A Murder Like No Author

Bookstore owner Arlo and her Friday Night Book Club sleuths are going to have to read between the lines to solve this mystery! It's movie time in Sugar Springs and the whole town is pitching together to get the historical Coliseum Theater ready for the event of the year—the premiere of Missing Girl, local author Wally Harrison's bestselling novel turned film. Thrilled to bring tourists to Sugar Springs, the town comes together to host the late author's event. But when a stranger arrives, boasting he has definitive proof that Wally didn't write Missing Girl...well, drama leaps from the page into real life. Mishaps start taking place around the theater—and then the stranger is discovered dead in his hotel room right before his press conference. Can Arlo and her Friday night book club to sleuth out the killer and solve the mystery before the town's Hollywood dreams go up in smoke?

Second book in the Main Street Book Club mysteries! You won't be able to stop turning the pages of this small town mystery, which is: Perfect for Fans of Ellery Adams and Lorna Barrett A riveting book club cozy mystery For readers of club mysteries and small-town cozy mysteries This murder will have to be solved by the book... It was only a few months ago that the ladies of Arlo's Friday Night Book Club—Fern, Camille, and Helen—solved the murder of the renowned author, Wally Harrison. So when they select Wally's bestseller, Missing Girl, for their next discussion, Arlo is hopeful it will be the end of their mystery hunt. But since their recent success as sleuths the crew officially see themselves as a women's mystery club, and they're convinced Missing Girl was inspired by a 50-year-old cold case. It's a case from their own Sugar Springs, Mississippi—the disappearance of Mary Kennedy—and Arlo can do little to stop the book club ladies from investigating. But what starts out as a fun hunch quickly turns into a very real cold case murder mystery when a young girl is murdered in the exact place the women believe Mary went missing all those years ago. It's clear the two cases are connected—and the mystery book club is determined to find answers. With Arlo's help, they may just be able to crack the case.

THE FIRST IN A NEW BOOK THEMED COZY MYSTERY SERIES You won't be able to stop turning the pages of this small town mystery, which is: Perfect for fans of Ellery Adams and Lorna Barrett A riveting bookclub cozy mystery Full of quirky, Southern charm Not every murder is by the book... As Sugar Springs gears up for its all-class high school reunion, Mississippi bookstore owner Arlo Stanley prepares to launch her largest event: a book-signing with the town's legendary alum and bestselling author, Wally Harrison. That's when Wally is discovered dead outside of Arlo's front door and her best friend is questioned for the crime. When the elderly ladies of Arlo's Friday Night Book Club start to investigate, Arlo has no choice but to follow behind to keep them out of trouble. Yet with Wally's reputation, the suspect list only grows longer—his betrayed wife, his disgruntled assistant, even the local man who holds a grudge from a long-ago accident. Between running interference with the book club and otherwise keeping it all together, Arlo anxiously works to get Chloe out of jail. And amidst it all, her one-time boyfriend-turned-private-eye returns to town, just another distraction while she digs to uncover the truth around Wally's death and just what Sugar Springs secret could have led to his murder. If you love women's murder club books, Amy Lillard's cozy mysteries are just for you!

A modern retelling of 20 sensational true crimes, No Place Like Murder reveals the inside details behind nefarious acts that shocked the Midwest between 1869 and 1950. The stories chronicle the misdeeds, examining the perpetrators' mindsets, motives, lives, apprehensions, and trials, as well as what became of them long after. True crime author Janis Thornton profiles notorious murderers such as Frankie Miller, who was fed up when her fiancé stood her up for another woman. As fans of the song "Frankie and Johnny" already know, Frankie met her former lover at the door with a shotgun. Thornton's tales reveal the darker side of life in the Midwest, including the account of Isabelle Messmer, a plucky young woman who dreamed of escaping her quiet farm-town life. After she nearly took down two tough Pittsburgh policemen in 1933, she was dubbed "Gun Girl" and went on to make headlines from coast to coast. In 1942, however, after a murder conviction in Texas, she vowed to do her time and go straight. Full of intrigue and revelations, No Place Like Murder also features such folks as Chirka and Rasico, the first two Hoosier men to die in the electric chair after they brutally murdered their wives in 1913. The two didn't meet until their fateful last night. An enthralling and chilling collection, No Place Like Murder is sure to thrill true crime lovers.

Manhattan, 1953. Hal Rapp?s Tall Paul, one of America?s most popular comic strips, is now a Broadway musical, infuriating Rapp?s long-time rival Sam Fizer, creator of the once beloved boxing strip Mug O?Malley. Adding insult to injury is the casting of Misty Winters, Fizer?s wife, as one of Rapp?s hillbilly gals. Then Fizer is found murdered??with all evidence pointing to Rapp. Starr Syndicate has distribution deals with both cartoonists, but V.P. Jack Starr and his stepmother (and company president) Maggie believe Rapp?s been framed. Between loan sharks, jealous husbands, bitter artists, and Fizer?s widow, there are more colorful characters with murderous motives than in a month of Sunday funnies.

This first book by Pennie Morehead chronicles the life of Judith, the wife of Gary Ridgway, the infamous serial killer of more than 48 women. It contains 112 original photographs and letters, many published here for the first time, and reveal the relationship between Gary and his unsuspecting wife, Judith, who was living some of the happiest years of her life while married to a killer. Ms. Morehead also gives an in depth analysis of Gary's handwritten letters from a professional graphologist point of view. As of this date, despite the diligence of many investigators on this case in locating the victims of the Green River Serial Killer, there remain several bodies of those victims that still need to be discovered.

A teenage girl plots her mother’s murder with a deranged online lover in this true-crime classic by the New York Times bestselling true crime author. Jeanne Dominico was a hard-working single mother. Nicole, her fourteen-year-old daughter, was on the honor roll—and head over heels in love with an older boy she’d met through the Internet. Once the lovers met in person, Jeanne sensed trouble. If only she’d known that the life in danger was her own. With a history of psychological trouble and family misfortune, Billy Sullivan demanded obsessive and controlling power over Nicole. The twisted Romeo and Juliet responded to Jeanne’s motherly concern with brutal fury—her fiancé discovered Jeanne’s beaten, barely recognizable body on the kitchen floor. Nicole’s stunning confession and guilty plea led to Billy’s sensational trial, where a sordid tale of love, loss, betrayal, and murder finally took a cold-blooded killer offline—and behind bars. Includes sixteen pages of shocking photos “Phelps is one of America’s finest true-crime authors.” —Vincent Bugliosi “Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers.” —Allison Brennan

With the 1965 publication of In Cold Blood, Truman Capote declared he broke new literary ground. But Capote's "nonfiction novel" belongs to a long Naturalist tradition originating in the work of 19th-century French novelist Emile Zola. Naturalism offers a particular response to the increasing problem of violence in American life and its sociological implications. This book traces the origins of the fact-based homicide novel that emerged in the mainstream of American literature with works such as Frank Norris's McTeague and flourished in the twentieth century with works such as Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy and Richard Wright's Native Son. At their heart is a young man isolated from community who acts out in desperate circumstances against someone who reflects his isolation. A tension develops between how society views this killer and the way he is viewed by the novelist. The crimes central to these narratives epitomize the vast gap between those who can aspire to the so-called "American dream" and those with no realistic chance of achieving it.

New York Times bestselling author, television personality, and host of the #1 podcast "Paper Ghosts," M. William Phelps is one of America's most celebrated true crime authorities. In WE THOUGHT WE KNEW YOU, he takes readers deep into the murder of Mary Yoder, a popular wife, mother, and healer in Upstate New York -- telling a gripping tale of a family drama, a determined investigation, and a killer with the face of an angel. In July 2015, Mary Yoder returned home from the chiropractic center that she operated with her husband, Bill, complaining that she felt unwell. Mary, health-conscious and vibrant, was suddenly vomiting, sweating, and weak. Doctors in the ER and ICU were baffled as to the cause of her rapidly progressing illness. Her loved ones--including Bill and their children, Adam, Tamryn, and Liana--gathered in shock to say goodbye. In the weeks that followed Mary's death, the grief-stricken family received startling news from the medical examiner: Mary had been deliberately poisoned. The lethal substance was colchicine, a chemical used to treat gout but extremely toxic if not taken as prescribed. Mary did not have gout. Another bombshell followed when the local sheriff's office received a claim that Adam Yoder had poisoned his mother. But Adam was not the only person of interest in the case. Pretty and popular Kaitlyn Conley, Adam's ex-girlfriend, worked at the Yoders' clinic. She'd even been at Mary's bedside during those last terrible hours. Still, some spoke of her talent for manipulation and a history of bizarre, rage-fueled behavior against anyone who dared to reject her. Had Kaitlyn and Adam conspired to kill Mary Yoder, or was the killer someone else entirely? In another twist, accusations were hurled at Bill Yoder himself, ricocheting blame in still another direction... Renowned investigative journalist M. William Phelps details this incredible story piece by piece, revealing a heartless plan of revenge--a scheme that would tear a family apart, divide a community, and result in two gripping, high-profile trials.

The New York Times bestselling true crime author investigates a shocking case of a wife, mother, and murder in the Iowa suburbs. Iowa housewife Tracey Pittman Roberts seemed to have it all: natural beauty, three loving children, and a fairy tale second marriage to a wealthy businessman. But beneath the happy façade was a woman who used lies, manipulation, sex, ugly allegations, blackmail—and even murder—to serve her own selfish ends. On December 13, 2001, police rushed to Tracey’s home after a shooting left her young neighbor dead. Tracey claimed it was an act of self-defense. Nine gunshot wounds—and a decades-long trail of extortion, fabrication, fraud, and intimidation—said otherwise. Ten years after the crime, Tracey’s case finally went to trial in an explosive courtroom showdown. In a searing exploration of the criminal mind, acclaimed investigative journalist M. William Phelps traces the saga of a psychopath who hid in plain sight—until her wicked ways caught up with her. “Phelps is one of America’s finest true-crime authors.” —Vincent Bugliosi “Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers.” —Allison Brennan