Murder In The Mountains

A dead man in the woods. A corrupt game warden. A silver-tongued preacher. And a whole lot of drugs. When Sheriff Elven Hallie investigates a murder, the evidence seems self-explanatory. But when he digs in, things get more complicated. Following a lead, he visits a revival in the woods led by smooth-talking preacher Spencer Caldwell. The hunters in the area are already angry, having filed numerous complaints about the operation. But it isn't until Elven goes to see the man himself that he knows something is off. If that wasn't enough, game warden Jesse Parsons arrives in Dupray to assist in the murder investigation. But Elven quickly questions Jesse's motives when he's found being friendly with Hollis, the head of the Starcher criminal family. When a witness is discovered, it leads to more questions. And a lot more bodies. But when his deputy is put in danger, Elven knows he's running out of time and must take a more direct approach to solve the crime. Can he solve the murders before someone he loves is killed, or will his drastic measures cost him more than just his job? If you're a fan of C.J. Box's Joe Pickett, Craig Johnson's Longmire, Jeff Carson's David Wolf and Patrick Logan's Damien Drake, then you will be sucked into this page-turning mystery by Drew Strickland!

"This is the true story of the murder of Artemio Bruni, a peasant farmer in the mountains of Casentino, north-eastern Tuscany, in the winter of 1907. Artemio was my husband's great-grandfather. "For reasons not understood by my husband's family, Grandpa Artemio's death was never investigated. It was not reported to the police, nor did Bruna Bruni, Artemio's wife, ever demand justice. How could that be possible, I asked my mother-in-law - was it because of the mafia? 'No, no, you don't understand,' she answered. 'Things were different in the mountains one hundred years ago. Grandpa and Grandma were poor farmers, no one could have cared less about them. Grandpa was a nobody and life was cheap in Tuscany then.'" When Australian author and journalist Lisa Clifford moved to Florence to be with her Italian husband, an unsolved murder in his family became part of her life. The more Lisa found out about it, the more intrigued she became - so much so that she was driven to investigate the tragic events of a century ago. Death in the Mountains is Lisa's brilliant recreation of the life and death of Artemio Bruni, and an evocation of the world of the Tuscan mountains in the early 20th century. It is both a murder mystery and a beautifully observed picture of a lost Italy.

Margaret Klem and John Meierhofer were Bavarian immigrants who arrived in New Jersey in the 1850s, got married, and started a small farm in West Orange. When John returned from the Civil War, he was a changed man, neglecting his work and beating his wife. Margaret was left to manage the farm and endure the suspicion of neighbors, who gossiped about her alleged affairs. Then one day in 1879, John turned up dead with a bullet in the back of his head. Margaret and her farmhand, Dutch immigrant Frank Lammens, were accused of the crime, and both went to the gallows, making Margaret the last woman to be executed by the state of New Jersey. Was Margaret the calculating murderess and adulteress portrayed by the press? Or was she a battered wife pushed to the edge? Or was she, as she claimed to the end, innocent? Murder on the Mountain considers all sides of this fascinating and mysterious true crime story. In turn, it examines why this murder trial became front-page news, as it resonated with public discussions about capital punishment, mental health, anti-immigrant sentiment, domestic violence, and women’s independence. This is a gripping and thought-provoking study of a murder that shocked the nation.

Murder is traumatic and affects the lives of every family member, manifesting feelings of loss, sorrow, grief, anger, and gradual acceptance of the event. Murder in the Mountains: The Justus and Meadows Family Massacre is the true story of the murders of a mother, daughter, son-in-law, and three small grandsons. Even though the murders occurred over 100 years ago, the event still evokes an emotional response today, especially from the ancestors of Elizabeth Baker Justus (known in the community as Aunt Betty). Aunt Betty was a midwife and widow living in the small, rural community of Hurley in the mountains of southwest Virginia. Her youngest daughter, Lydia, Lydia's husband, George, and their three children lived in the home with Aunt Betty. They lived a quiet and simple life until one fall evening when murder entered the small log cabin and forever altered the lives of an entire family and community. The motive for this unspeakable tragedy is as old as time - money. Aunt Betty sold a large tract of timberland to the W. M. Ritter Lumber Company, a thriving business in the community. The person convicted of these murders was the Purchasing Agent for this company. Providing factual documentation, as well as the family history handed down through the generations, Georgia Charles presents the gripping and compelling story, detailing the tragic events that led to the murder of her ancestors. Murder in the Mountains: The Justus and Meadows Family Massacre is a thrilling page-turner readers will not discard until finished.

Madison County in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina is a place of ear-popping drives and breathtaking views. It is also where federal antipoverty worker Nancy Dean Morgan was found naked, hogtied, and strangled in the backseat of her car in June 1970. An inept investigation involving local, state, and federal law-enforcement agencies failed to find a clear explanation of the motive or events of her murder. The case was left unsolved. Years later, after most of the material evidence had been lost or mishandled, one of Nancy's fellow VISTA workers--the last person known to have seen her alive--became the prime suspect, based on the testimony of one of the town's most notorious resident criminals. Did he kill Nancy, or was he another victim of the corrupt local political machine and its adherence to "mountain justice"? Met Her on the Mountain: A Forty-Year Quest to Solve the Appalachian Cold-Case Murder of Nancy Morgan is a tangled tale of rural noir. Author Mark Pinsky was profoundly struck by Nancy's story as a college student in North Carolina in 1970. Here, Pinsky presents the evolution of his investigation and also delves into the brutal history of Madison County, the site of a Civil War massacre that earned it the sobriquet "Bloody Madison." Met Her on the Mountain is a stirring mix of true crime, North Carolina political history, and one man's devotion to finding the truth. -- amazon.com.

When the peace and serenity of the Rocky Mountains is tainted by murder, Jennifer feels she must do everything she can to find the murderer clear the good name of her resort. With her close friend, Clint, she works to unravel the story of a gold heist, a mysterious historical society, and foul murder. They will have to bend the rules and call in favors if they are going to catch the murderer before he gets away.

This is a story of two detectives Jim Garber and Dick Taylor who investigate a homicide of an entire family in the small mountain community of Pine Heaven in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The story is set in the time frame of the 1960's when there were vast areas of Southern California, that hadn't fallen under the developer's bulldozer and life seemed just a little more laid back, compared with today's hustle and bustle. It is a story of intrigue and human doubts and the avenues that these men travel to try and solve this horrendous crime in this small community. It deals with the emotions of these two Detectives and how these murders play upon their own feelings when confronting possible suspects to this crime and how they handle events that seem to put their reputations in jeopardy. The story goes from the sweltering hear of the valley to the cold and chilling nights in the mountains and all the human faults and failings that go into trying to solve this crime.