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Books > Fiction > True stories > Crime
The May 1927 issue of True Detective magazine dealt with the
shooting of Tommy Evans and subsequent investigation of the case in
the Old 23rd District of Henry County, Tennessee. The True
Detective article read in part, "They told me of the existence of a
'whiskey ring, ' in which it was estimated that seventy-five
percent of the population ... was alleged to have been engaged in
this illicit whiskey business. And it was contended that (Tommy
Evans), a respectable and law-abiding citizen, member of the
minority faction in the moonshine domain, had openly defied the
moonshiners - had became a crusader against them - and died a
martyr to the cause of his convictions. Thus the motive for the
assassination of (Evans) was apparent." The magazine article quoted
a Paris, Tenn., minister, J.H. Buchanan, as saying that, "There are
twelve men in this immediate section ready to stand for
'four-square for the right, ' and there are twenty-five men over
there, and I might be able to name them, who are banded together to
protect and promulgate the liquor interests. The remaining citizens
in this district are in the middle of the road - either in sympathy
with the devil's gang, or they lack the courage to say where they
stand." It was amid such a climate that this book is set. South of
the Mouth of Sandy focuses on the Evans family that settled near
the confluence of the Big Sandy and Tennessee rivers during the
middle part of the 19th century. It traces the ancestry of Tommy
Evans and tells the story of his death on a dirt road and the trial
of his killer.
"The Family Debt" is a tribute to the author's father, Giacomo
"Jack" Bianco. He was a man who lived his life with passion for his
family, a man who worked hard at everything he did. His unselfish
nature was exposed year after year, experience after experience.
Giacomo was undoubtedly a family man who never let his family down;
no matter the cost.
Never asking questions, he simply chose to rise to the occasion
time after time to preserve the integrity of his family and to
protect his personal and business interests. He didn't make
excuses, he simply delivered what was required, when it was
required.
Then suddenly one day the core of the family was taken forever;
his life was extinguished. Over time, more questions surfaced, but
unfortunately no answers or explanations. Did he know how steep the
price would be to protect his family?
The detectives and investigators, they were simply told to
"shelve the investigation." This happened only three days after
this horrible murder, a file never to be opened again. Almost forty
years later the same questions still pierce the silence once filled
by a father's voice. His family's thoughts are finally revealed and
shared for the first time.
"Having written about New Mexico history for more than forty
years," explains the author, "it was perhaps inevitable that in
time I should publish a few articles on Billy the Kid. After all,
he is the one figure from this state's past whose name is known
around the world. The Kid's career, although astonishingly short,
nonetheless, left an indelible mark in the annals of the Old West.
And his name, William H. Bonney, alias Billy the Kid, seems locked
forever into the consciousness of the starry-eyed public. "Upon
request," the author continues, "I was able to assemble a
collection of my varied writings pertaining to some of Billy's real
or imagined deeds. Each section opens a small window on an aspect
of his tumultuous life, or casts light upon others whose fortunes
intersected with his. In this book, I have stalked Billy in an
erratic rather than a systematic way, taking pleasure merely in
adding a few new and unusual fragments to his biography. I trust
that readers who have a fascination with the history and legend of
Billy the Kid will find in these pages something of interest and
value. As Eugene Cunningham wrote more than seventy years ago, 'in
our imagination the Kid still lives--the Kid still rides.'" Marc
Simmons is a professional author and historian who has published
more than forty books on New Mexico and the American Southwest. His
popular "Trail Dust" column is syndicated in several regional
newspapers. In 1993, King Juan Carlos of Spain admitted him to the
knightly Order of Isabel la Catolica for his contributions to
Spanish colonial history.
'I WANTED TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE CARTELS. WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE. WE
KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING. WE'RE GOING TO MAKE IT HARD FOR YOU. BUT AS
I WOULD SOON FIND OUT, THEY WERE GOING TO MAKE IT HARD FOR ME,
TOO.' Infiltrating cartels and bringing down international drug
lords since his days in 1980s Chicago, Jack Riley was one of the
best agents the Drug Enforcement Administration had ever had. But
when he moved to the border town of El Paso, he was on the front
line of the battle against Mexican cartels waging war just miles
away. His brief was to capture the DEA's deadliest target: El
Chapo. For over twenty years, Riley had seen the fear and bloodshed
that Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman Loera and his Sinaloa Cartel had
caused, whilst the availability of drugs on American streets had
exploded. Soon after arriving in El Paso, Riley found himself
entangled in America's most deadly feud, and a bounty on his head.
. . Drug Warrior is a thrilling journey into a life spent at the
heart of America's drug wars, including the opioids crisis now
ravaging its heartland, and a unique insight into the DEA's
operation to finally bring its long-time nemesis to justice.
Squarely in the heart of America, Salina, Kansas is a pretty safe
place to have kids. At least, that's what they say. But some places
in Kansas are safer than others. The Allens found out the hard way.
In the case of the death of their oldest son, seventeen-year-old
Destry Greer Allen, they did what nobody else would do to find out
the truth about what really happened to him that late night in June
of 2004. Originally ruled a textbook suicide, an independent
investigation by the Allens discovered it was anything but. Seven
years later, Destry's case is still open - an unsolved suicide.
What happens when the system intended to protect citizens at the
most vulnerable times in their lives not only turns its back, but
goes out of its way to wrong them? What happens when the
professionals, who citizens trust and depend on to take care of
them, go after them instead, to teach them a lesson? The Allens
found out.
Alexandre Dumas, author of The Three Musketeers and so many
sequels, all but invented the action adventure novel, and certainly
he has few peers in all the years since. His stories are thrilling
works of derring-do, foul deeds, close escapes, and glorious
victories. In this sixth volume of Dumas's Celebrated Crimes
contains, among other material, the famous Man in the Iron Mask.
This unsolved puzzle of history was later incorporated by Dumas in
one of the D'Artagnan Romances a section of the Vicomte de
Bragelonne, to which it gave its name. But in this later form, the
true story of this singular man doomed to wear an iron visor over
his features during his entire lifetime could only be treated
episodically. While as a special subject in the Crimes, Dumas
indulges his curiosity, and that of his reader, to the full. Hugo's
unfinished tragedy, Les Jumeaux, is on the same subject; as also
are others by Fournier, in French, and Zschokke, in German. This
book was not written for children. Dumas has minced no words in
describing the violent scenes of a violent time. in others the
author makes unwarranted charges. The careful, mature reader -- for
whom the books are intended -- will recognize and allow for this
fact.
A victim of violent abuse at the hands of his stepfather, Lenny
spent much of his teenage life in borstal as he began to follow a
life of crime. However, it was his ability as a fighter that was to
turn his life around. Lenny McLean inspired fear in many, but
respect from all, as he became a bare-knuckle fighting legend. His
fame became even greater in later life, appearing in Guy Ritchie's
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels just as his autobiography was
reaching the top of the bestsellers chart. Lenny's untimely death
from cancer in 1998 marked the beginning of the end of the old
Cockney way of life and interest in his story has only increased
since his passing, inspiring documentaries as well as a feature
film, My Name is Lenny. In these unedited conversations between
Lenny and his 'book man' Peter Gerrard, featuring many anecdotes
that did not appear in The Guv'nor, we get to see the man behind
the public image. As he looks back on his life, these transcripts
reveal Lenny's humour and charm as well as the volatility that made
him one of the most notorious figures ever to emerge from the East
End.
Born in Balham, South London in 1940 Ron was destined to follow in
his father's footsteps and become a painter and decorator. That was
until a chance encounter with a young police cadet led him down a
very different path. What followed was a very successful 30-year
career in the Metropolitan Police and in this book Ron shares
memories of his time in the Police force, giving us a real insight
into old fashioned police work in the good old days. The story
begins in April 1959 at St Ann's Road Tottenham and continues
through the streets of London, taking the reader on a journey that
is both reminiscent of those times, touched with humour and some
personal memories of colleagues, friends and family. Published in
loving memory.
What goes through the mind of a killer when they commit murder?
Based on the massively successful Netflix documentary series of the
same name, this book features ten of the most compelling cases from
the first two series and is full of exclusive never-seen-before
material. The authors, Ned Parker and Danny Tipping secured
exceptional access to high-security prisons across America. The
majority of the killers will die in prison - either by serving
their sentence of life without parole or they are on Death Row,
waiting to be executed. In each of the cases the inmate speaks
openly about themselves and reflects on their life and their
crimes. To gain a complete picture of the impact of the murders the
authors spoke to both the families of both the perpetrators and the
victims, and those in law enforcement who were involved in the
case, leaving it up to the reader to make up their own mind about
the killers and their crimes. The book draws on handwritten letters
from the inmates and full transcripts of the interviews to tell
each story, and features exclusive material including personal
pictures, crime scene images, and original police and court
documents, this is a fascinating and detailed look at some of
America's most gripping murder cases.
This is the story of Annette Morales Rodriguez, a hard-working
single mother of three.
It is also the story of Lara, a psychopathic killer who abducted
another woman s fetus, killing both mother and baby.
Unbeknownst to Annette, Lara is a part of her: a dissociative
identity, or split personality, formed to help Annette deal with
the sexual abuse she endured as a child. Highly protective and
driven to act solely in Annette s interests with no regard for the
consequences to others, Lara lacks the moral judgment and remorse
of a fully-developed personality. It is she who saw Annette s
desire for and inability to have another baby and plotted to cut
one from another woman s belly to give to her.
Lara confessed in gruesome detail. Annette, entirely amnesic
throughout the course of events, has no recollection of the
behavior Lara carried out. Dr. Anne Speckhard s jail interviews
with Annette and Lara offer a fascinating glimpse inside a woman
torn in two. Dr. Speckhard s analysis of Annette s behavior and her
treatment once in police custody beg the questions: How do you
separate the guilty from the innocent when they share the same
body? and When is it acceptable to violate one s rights in the
interest of public safety? Annette s story brings Dissociative
Identity Disorder and the shortcomings of the American justice
system to shocking light.
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