Epilogue Timelines

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Book SynopsisAS SEEN IN THE SHOWTIME 4-PART SERIES!In 1958, nineteen-year-old Charles Starkweather gained notoriety as one of the nation’s first spree killers. He murdered eleven people in Nebraska and one in Wyoming. After a week on the run, he was arrested, later convicted, and sentenced to die in the electric chair. Starkweather’s girlfriend, Caril Fugate, fourteen, was with him throughout the murder spree. Was she his hostage or a participant? This question still stirs debate more than sixty years later. Fugate claims she was too terrified to attempt escape—Starkweather had told her he would have her family killed if she disobeyed him. Unbeknownst to her, he had already murdered them. A jury found Fugate guilty of first degree murder. She was sentenced to life in prison; however, in 1976 she was paroled at age thirty-two. Now, in The Twelfth Victim, attorneys Linda M. Battisti and John S. Berry, Sr. pull together years of research to tell how Fugate was a victim of both Charles Starkweather and the Nebraska justice system.

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Book SynopsisHeirs to the renowned German-American Bergdoll Beer fortune at a young age, the Bergdoll boys used their millions to become champion racing car drivers and pioneer aviation heroes in the early 1900s. Grover, the most notorious, is celebrated for his daring record-setting flights in a Wright Brothers airplane. Erwin drove a powerful Benz to win a prestigious race, the equivalent of the Daytona 500. Then, just as Grover was trying to buy a bigger plane and attempt to fly to Europe a decade before Lindbergh, they were snared by vengeful local military draft officials. Running and hiding from their war duty, the fugitives were so reviled by nationalistic Americans that two older brothers changed their names to avoid infamy.Eluding capture for years with financial help from their wealthy German mother, the Bergdoll boys were entangled with kidnapping and murder, federal agents and bounty hunters, Nazis, and Congressional investigators. There was an incredible story of release and escape from an Army jail with bribery, and tales of the search for buried gold went all the way up to the White House.Hounded by the unsympathetic press and public, and congress, the Bergdoll fortune was confiscated by the federal government, but Grover remained one step ahead of bungling lawmen by hiding in Germany until the start of World War II. This first, full history offers an intriguing insight into the downfall of this once famed and immensely wealthy family, set against the backdrop of the U.S. draft in World War I and the inter-war years.Table of ContentsPrologue 1) Pot-O-Gold 2) Bergdoll Beer 3) Gun-Toting, Check-Writing Emma 4) Race Cars and Millions 5) Airplanes and Millions 6) Philadelphia Flyer 7) Bergdoll’s War 8) Next Man in Line 9) Another Pot-O-Gold 10) Escape to Germany 11) Kidnapping and Murder 12) Bertha Emilie Lydia Helene Franck Bergdoll 13) The Wright B Flyer 14) A Man Without a Country 15) Final Flight Epilogue Notes Acknowledgments Bibliography Illustration Credits Other Books by Tim Lake

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Book Synopsis“Dark History of Penn’s Woods is the perfect book to keep you up all night… It’s ghostly, it’s ghastly, and we guarantee some of the included photos will stay with you!” — Philly MagA sequel to the first Dark History book, Murder, Madness, and Misadventure in Southeastern Pennsylvania, this book features more true tales of the region's disasters, deaths and tragedies – offering readers a window into a macabre slice of history.From the “coffin ships” that brought desperate European immigrants to American shores, to an explosion that took the lives of nineteen people, the Greater Philadelphia area has experienced its fair share of tragedy. Learn about the catastrophic fire that took the lives of nine ballerinas, investigate gruesome cases of murder for life insurance, and ponder the possibility that a Pennsylvania businessman appeared in ghostly form on a busy street the day before he died. Finally, one of the most puzzling cold cases in Pennsylvania history is finally solved after more than sixty years using forensic genealogy, while another unidentified little girl still waits for her own justice.Table of Contents1. Odyssey of Woe: Coffin Ships on the Delaware River 2. The Jackson Fireworks Explosion in Chester 3. Bonfire of the Ballet Girls 4. Piercing the Veil: A Doppelganger in Delaware County 5. Root of All Evil: The Goss-Udderzook Mystery 6. The End of the Line: The Byers Axe Murder 7. A Child on Death Row: The Unjust Execution of Alexander McClay Williams 8. The Boy in the Box: America's Unknown Child

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Book SynopsisCriminal defense attorneys protect the innocent and guilty alike, but, the majority of criminal defendants are guilty. This is as it should be in a free society. Yet there are many different types of crime and degrees of guilt, and the defense must navigate through a complex criminal justice system that is not always equipped to recognize nuances. In Guilty People, law professor and longtime criminal defense attorney Abbe Smith gives us a thoughtful and honest look at guilty individuals on trial. Each chapter tells compelling stories about real cases she handled; some of her clients were guilty of only petty crimes and misdemeanors, while others committed offenses as grave as rape and murder. In the process, she answers the question that every defense attorney is routinely asked: How can you represent these people? Smith’s answer also tackles seldom-addressed but equally important questions such as: Who are the people filling our nation’s jails and prisons? Are they as dangerous and depraved as they are usually portrayed? How did they get caught up in the system? And what happens to them there? This book challenges the assumption that the guilty are a separate species, unworthy of humane treatment. It is dedicated to guilty people—every single one of us.Trade Review“Extraordinary, profoundly, moving…. I know of no other book that says as much about a defense lawyer’s motivations, self-doubt, frustrations. I finished it with tears in my eyes.” -- Anthony Lewis * on Case of a Lifetime *“A captivating, emotionally intense investigation of the complicated relationship between truth and the justice system.” -- Kirkus Review * on Case of a Lifetime *“A substantial work…. Smith examines a range of complex issues with insight and wit… In the end, the book transcends lawyers and clients, guilt and innocence, crime and punishment. It is a testament to what can happen when one person reaches out to another in need.” -- Sister Helen Prejean * on Case of a Lifetime *"In discussing her individual clients’ circumstances, Smith transmits a simple message that seeing ourselves, or parts of ourselves, in people who commit crime may be the first step to exacting change in our justice systems. If that be her primary objective, Guilty People meets the mark." * Law 360 *"In her instructive descriptions of her defense work with petty criminals, ordinary felons, rapists, and murderers, Smith actively engages with thematic characteristics of the American system of crime and punishment." * The ICAA Journal *"Inspiring and motivational, Guilty People is unique in poignantly capturing the frailties of the law and of humans, and doing so with hope and optimism. Recommended." * Choice *"Guilty People takes the ordinary and doe the careful, thoughtful, deeply human work of making it extraordinary." * The Champion *"Smith movingly details how she has worked with clients to get them the help they need and followed up with them in hopes that they will succeed. Through her compassionate advocacy, Smith exemplifies how an effective defense lawyer’s role is premised on recognizing the basic human dignity of her clients....Guilty People...provides a bold lens through which to view criminal justice work." * Clause 40 Foundation Blog *Table of ContentsContents Introduction 1 Petty Criminals 2 Ordinary Felons 3 Rapists 4 Murderers 5 Guilty Clients, Guilty Lawyers Index

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Book SynopsisMargaret Klem and John Meierhofer were Bavarian immigrants who arrived in New Jersey in the 1850s, got married, and started a small farm in West Orange. When John returned from the Civil War, he was a changed man, neglecting his work and beating his wife. Margaret was left to manage the farm and endure the suspicion of neighbors, who gossiped about her alleged affairs. Then one day in 1879, John turned up dead with a bullet in the back of his head. Margaret and her farmhand, Dutch immigrant Frank Lammens, were accused of the crime, and both went to the gallows, making Margaret the last woman to be executed by the state of New Jersey. Was Margaret the calculating murderess and adulteress portrayed by the press? Or was she a battered wife pushed to the edge? Or was she, as she claimed to the end, innocent? Murder on the Mountain considers all sides of this fascinating and mysterious true crime story. In turn, it examines why this murder trial became front-page news, as it resonated with public discussions about capital punishment, mental health, anti-immigrant sentiment, domestic violence, and women’s independence. This is a gripping and thought-provoking study of a murder that shocked the nation.Trade Review"Drawing on fascinating and impressive archival research, Wosh and Schall demonstrate how a local tragedy, involving three marginal characters, can shine a light on larger historical trends in the United States. Written in an engaging and accessible style, with a depth and breadth of research that will appeal to many readers." -- Cara Robertson * author of The Trial of Lizzie Borden *"Murder on the Mountain brings to life the closing of jail cells doors, the drama of the courtroom, and the changing landscape of late nineteenth century New Jersey. This insightful analysis of an all-but-forgotten killing will change the way you think about Newark, West Orange, and the Garden State in the Gilded Age." -- Robert W. Snyder * professor emeritus, Rutgers University *"Book on 1879 National News West Orange Crime is Published" by Jackie Schatell * Suburban Essex Magazine *"Drawing on fascinating and impressive archival research, Wosh and Schall demonstrate how a local tragedy, involving three marginal characters, can shine a light on larger historical trends in the United States. Written in an engaging and accessible style, with a depth and breadth of research that will appeal to many readers." -- Cara Robertson * author of The Trial of Lizzie Borden *"Murder on the Mountain brings to life the closing of jail cells doors, the drama of the courtroom, and the changing landscape of late nineteenth century New Jersey. This insightful analysis of an all-but-forgotten killing will change the way you think about Newark, West Orange, and the Garden State in the Gilded Age." -- Robert W. Snyder * professor emeritus, Rutgers University *"Book on 1879 National News West Orange Crime is Published" by Jackie Schatell * Suburban Essex Magazine *Table of ContentsChapter One: The Gallows Chapter Two: Communities Chapter Three: Murder Chapter Four: Trial Chapter Five: Jail Chapter Six: Aftermath

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