True Crime

Early Seattle enticed settlers with an abundance of natural resources, potential wealth, stunning beauty and versatile climate. It offered gainful employment for fishermen, loggers and miners, but those who rushed west quickly discovered that all that glitters is not gold. The rapidly expanding city...

In the rough-and-tumble days of the nineteenth century, Shreveport was on the very edge of the country's western frontier. It was a city struggling to tame lawlessness, and its streets were rocked by duels, lynchings and shootouts. A new century and Prohibition only brought...

Spokane's early years were marked by an unchecked underworld of greed and sinister dealings.Houses of ill-repute and homebrewed whiskey abounded, and hidden tunnels beneath the streets helped to stoke the lawlessness. Famous cowgirl Calamity Jane loved to deal faro when visiting the city and...

When Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded St. Augustine in 1565, his New World survival kit included gambling, liquor and ladies for hire. For the next four hundred years, these three industries were vital in keeping the city financially afloat. With the cooperation of law...

Tacoma, the city where the rails meet the sails, has always been a place of innovation and rule-breakers. When the railroad came in the nineteenth century, business boomed, along with smuggling, bootlegging and prostitution. Men such as Peter Sandberg walked the line between criminal...

On a bitterly cold afternoon in December 1986, a Michigan State trooper found the frozen body of Jerry Tobias in the bed of his pickup truck. The 31-year-old oil field worker and small-time drug dealer was curled up on his side on the truck's...

Join local historian Tim Crumrin as he reveals the blackguards, rogues and swindlers of Terre Haute's rough and rowdy past.For more than a century, Terre Haute earned its reputation as a sin city. One of the most notorious red-light districts in the Midwest, the...

Author Thea Lewis takes a revealing ride through the unique and colorful history of the Green Mountain State.Vermont is a picturesque landscape, but the idyllic setting hides a sometimes dark and desperate past. H.H. Holmes, America's first serial killer, may have been the University...

"Vermont is a picturesque landscape, but the idyllic setting hides a sometimes dark and desperate past. ... Author Thea Lewis takes a revealing ride through the unique and colorful history of the Green Mountain State."--Page 4 of cover.Author: Thea LewisPublisher: History Press Library EditionsPublished:...

Victorian Boston was more than just stately brownstones and elite society that graced neighborhoods like Beacon Hill. As the population grew, the city developed a seedy underbelly just below its surface. Illegal saloons, prostitution and sports gambling challenged the image of the Puritan City....

An addictive and fascinating read that traces the criminal history of our nation's capital, from the bloody site of the city's most famous murder to dark deeds involving politicians from both sides of the aisle. Includes a look at the mysteries surrounding the Lincoln...

Washtenaw County has a dark and sordid history, filled with unexplained murders and vicious crimes. Venture into the dead of night with medical students from the University of Michigan as they snatch bodies from fresh graves. Discover how Irene Walling Smith, born and raised...

Early promoters of Colorado s Western Slope would have had settlers believe the area was one of proper behavior and upstanding morality. But this was not the case. Hot tempers led to quick trigger fingers and Main Street shootouts. Drinking, gambling and thieving were...

Early Wichita earned a wicked reputation from newspapers across Kansas thanks to a bevy of madams and murderers, bootleggers and bank robbers, con men and crooked cops. Gambler and saloonkeeper "Rowdy Joe" Lowe was the toast of the town before shooting down his rival,...

Take a journey through crime and vice in twentieth-century Wilmington, from a Tatnall Street bawdy house to the corporate boardrooms of the DuPont Company. Visit the old New Castle County Workhouse, scene of a break-in by a lynch mob and the daring escape of...

While men commit most of Alabama's crimes, women have written some of the darkest chapters in state history. Poisoners who murdered dozens. A mob icon who captivated millions. An anti-government cop killer. A madam whose courage lifted her from shame to legend. A mummified...

While men commit most of Alabama's crimes, women have written some of the darkest chapters in state history. Poisoners who murdered dozens. A mob icon who captivated millions. An anti-government cop killer. A madam whose courage lifted her from shame to legend. A mummified...

Author Tobin T. Buhk recounts the thrilling tales of Detroit's most violent, clever and misunderstood female criminals.Queen of the Underworld Sophie Lyons faced off with detective Teresa Lewis in court three times, and twice in the street, rendering both women battered and bloodied. Nellie...

Award-winning crime writer Jane Ann Turzillo recounts the stories of Ohio's most notorious vixens, viragoes and villainesses.The Buckeye State produced its share of wicked women. Tenacious madam Clara Palmer contended with constant police raids during the 1880s and '90s. Only her death could shut...

The Buckeye State produced its share of wicked women. Tenacious madam Clara Palmer contended with constant police raids during the 1880s and '90s. Only her death could shut the doors of her gilded bordello in Cleveland. Failed actress Mildred Gillars left for Europe right...