In 1932, the city of Natchez, Mississippi, reckoned with an unexpected influx of journalists and tourists as the lurid story of a local murder was splashed across headlines nationwide. Two eccentrics, Richard Dana and Octavia Dockery - known in the press as the "Wild Man" and the "Goat Woman" - enlisted an African American man named George Pearls to rob their reclusive neighbor, Jennie Merrill, at her estate. During the attempted robbery, Merrill was shot and killed. The crime drew national coverage when it came to light that Dana and Dockery, the alleged murderers, shared their huge, decaying antebellum mansion with their goats and other livestock, which prompted journalists to call the estate "Goat Castle." Pearls was killed by an Arkansas policeman in an unrelated incident before he could face trial. However, as was all too typical in the Jim Crow South, the white community demanded "justice," and an innocent black woman named Emily Burns was ultimately sent to prison for the murder of Merrill. Dana and Dockery not only avoided punishment but also lived to profit from the notoriety of the murder by opening their derelict home to tourists. Strange, fascinating, and sobering, Goat Castle tells the story of this local feud, killing, investigation, and trial, showing how a true crime tale of fallen southern grandeur and murder obscured an all too familiar story of racial injustice.

Twenty-three-year-old Brooke Taylor is still trying to come up with her own definition of normal. The doctors at Westside Mental Institution call her cold-blooded and insane. Brooke prefers to think of herself as a healthy mix of insane and genius. Recently released from the psychotherapy sessions to begin a new life, the strikingly beautiful Brooke is headed to Louisiana to visit friend. Now all she can do is wonder whether she will ever have anything positive to contribute to society or whether her high-octane, remorseless lifestyle will kill her before her next birthday, It is 2001.

A few days later Brooke enters a grocery store in Independence, Louisiana, a black cowboy hat perched on her head and icy-blue eyes that reveal nothing. She immediately finds herself caught in the middle of a dramatic robbery. As a man in a ski mask waves an AK-47 and demands the customers follow his orders, Brooke wages was against the gunman, and uncovers a deadly conspiracy.

In this novel based on true events, a young woman with a shadowy past puts her shrewd attitude and intuitive skills to work as she gives the two deadly perpetrators a night they will never forget. Louisiana is never the same again. " "A masterpiece of suspense intrigue. Brooke Taylor is one of the most complex and bizarre characters ever. Once again, Fuller does a great job."" -Rigwood Village Book Club

From the author of King of Heists and The Big Policeman, comes the third book of history and crime in Gilded Age New York City--this time focused on the sensational grave robbery, ransom, and return of the remains of A. T. Stewart, a.ka. "The Merchant Prince of Manhattan," one of the wealthiest men in the world. The third in the New York City Gilded Age Crime Trilogy by J. North Conway.

"In my state of shock and dismay, I asked God over and over again, "Why?" Always, before closing my eyes at night, I prayed for my sons, asking God to keep them healthy, happy, and safe. I never dreamed that a horrific crime would take one of their lives. This nightmare was indeed unbelievable. I was unable to focus. I kept thinking that there had been a mistake; I kept trying to convince myself that it wasn't James who had been killed. I found myself rambling on and on in an attempt to comprehend the reality that I had lost my oldest son. The situation was hopeless. "

Dr Mark Spencer is a forensic botanist - in other words, he helps police with cases where plants can unlock clues to solve crimes, from murder and rape to arson and burglary.

Murder Most Florid is an enthralling, first-person account that follows Mark's unconventional and unique career, one that takes him to woodlands, wasteland and roadsides, as well as police labs, to examine the botanical evidence of serious crimes. From unearthing a decomposing victims from brambles to dissecting the vegetation of a shallow grave, Mark's botanical knowledge can be crucial to securing a conviction.

More widely, this gripping book challenges our attitude to death and response to crime. It picks holes in the sensationalized depictions of policing we see on TV, and asks pertinent questions about public sector funding in the face of rising crime. Most importantly, it shows us how the ancient lessons of botanical science can still be front and centre in our modern, DNA-obsessed world.

On July 2, 1970, tourists in Australia spotted a smashed car, teetering precariously on a cliff edge, overlooking the raging ocean below. It seemed the car would fall into the water at any moment, but the car lingered ... as did a mystery, revealed when police traced the license plate to the Crawford household. Here, the police discovered the shocking truth: a mother and her three children had been murdered, with the husband and father-now missing-the main suspect.

The quadruple homicide sent a wave of panic through Australia. Where was the husband? And what would make a father kill his own children? There was much speculation but few answers, as the Crawford patriarch remained missing. Forty years passed-forty years of "Australia's Most Wanted," police dead ends, and silence ... until an unidentified body appears in a Texas morgue.

"Almost Perfect" is the firsthand look at a terrible crime from the perspective of Greg Fogarty-a neighbor to the Crawford family and later a member of the Victoria Police Force, Australia. Using his skills of observation and investigation, Fogarty has put together a tragic and detailed crime narrative with a shocking conclusion. Could a morgue in San Angelo, Texas, hold the body of Australia's most sought-after murderer ... or will the Crawford homicide remain unsolved forever?

Gianni Russo was a handsome twenty-five-year-old mobster with no acting experience when he walked onto the set of The Godfather and entered Hollywood history. He played Carlo Rizzi, the husband of Connie Corleone, who set up her brother Sonny, played by James Caan, for a hit. Russo didn't have to act - he knew the Mob inside and out, from his childhood in Little Italy, to Mafia legend Frank Costello who took him under his wing, to acting as a messenger to New Orleans Mob boss Carlos Marcello during the Kennedy assassination, to having to go on the lam after shooting and killing a member of the Colombian drug cartel in his Vegas club (he was acquitted of murder when the court ruled this as justifiable homicide). Along the way, Russo befriended Frank Sinatra, who became his son's godfather, and Marlon Brando, who mentored his career as an actor after trying to get Francis Ford Coppola to fire him from The Godfather. Russo had passionate affairs with Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli and scores of other celebrities. He went on to star in The Godfather: Parts I and II, Seabiscuit, Any Given Sunday and Rush Hour 2, among many other films in which he also acted as producer. Hollywood Godfather is his no-holds-barred account of a life lived on the edge. It is a story filled with violence, glamour, sex - and fun.

A New York Times Book of the Year, 2018 A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK A dazzling love letter to a beloved institution - our libraries. After moving to Los Angeles, Susan Orlean became fascinated by a mysterious local crime that has gone unsolved since it was carried out on the morning of 29 April 1986: who set fire to the Los Angeles Public Library, ultimately destroying more than 400,000 books, and perhaps even more perplexing, why? With her characteristic humour, insight and compassion, Orlean uses this terrible event as a lens through which to tell the story of all libraries - their history, their meaning and their uncertain future as they adapt and redefine themselves in a digital world. Filled with heart, passion and extraordinary characters, The Library Book discusses the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives.

This book seeks to unravel the issues associated with the crime of murder, providing a highly accessible account of the subject for people coming to it for the first time. It uses detailed case studies as a way of exemplifying and exploring more general questions of socio-cultural responses to murder and their explanation. It incorporates a historical perspective which both provides some fascinating examples from the past and enables readers to gain a vision of what has changed and what has remained the same within those socio-cultural responses to murder. The book also embraces questions of race and gender, in particular cultural constructions of masculinity and femininity on the one hand, and the social processes of 'forgetting and remembering' in the context of particular crimes on the other. Particular murders analysed included those of Myra Hindley, Harold Shipman and the Bulger murder.

Henry Reid Farley is just twenty-eight years old on November 8, 1898, when he is elected Sheriff of Monterey County. Less than a year later, Sheriff Farley lay in his grave. Now the citizens of Salinas are out for revenge. Immediately after the sheriff's murder, local gun stores open their doors in the dark of the night to hand out weapons to several people intending to hunt down George Suesser, the man responsible for the death of the youngest sheriff ever in the history of the State of California. As cries for his lynching echo throughout the streets of Salinas, Suesser is discovered in a crawl space only eighteen inches wide deep in his cellar. The angry citizens of Salinas demand swift justice. The case against the accused is about to begin. Murder, Salinas Style: Book Three shares a unique glimpse into the lives of both a murderer and his victim while revealing the compelling history of a California town, its citizens, and the violence that would become its legacy.

'A real life thriller, packed with characters that even John le Carre couldn't dream of. If this doesn't scare you, then you're not paying attention.' Oliver Bullough They thought they would be safe in Britain. They were wrong. 'Brilliantly and bravely researched, this book lays bare the brutal and murderous truth' Jon Snow of Channel 4 News 'A spellbinding and heart-in-your-throat true story of Russian money and serial killing ... In addition to being an unputdownable story, her shocking expose will hopefully change the way the British authorities act ' Bill Browder, author of Red Notice 'Gripping ... When Putin opponents start dropping dead from poisonings, suspicious accidents and surprise heart attacks,the chronology is as damning as it is alarming' New York Times Exposing one of the most terrifying stories of our time, Heidi Blake investigates a string of suspicious deaths on British and American soil to build a shocking picture. Russia systematically assassinates those who dare to flee its grasp - as well as the British citizens who get in the way. Meanwhile, the British authorities turn a blind eye, every investigation curtailed in favour of courting the Kremlin. Based on the revelatory discovery of over a dozen ignored murders, this is a chilling, page-turning read.

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE STARRING BENICIO DEL TORO, PRODUCED BY LEONARDO DICAPRIO Cuba, 1961. A failed invasion at The Bay of Pigs results in Fidel Castro tightening his hold over Cuba. Jose Miguel Battle Sr., a former cop and member of the counter-revolutionary group intent on overthrowing him, is captured. Miami, 1962. Jose Miguel Battle Sr. travels to the USA, chased from the island by revolution, and is renamed The Godfather. A 2,500 strong Cuban-American criminal alliance is established. Known on both sides of the law as 'The Corporation', its powerful members were fellow outcasts and enemies of Castro. A hero to many Cuban-Americans, The Godfather created a unit of trusted men who fought alongside him to reclaim their nation from the Marxist dictator. Gaining money, power and inluence by running gambling rackets, money- laundering, drug trafficking and murder, The Corporation never gave up the dream of killing Castro and reclaiming their homeland. This explosive biography reveals how an entire generation of political exiles, refugees, racketeers, corrupt cops, hitmen (and their wives and girlfriends) became caught up in this violent desire, and built a criminal empire surviving over 40 years. An epic tale of gangsters, drugs and violence, learn how The Corporation grew into one of the USA's most sordid and deadly organisations.

"It didn't seem possible. Kitty Genovese had been viciously stabbed to death in Kew Gardens on March 13, 1964, while her neighbors heard her screams from their apartment windows and looked on passively...Everyone from coast to coast, it seemed, including President Lyndon Johnson, was weighing in on the failure of Kitty's neighbors to respond to her screams for help. The incident opened up a whole new phenomenon for students of social psychology to explore and puzzle over: the Kitty Genovese syndrome."