The Starved Rock Murders


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Too Pretty to Live


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Murder begins with the click of a button in this true crime story of Facebook, catfishing and deadly jealousy—as seen on Investigation Discovery. Chris was a CIA agent worried for the safety of Jenelle Potter. Contacting her parents and boyfriend, Chris warned them that Billy Payne and Billie Jean Hayworth were bullying Jenelle online and posed an imminent, physical threat. Something needed to be done, Chris said. And he’d have their backs if they took action to protect Jenelle. And so they did. Jenelle’s father and boyfriend murdered Payne and Hayworth in their own home—mercifully leaving the couple’s infant unharmed. But when they told their story to the police, they discovered a devastating truth: there was no Chris. It had been Jenelle the entire time, catfishing them to exact revenge over a Facebook feud. Using forensic linguistics and diving through the brambles that Jenelle laid to cover her tracks, police were able to put together a chilling portrait of a sociopath who set a double murder in motion from the shadows of the internet. Dennis Brooks, the lead prosecutor in this strange and tragic case, examines the crime and trial from all angles in Too Pretty to Live. What the police investigation turned up, though, made this crime all the more terrifying. Jenelle had been Chris the entire time, catfishing her family and her boyfriend to act in vengeance on her behalf. Using forensic linguistics and diving through the brambles that Jenelle laid to cover her tracks, police were able to put together a chilling portrait of a sociopath, made all the more ruthless by the anonymity of her online life. Bizarre and unforgettable, Dennis Brooks examines the crime and trial from all angles, bringing his expertise as the lead prosecutor in the strange and disturbing case.




American Hauntings


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From the mediums of Spiritualism's golden age to the ghost hunters of the modern era, Taylor shines a light on the phantasms and frauds of the past, the first researchers who dared to investigate the unknown, and the stories and events that galvanized the pubic and created the paranormal field that we know today.




Killers of the Flower Moon


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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history, from the author of The Wager and The Lost City of Z, “one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."—New York Magazine • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NOW A MARTIN SCORSESE PICTURE “A shocking whodunit…What more could fans of true-crime thrillers ask?”—USA Today “A masterful work of literary journalism crafted with the urgency of a mystery.” —The Boston Globe In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. One of her relatives was shot. Another was poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more Osage were dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case, and the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including a Native American agent who infiltrated the region, and together with the Osage began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history. Look for David Grann’s latest bestselling book, The Wager!




Bloody Illinois


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Join author Troy Taylor as his "Dead Men Do Tell Tales" Series continues with a terrifying and blood-soaked look at Illinois crime, mystery and tales of hauntings from all over the state - many of which have never appeared in any book before! In this volume, Taylor unlocks files of rare, seldom-told and favorite stories from both the cities and rural areas of the Prairie State, revealing true accounts of violence, murder, bloodshed and ghosts. Journey back into Illinois' past and discover tales of bandits, thieves, pirates and killers from the early days of the state; haunted prisons, jails and police stations; bloody vendettas; Illinois hangings; unsolved murders; ruthless murderesses; Charlie Birger, the Shelton Gang and War in Illinois; Pat Quinlan, the Devil's Apprentice; the Herrin Massacre; the Hundley Murders; the famous Coliseum Ballroom; the Battle of Barrington; Hell Hollow; the Lake Club; Fred Vannuci's "One-way Ride"; the Starved Rock Murders; Ghosts of the old Cook County Jail & the Joliet Penitentiary; and dozens more! You don't want to miss this collection of uncut and uncensored tales from the pen of Troy Taylor. It's a chilling book that is not for the faint of heart!




In Cold Blood


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Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time From the Modern Library’s new set of beautifully repackaged hardcover classics by Truman Capote—also available are Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Other Voices, Other Rooms (in one volume), Portraits and Observations, and The Complete Stories Truman Capote’s masterpiece, In Cold Blood, created a sensation when it was first published, serially, in The New Yorker in 1965. The intensively researched, atmospheric narrative of the lives of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, and of the two men, Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, who brutally killed them on the night of November 15, 1959, is the seminal work of the “new journalism.” Perry Smith is one of the great dark characters of American literature, full of contradictory emotions. “I thought he was a very nice gentleman,” he says of Herb Clutter. “Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat.” Told in chapters that alternate between the Clutter household and the approach of Smith and Hickock in their black Chevrolet, then between the investigation of the case and the killers’ flight, Capote’s account is so detailed that the reader comes to feel almost like a participant in the events.




Terror Town, USA


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The veteran true crime author chronicles the terrifying murders, surprising arrest and dramatic trial of Illinois serial killer Milton Johnson. In the summer of 1983, an elusive serial killer stalked the blue-collar industrial city of Joliet, Illinois. One overnight killing spree took five victims, including members of the Will County Sheriff’s Office. The following month brought a quadruple murder inside a shop known for its pottery classes. The plague of violence sparked the controversial New York City-based Guardian Angels to descend on Joliet, generating more unwanted media attention for the community. The National Enquirer labeled Joliet “Terror Town, U.S.A.” With an arrest that seemed to come out of nowhere, authorities linked their suspect to a chilling fourteen homicides, plus three women who miraculously survived their agonizing encounters. But with multiple murder trials on the horizon, it remained anyone’s guess whether Milton Johnson was guilty of mass murder and if so, would he die by means of lethal injection at the Illinois Department of Corrections?




The Demon in Disguise


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In the late evening of May 18, 2002, prominent local businessman Carter Elliot and his young protégé become the first double-homicide victims in the history of Conway, Arkansas. The Conway PD, Arkansas State Police, and FBI combine to launch a painstaking investigation into what seems a meticulously planned mob-style execution. There are no eyewitnesses, recorded disturbances, fingerprints, or DNA. After several weeks of investigation, and numerous theories, law enforcement has made no progress. They have no motive. No suspects. Then, one month after the murders, the estranged wife of Carter Elliott goes missing. Is there a connection? The Demon in Disguise chronicles Ashley Elliot's years-long, roller-coaster journey with the criminal justice system in pursuit of answers and justice for her parents.. When will it end, and what will it ultimately produce?




The History of Starved Rock


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The History of Starved Rock provides a wonderful overview of the famous site in Utica, Illinois, from when European explorers first viewed the bluff in 1673 through to 1911, when Starved Rock became the centerpiece of Illinois' second state park. Mark Walczynski pulls together stories and insights from the language, geology, geography, anthropology, archaeology, biology, and agriculture of the park to provide readers with an understanding of both the human and natural history of Starved Rock, and to put it into context with the larger history of the American Midwest.




Without Pity


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In an update to one of the most astonishing crimes of the Case Files volumes, Ann Rule profiles the criminals that kill without conscience and shatters their crimes without pity. In eight stunning Case Files volumes, from A Rose for Her Grave to the #1 blockbuster Last Dance, Last Chance, Ann Rule reigns as "America's best true-crime writer" (Kirkus Reviews). Now, she updates the most astonishing cases from that acclaimed series—and presents shocking, all-new true-crime accounts—in one riveting anthology. In every explosive chapter of Without Pity, Ann Rule deepens her unrelenting exploration of the evil that lies behind the perfect facades of heartless killers...and the deadly compulsions of greed and power that shatter their outward trappings of material success. They are the admired, trusted neighbor; the affable family man; the sexy, charismatic lover; the high-achieving professional. Perhaps most frightening of all is that they are heroes in their own minds. But when someone gets in the way of their deluded dreams, they are capable of deadly acts of violence with no remorse. Analyzing the true nature of the sociopathic mind in chilling detail, Ann Rule traces the murderous crimes of seemingly ordinary men—killers who drew their unsuspecting victims into their twisted worlds with devastating consequences.