Similar Transactions: A True Story


S.R. Reynolds - 2015
    Twenty years later S. R. Reynolds connects the dots and finds herself caught up in a real-life drama. Justice can come in many forms.  When the girl went missing in 1987, Reynolds, then a clinical social worker, warned the DA and police that the case was being mishandled. Michelle's classmates and her mother were unanimous in saying she had no reason to run away. A decade later, after having moved from Knoxville, Tennessee to another state, Reynolds learns from a cold case TV program that Michelle’s skeletal remains had been found two years after she went missing.Through a synchronistic meet-up with her former professor, famed forensic anthropologist Dr. William (Bill) Bass, who had been interviewed on the TV program and who is the founder of the University of Tennessee's Body Farm, Reynolds's curiosity suddenly becomes a commitment when Bass offers to send her his files. It begins a saga in which she travels extensively to seek out and meet with surviving victims, the murdered girl’s mother, and former police and FBI investigators who worked on the case after the girl’s remains had been found. As Reynolds presses neglected pieces of the puzzle into place, she unearths a string of brutal kidnappings and rapes across the South, crimes that span decades. A picture forms and patterns appear. All evidence points to one man: convicted sex offender Larry Lee Smith. But Larry Lee is about to be released from a Georgia prison where he is serving time for a related crime—a similar transaction. We find that prison means nothing more to Larry Lee than waiting until he can repeat his actions.During the seven years of pursuing this case, Reynolds joins with the former victims and the mother to form The Band of Sisters to seek Justice for Michelle's murder. As a result, the police department reopens the long cold-case of Michelle Anderson’s murder. A savvy prosecutor enters the scene as they join together in this true life saga. Similar Transactions is the recipient of the eLit Gold Award for True Crime, IAN True Crime Book of the Year, and is among the top five books named The Best of Everything Nonfiction by author, critic, and screenwriter Emilio Corsetti III.

Always In Our Hearts: The Story Of Amy Grossberg, Brian Peterson, The Pregnancy They Hid And The Baby They Killed


Doug Most - 1999
    But in November of their Freshman Year, the two young lovers spent a night in a Delaware motel room where, after hiding her pregnancy from her family and her friends for nine months, Amy gave birth to a baby boy. Only she and Brian knew the child even existed . . . until the next morning when the newborn's corpse turned up in the motel dumpster. The case caused a countrywide outrage, and the teenagers ended up in court, desperately fighting for their lives and ultimately against each other...

First We'll Kill My Husband


Lyn Riddle - 2008
    . . Gulf War veteran Doug Gissendaner would do anything for a friend, a stranger, or the wife who broke every rule in the marriage book. Now, investigators were scouring the Georgia woods not far from Doug's home. They'd already found the charred wreckage of his car. They knew they were looking for a body. . . A Hitman Who Killed For Love. . . Gregory Owen had been having an on-again, off-again affair with Doug's wife for years. Then Kelly Gissendaner told Greg it was time for her husband to die. With a knife and a plan, Greg forced Doug to drive into the woods. When Greg finished his savage, cold-blooded deed, Kelly showed up to make sure Doug was dead. A Woman On Death Row. . . This is the astounding true story of the only woman on Georgia's Death Row and the chilling, account of how she got there. From the hold Kelly had over a good and decent man to her dramatic, controversial trial, "First We'll Kill My Husband" captures the lies, schemes, and manipulations of a woman totally bent on murder. . . Includes 16 pages of shocking photos! Lyn Riddle is a freelance writer and journalist whose work regularly appears in "The New York Times, " the "Los Angeles Times, " and "The Atlanta Constitution." She is the author of "Family Blood: The Murder that Shattered an All-American Home " and "Ashes to Ashes. "She lives in Simpsonville (near Greenville), SC.

Lawyer X


Patrick Carlyon - 2020
    It took the police a decade to curtail the violence and bring down criminal kingpins Carl Williams, Tony Mokbel and their accomplices. When the police finally closed the case file, just how they really won the war, with the help of an unlikely police informer, would become a closely guarded secret and its exposure, the biggest legal scandal of our time.Lawyer X is the scandalous, true story of how a promising defence barrister from a privileged background broke all the rules - becoming both police informer and her client's lover - sharing their secrets and shaping the gangland war that led to sensational arrests and convictions. The story of how Nicola Gobbo became Lawyer X, and why, is a compelling study in desperation and determination.Lawyer X is the definitive story of Melbourne's gangland wars and its most glamorous and compelling central character, based on the ground-breaking work of investigative journalists Anthony Dowsley and Patrick Carlyon, who broke the story for the Herald Sun in 2014, and their five-year struggle to reveal the truth about the identity of Lawyer X.

A Love To Die For


Patricia Springer - 2000
    Suddenly, Christa turned on Colleen, accusing her of flirting with her boyfriend. Then, the words turned to shocking blows. An enraged Christa used a box knife to cut her rival's throat and a mini meat cleaver to inflict more havoc. Half-naked, Colleen crawled through her own blood begging for her life. In the middle of the hour-long assault, a satanic symbol was carved in the dying girl's chest. And when Christa was finally done, she took a piece of Colleen's skull as a macabre souvenir. What were the dark forces that drove angelic faced Christa to commit such a savage murder and become the youngest woman ever to be put on Death Row? In this shocking expose of a case that stunned the nation, Patricia Springer takes us through a horrifying crime scene and into the heart and mind of a murderess who killed for love-and would die for it, too.

Under the Trestle: The 1980 Disappearance of Gina Renee Hall & Virginia’s First “No Body” Murder Trial.


Ron Peterson Jr. - 2018
    In 1980, beautiful Gina Renee Hall, a Radford University freshman, went to a Virginia Tech nightclub on a Saturday night. She was never seen again. Her abandoned car was found parked beneath a railroad trestle bridging the New River, with blood in the trunk. The investigation led police to a secluded cabin on Claytor Lake, where there was evidence of a violent attack.Former Virginia Tech football player, Stephen Epperly, was charged with murder, despite the fact that Gina’s body was never found. In Virginia’s “trial of the century”, prosecutor Everett Shockley presented an entirely circumstantial case. Key witnesses against Epperly included his best friend, his mother, and a tracking dog handler later believed by many to be a fraud. Three former Virginia Tech football players testified, including a Hokies quarterback once featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.Would Epperly become the first person in Virginia history convicted of murder without the victim’s body, an eyewitness, or a confession? And would authorities ever find the body of Gina Renee Hall?

Dancing with Death: The True Story of a Glamorous Showgirl, her Wealthy Husband, and a Horrifying Murder


Shanna Hogan - 2011
    Former stripper turned suburban housewife Marjorie Orbin filed a missing person’s report on her husband. She claimed that Jay, a successful art dealer, had left town on business after celebrating their son’s birthday more than a month before. Jay loved his family more than life itself—and no one believed he would ever abandon them. Authorities suspected foul play…A WIFE LYING IN WAITThe search for Jay made local headlines. But key elements in Marjorie’s story still weren’t adding up: Why did she wait so long before going to police? If Jay was away on business, as she claimed, why were there charges made to his credit card in Phoenix? Then, the unthinkable happened.A SHOCKING DISCOVERYJay’s headless, limbless torso was discovered on the outskirts of the Phoenix desert—and all evidence pointed to Marjorie as the killer. Soon, an exhaustive investigation would reveal surprising new details about her life—six previous marriages, an ongoing and passionate affair with a man from her gym, alleged ties to the New York mafia, a drug habit—and lead to her conviction for the murder and dismemberment of her seventh husband.With 8 pages of dramatic photos

Wide Open: A Life in Supercross


Jeremy McGrath - 2004
    Supercross started out as a redneck '70s sideshow, but thanks largely to Jeremy McGrath it has become a massive extreme sport. Over the last three years, AMA Supercross attendance has mushroomed from 700,000 spectators a year to 1.5 million. This book will satisfy even the most hardcore fans, as it not only gives you the life and times of Jeremy McGrath, but acts as the calling card to the entire sport by including unique sections on how to become a Supercross racer, the workout regimes, fixing common bike problems, and more.

The Shepherd's Bush Murders


Nick Russell-Pavier - 2016
    Jack Witney served twenty-five years in prison although he shot no one and was released on appeal, only to be murdered in his Bristol flat a few years later. John Duddy died in Parkhurst after fifteen years. But Harry Roberts, by his own admission the instigator of the crime and the most notorious, was released from prison after forty-eight years in 2015 making national front page news. What could possess an apparently rational and sane man, albeit an habitual criminal, to commit such a callous and ruthless act? What kind of a man is he? How can an ordinary person understand what he did? Should he be forgiven?50 years later, the full story for the first time.

Closing Time: A True Story of Robbery and Double Murder


Anita Paddock - 2017
     In the vein of In Cold Blood, Closing Time is the stunning story of good and evil colliding in the most tragic of ways, both for the victims and their loved ones left behind to re-live their horror. Kenneth Staton was the well-respected owner of a jewelry store in Van Buren, Arkansas. Although crippled with rheumatoid arthritis and unable to walk without crutches, he had built his business through excellent watch repair work, fine quality jewelry sold at fair prices, and a dedication to his customers that surpassed all other merchants. He was the quintessential gentleman in all aspects of his life, and a beloved father. Unknown to him, two men—a seasoned criminal with a propensity for violence and a younger man, handsome, but broke and with an obsessive thirst for alcohol—plotted to rob the jewelry store at closing time on September 10, 1980. The thugs had only met each other days before, and it was the younger one's first venture into armed robbery. When Staton and his daughter Suzanne didn't show up for supper, his other two daughters became alarmed and went to the store. There they found the bodies of their father and youngest sister lying in pools of blood, gagged, hogtied, and shot twice in the head. Close to $100,000 dollars in diamonds and other jewelry had been stolen. This senseless, bloody crime rocked the town of Van Buren and set its lawmen, sworn to find the killers, on a fiercely determined hunt that led from Rogers, Arkansas to Jacksonville, Florida, and all the way to Vancouver, Canada. Seventeen years later, was justice served? Praise for Closing Time “Anita Paddock is the newest and strongest voice in true crime writing. Closing Time makes you feel as if you are there, seeing what happened, and feeling the terror and sorrow of those felled by these brutal crimes.” – Marla Cantrell, Editor of Do South Magazine and an Arkansas Art Council Fellow “Anita Paddock delivers again. Closing Time reveals an unvarnished truth that will, at times, leave her readers breathless. Those familiar with her work will quickly conclude that Closing Time is a worthy successor to her previous best seller, Blind Rage. Get ready for some late nights because you won’t be able to put this one down.” – Greg Shepard, author of Earthstains, the story of Matt and George Kimes who came of age in the Roaring Twenties with a string of sensational bank robberies.

A Cold-Blooded Business: Adultery, Murder, and a Killer's Path from the Bible Belt to the Boardroom


Marek Fuchs - 2008
    But fewer know that Olathe achieved notoriety again in 1982, when a member of Olathe's growing Evangelical Christian population, a gentle man named David Harmon, was bludgeoned to death while sleeping—the force of the blows crushing his face beyond recognition. Suspicion quickly fell on David's wife, Melinda, and his best friend, Mark, student body president of the local bible college. However, the long arms of the church defended the two and no charges were pressed. The case was declared as dead as David Harmon. Two decades later, two Olathe police officers revived the cold case making startling revelations that reopened old wounds and chasms within the Olathe community—revelations that rocked not only Olathe, but also the two well-healed towns in which Melinda and Mark resided. David's former wife and friend were now living separate, successful, law-abiding lives. Melinda lived in suburban Ohio, a devoted wife and mother of two. Mark had become a Harvard MBA, a high-paid corporate mover, a family man, and a respected community member in a wealthy suburb of New York City. Some twenty years after the brutal murder, each received the dreaded knock of justice at the door.A Cold-Blooded Business provides fascinating character studies of Melinda and Mark, killers who seemingly returned to normalcy after one blood-splattered night of violence. A fast-moving true crime narrative, A Cold-Blooded Business is a chilling exploration into the darkest depths of the human psyche.

Flesh Collectors: Their Ghoulish Appetites Drove Them to Crimes that Only Began With Murder


Fred Rosen - 2003
    A friendship grew from their shared lust for sadistic brutality, and once released, they teamed up to hunt human prey. In March, 1998, in Pensacola, Florida, while quietly watching TV, Leighton Smitherman was shot in the back by assailants hiding outside his home. Amazingly, he survived, not knowing that he'd been chosen at random by would-be-thrill-killers. Their next target wasn't so lucky. Justin Livingston, 20, died from multiple stab wounds - some more than six inches deep. The horror peaked on 7 May 1999, when Rodgers went on a date with pretty Jennifer Robinson, 18, with Lawrence tagging along. The young woman was drugged and assaulted first by Rodgers, then Lawrence, before Rodgers shot her execution-style. But the worse was yet to come, an unspeakable act of mutilation that followed in the bloody footsteps of one of the most infamous serial killers of our time...

Overcome: A Memoir Of Abuse, Addiction, Sex Work, and Recovery


Amber van de Bunt - 2019
    From childhood struggles with depression and eating disorders, her years as a topless dancer in Florida, and an eventual abortion and suicide attempt, to her rebirth in Los Angeles as a porn star named Karmen Karma, overcoming her relationship with her abusive mother, and her struggle to maintain a clean and sober lifestyle―van de Bunt’s life has been a wild rollercoaster. With humor, alacrity, and profound insight, she reveals her deepest, darkest secrets and pulls no punches―least of all with herself.

Donut Hole: A Marine’s Real-Life Battles in Vietnam During 1967 and 68 Marines, 1st Force Logistical Command Clutch Platoon


R.C. Lebeau - 2019
    Your very belief is tested in combat, you must kill your enemy, or your enemy will kill you – that is the simple, hard cold fact. Because in my humble opinion, War is hell on Earth. Evil roams freely in War, and it will kill you, one way or another, with its evil intent. Nightmares are common and, in their fantasy, never reflect the real horror and the reality that War can bring to your mind. No matter what your personal spiritual beliefs are, you will be tested. The conduct of your intent will be your judge for life. It is your second guessing that can be dangerous to you. A wise Philosopher once said in Greece, “If you want real peace, you must always prepare for War.” This book is about war. It tells my experiences of the paths I took as a United States Marine in Vietnam. The mouths of many soldiers will say the same – the same soldiers who had shared my paths with the experiences of my many paths in life. I have not shared these words or reflections with anyone, except in bits and pieces, and that too, with other veterans in the form of bunker talk.

Women Who Kill: A Chilling Casebook of True-Life Murders


Al Cimino - 2019
    But this disproportion can make their crimes seem all the more shocking. In this chilling casebook, Al Cimino explores 34 female murderers. We meet 'Angel of Death' Kristen Gilbert who induced multiple cardiac arrests among her patients while working as a hospital nurse, Enriqueta Mart�, the 'Vampire of Barcelona' who killed children to make cosmetics, and many more. These case studies give riveting insight into the lives and motives of women who decided to commit the ultimate transgression. In many of these cases, the women had suffered years of abuse and psychological breakdown before their eventual crimes. Other times their heinous acts seemed to spring from nowhere, with an unpredictability that is haunting. The gruesome details within these pages are not for the faint hearted.