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Books > Fiction > True stories
FAMILY SECRETS & LIES By DJ Everette Local Author discovers
murder, mystery and achievement in family tree Before Bonnie &
Clyde in 1934-35, there was Gramma & Glenn during Prohibition
from 1928-31. Gramma, also called "The Blonde Menace," the
"Gungirl" and "Iron Irene, stole autos in Ohio, robbed fuel
stations in West Virginia, Indiana and Illinois, stuck up banks in
Texas, Missouri, and Arkansas and stole from retail stores and
individuals across the west, kidnapping and murdering in states
stretching as far as Arizona, it was said. In 1929 a Police Officer
was killed and his partner badly wounded in a gun battle when
Gramma and her gang were confronted for robbing a grocery store in
Butler, PA. Irene's four year old son, the Author's Father, was in
the car and observed the thefts, murder and getaway. He proudly
announced to his family when his Mother dropped him off for safe
keeping, the police and reporters "I Saw My Mom Kill A Cop " and
"Mama is the brains of the outfit" After fleeing with her lover,
Glenn, across the USA and being front page news in a year-long
highly sensationalized trial, Gramma was the first woman to be
executed in the State of PA. In spite of insurmountable odds and
difficult challenges, Gramma's little son grew up to be a hero in
the Korean conflict and NASA. The Author meets her Dad before he
dies and he fills in all the answers to her lifelong questions.
Take this unbelievable journey with the Author as she starts her
paternal genealogy and journals the events in order to handle the
trauma of what was being discovered. Discover facts found 80 years
later that uncover an entirely different story than the media at
the time produced and uncover the surprise ending.
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.
A New York Times Bestseller Foreword Reviews' INDIEFAB Book of the
Year Winner in True Crime *Selected as one of "2016's Great Reads"
by NPR *Finalist for the 2016 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of
the Year *An unforgettable cauldron of history, crime, race, and
sports Now in paperback comes the critically acclaimed New York
Times Bestseller about a championship city haunted by a wave of
racist terror. Detroit, mid-1930s was abuzz over its unrivaled
sports success when gun-loving baseball fan Dayton Dean became
ensnared in the nefarious Black Legion. The secretive, Klan-like
group murdered enemies, flogged associates, and planned armed
rebellion. The Legion boasted tens of thousands of members across
the Midwest, among them politicians and prominent citizens-even,
possibly, a beloved athlete. Award-winning author Tom Stanton has
written a stunning tale of history, crime, and sports. "[A]
head-turning tale of the generally forgotten Black Legion terrorist
group and Detroit in the 1930s." -US News & World Report
The idea that a person might suddenly snap and slaughter large
numbers of people has become part of our cultural understanding
through events such as the Columbine High School massacre and the
D.C. Sniper case. But this image of the sudden turn from ordinary
citizen, quiet neighbor, or non-descript teenager to mass murderer
is generally false. People who go out one day and kill innocent
people or supposed enemies have typically thought about it, planned
it, and even mentioned it to others before they actually do it--and
the act is usually the result of a buildup of stress and
frustration. Here, Katherine Ramsland, a seasoned crime writer,
examines true stories of mass murder and reveals the complexity
behind the development of a mass killer. She provides common
signals, based on actual cases, that will help readers identify
warning signs and understand the various psychological factors that
may lead a person to kill. Since the first recorded U.S. case of
mass murder in 1949, massacres have been increasing each decade,
with workplace violence taking the lead as the most common form.
The psychology of the killers, however, differs from that of spree,
serial, or situational murderers. The red flags of a developing
mass killer are obvious and predictable, Ramsland argues, and
people who learn to recognize them may be able to defuse a
potentially violent situation before it occurs. Using details from
various cases, the author examines the different kinds of mass
murders, from visionary to family to workplace, and the distinct
psychological dynamics of the different types of murders. This
essential book exposes the inner world of mass murderers and
dismantles the stereotypes we hold aboutthem.
In December 1924, a 21-year-old millionaire orphan, William "Billy"
McClintock, died of an unusually virulent form of typhoid fever. He
was mourned by his financee, Isabelle Pope, who sought
unsuccessfully to rally her love by marrying him on his deathbed.
Shortly after Billy's funeral, questions arose as to the cause of
death, with insinuations of foul play. After reaching his majority
and inheriting his estate in April, McClintock had signed a will
drafted by one of his guardians, lawyer William D. Shepherd--a will
which left everything to Shepherd, but only if Billy died before
his planned February 1925 wedding to Ms. Pope. Ultimately, Shepherd
and his wife Julie were accused of killing not only Billy
McClintock, but Billy's mother and a doctor friend of the family.
This case caused a major sensation in Jazz Age Chicago, a society
fascinated with murder and mayhem. When the body of Billy's mother
was exhumed after sixteen years, it was found to contain enough
mercury to have killed two people. The Shepherds were the only
likely sources. Three physicians came forward to say that Shepherd
had approached them about obtaining typhoid germs. Yet, Shepherd
would beat the charges of Billy's murder; in fact, no one would
ever be charged in the death of Billy's mother. Was there a
murder--or two? Who stood to gain the most from these deaths?
McConnell recreates a slice of life among Chicago's elite and the
colorful characters who may or may not have sought their own piece
of the fatal fortune--so-called because its inheritors almost
always died within two years of receiving it.
It was Christmas 1942 when eleven young women boarded the troopship
Strathaird and braved the attentions of U-Boats in the deep
Atlantic. Borrowing a cricketing phrase, they called themselves the
First Eleven. But they were not the first to arrive at the Special
Operations Executive's secret North African base near Algiers.
Code-named Massingham, it was formed by SOE to spearhead subversion
and sabotage in what Winston Churchill called 'the soft underbelly'
of Europe. Massingham was hidden away at the Club des Pins, a
former luxury resort nestling among pines next to a Mediterranean
beach. By the time SOE had got to work, there was little luxury
left. Setting the Med Ablaze tells the true stories of the men and
women of Churchill's secret base. Its life was short. Less than two
years after its formation, its job was done. But Massingham played
a key role in the Allied offensive in the Mediterranean islands,
Italy and France. If you enjoy historical nonfiction, this book is
for you.
Covering figures ranging from Catherine Monvoisin to Vlad the
Impaler, and describing murders committed in ancient aristocracies
to those attributed to vampires, witches, and werewolves, this book
documents the historic reality of serial murder. The majority of
serial murder studies support the consensus that serial murder is
essentially an American crime-a flawed assumption, as the United
States has existed for less than 250 years. What is far more likely
is that the perverse urge to repeatedly and intentionally kill has
existed throughout human history, and that a substantial percentage
of serial murders throughout ancient times, the middle ages, and
the pre-modern era were attributed to imaginative surrogate
explanations: dragons, demons, vampires, werewolves, and witches.
Legends, Monsters, or Serial Murderers? The Real Story Behind an
Ancient Crime dispels the interrelated misconceptions that serial
murder is an American crime and a relatively recent phenomenon,
making the novel argument that serial murder is a historic
reality-an unrecognized fact in ancient times. Noted serial
murderers such as the Roman Locuta (The Poisoner); Gilles De Rais
of France, a prolific serial killer of children; Andres Bichel of
Bavaria; and Chinese aristocratic serial killer T'zu-Hsi are
spotlighted. This book provides a unique perspective that
integrates supernatural interpretations of serial killing with the
history of true crime, reanimating mythic entities of horror
stories and presenting them as real criminals.
If you've ever wanted to get inside the mind of a police
officer, then this candid book written by a former Chicago cop will
take you there.
Terrence Howard, who retired from the force after twenty-four
years, recalls an adventurous career that includes the good, bad,
and ugly sides of law enforcement. Whether you are considering
becoming a police officer or just curious about how they think,
Howard offers answers.
This Gun's for Hire identifies the three models of police
officers; examines the forty golden rules of police survival; and
provides advice on how to work with police so you can steer clear
of trouble.
When encountering a police officer, it's important to know the
difference between the laws of the courts and the laws of the
streets. Figure out how police officers really think, and take the
necessary steps to ensure a more positive experience the next time
you meet one.
Everyone knows the name Calamity Jane. Scores of dime novels and
movie and TV Westerns have portrayed this original Wild West woman
as an adventuresome, gun-toting hellion. Although Calamity Jane has
probably been written about more than any other woman of the
nineteenth-century American West, fiction and legend have largely
obscured the facts of her life. This lively, concise, and
exhaustively researched biography traces the real person from the
Missouri farm where she was born in 1856 through the development of
her notorious persona as a Wild West heroine.
Before Calamity Jane became a legend, she was Martha Canary,
orphaned when she was only eleven years old. From a young age she
traveled fearlessly, worked with men, smoked, chewed tobacco, and
drank. By the time she arrived in the boomtown of Deadwood, South
Dakota, in 1876, she had become Calamity Jane, and the real Martha
Canary had disappeared under a landslide of purple prose.
Calamity became a hostess and dancer in Deadwood's saloons and
theaters. She imbibed heavily, and she might have been a
prostitute, but she had other qualities, as well, including those
of an angel of mercy who ministered to the sick and the
down-and-out. Journalists and dime novelists couldn't get enough of
either version, nor, in the following century, could filmmakers.
Sorting through the stories, veteran western historian Richard W.
Etulain's account begins with a biography that offers new
information on Calamity's several "husbands" (including one she
legally married), her two children, and a woman who claimed to be
the daughter of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity, a story Etulain
discredits. In the second half of the book, Etulain traces the
stories that have shaped Calamity Jane's reputation. Some Calamity
portraits, he says, suggest that she aspired to a quiet life with a
husband and family. As the 2004-2006 HBO series "Deadwood" makes
clear, well more than a century after her first appearance as a
heroine in the Deadwood Dick dime novels, Calamity Jane lives
on--raunchy, unabashed, contradictory, and ambiguous as ever.""
Against the frightening backdrop of World War II, a young Scottish
woman took ten children by ship through the waters of the Atlantic
from Scotland to South Africa, where she set up a home for them
called Bairnshaven. An unusual portrayal of motherhood, nuclear
family and love, Marjorie's story comes to life through diary
pages, letters, telegrams and photographs. This true story is a
fresh take on the role that women played during the war,
highlighting the strength and courage shown, and focusing on hope
and unconditional kindness.
After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Soviet secret
police, the NKVD, executed a staggering number of political
prisoners in Western Ukraine-somewhere between 10,000 and 40,000-in
the space of eight days, in one of the greatest atrocities
perpetrated by the Soviet state. Yet the Great West Ukrainian
Prison Massacre of 1941 is largely unknown. This sourcebook aims to
change that, offering detailed scholarly analysis, eyewitness
testimonies and profiles of known victims, and a selection of
fiction, memoirs, and poetry that testifies to the lasting impact
of the massacre in the collective memory of Ukrainians.
Out of the annals of the author's own family history comes this
story of the strange death of a popular circuit judge in a
mysterieous shooting that remained unsolved for many years. "Who
shot the Judge?" remained an unsettled question, despite all
efforts to find the answer. This is the account of a hunting
accident in the north woods of Michigan and the effects of such
unsolved mystery on members of the family and others. The story
concludes with a surprise ending and alludes to the question of the
degree to which such unhealed grief might affect even succeeding
generations. The prompting to write the story was born for the
author in an experience of personal healing in a prayer group, from
which the author emerged with a compelling sense that this story
had to be written. He could never seem to let it go. The judge was
the author's own grandfather, whom he, of course, never knew.
Was Arizona Donnie Clark, AKA Kate "Ma" Barker the mastermind
behind the Barker gang terrorizing the Midwest during the early
years of the great Depression? Or was she a terrible mother who
urged her sons to criminal behavior for her own financial gain? Or
does the truth lie somewhere in between. This lively retelling of
the legend of Ma Barker and her boys is full of action, intrigue,
and the answers to mysteries that have lingered for more than 70
years.
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