Queen City Gothic

Losing a loved one to murder is life's ultimate tragedy. But when the killer is never captured, a family's paralyzing grief only compounds. Years pass. Pain grows. Time heals nothing. Parents, spouses, and children of the victims never find peace. Investigators continue to lie awake night after night, year after year, thinking, "If only..." Cold cases fascinate us because of the endless possibilities. What if Alice Hochhausler hadn't driven her daughter home from work while a strangler was running loose? What if Oda Apple's wife hadn't sent him to the corner drugstore? What if Linda Bricca hadn't been so beautiful – and her husband not a workaholic? J. T. Townsend takes us on a sinister journey through thirteen cases, which took place in Cincinnati, Ohio, between 1904 and 1971. You'll meet Frances Brady, a pretty bride-to-be gunned down at her own front door. Tommy Coby, age eight, who arrived home to an empty house, and learned later his parents were lying dead in their car. Patty Rebholz, a popular cheerleader, who was bludgeoned in a neighbor's backyard while walking to break up with her teenage boyfriend. What do these cases have in common? A fleeting, irrational act of violence with no resolution. Somebody literally got away with murder. Each episode took place in sheer moments––but hundreds of innocent people still remember, still mourn, and are still haunted by horrible, unbearable images. Townsend's riveting accounts include never-before-published details from police files and insights from both investigators and witnesses. Finally someone has managed to put all of the pieces together. Whodunit? We'll never know for sure––but we can certainly make some informed, calculated guesses. Meanwhile, on these pages, each victim returns to vibrant life, becomes as real to us as to those loved ones they left behind––and still cries out for justice.

In his much awaited follow-up to cult classic "Queen City Gothic," JT Townsend conducts the reader on another sinister journey through 13 murder tales from the golden age of Cincinnati true crime history. In "Queen City Notorious: Cincinnati's Most Sensational Murder Cases, watch as Townsend exhumes the dark underside of every love triangle, family vendetta, and perilous partnership that ended with a local homicide worthy of this anthology. Each chapter brushes away the cobwebs to uncover the motive for those murders most foul, and each crime abounds with the intriguing killers, riveting trials, and swift punishment. "Queen City Notorious" will dispense macabre delight to the true crime reader, along with the assurance that no murderer will ever escape from these pages.

It was an unbelievable crime - hideous, unexpected, baffling. A crime destined to become the most notorious and obsessive cold case in Cincinnati history.On that long ago day in September on the cusp of autumn, we were horrified by the blaring Bricca murder headlines. Jerry, his pretty wife Linda, and their young daughter Debbie were found stabbed to death in their home in the city's Bridgetown neighborhood. Striking between the 4th and 5th slayings of the Cincinnati Strangler in 1966, the Bricca killer plunged a city already on edge into an abyss. A half century later, the Bricca mystery lingers in cobwebs and survives on whispers. It's a terminal case with a fading pulse. Opening up any cold case is daunting. Evidence is lost, buried, or forgotten. Contradiction and hearsay muddy the waters. The truth is elusive, shrouded, or shameful. Bricca also defies our comfortable expectation that killers are always captured, victims will be avenged, and justice aligns with the truth.Enter Cincinnati crime writer JT Townsend. The author of Queen City Gothic was given unprecedented access to the Bricca case file - laden with information that never saw the light of print - evidence that might illuminate the relentless rumors that police "screwed up the crime scene" or "covered up for the suspect." As an armchair detective stalking a legendary murder mystery, Townsend is not shackled by presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt. ALL evidence is admissible - hearsay, rumors, gossip, and undertones. With this overdue excavation of the Bricca murders, JT Townsend will jettison the unworkable and the implausible scenarios until we arrive at the probable truth.And for those of us who preserved this slaughtered family in our memory, it will never be too late to learn that truth. There looms one huge, lasting question? Who killed the Bricca family?

Gothic fashionista Jess is on a mission to reunite with her estranged biological mother—but is she willing to risk her new friends, cosplay championship, and even her future to do so?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A modern classic of true crime, set in a most beguiling Southern city—now in a 30th anniversary edition with a new afterword by the author “Elegant and wicked . . . might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime.”—The New York Times Book Review Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. In this sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative, John Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman’s Card Club; the turbulent young gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the “soul of pampered self-absorption”; the uproariously funny drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young people dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive reading experience.

It's August 1888, just three weeks before Jack the Ripper will terrorize Whitechapel, and another murderer is stalking the streets of New York. His handiwork bears the hallmarks of a demonic possession—but amateur sleuth Harrison Fearing Pell is certain her quarry is a man of flesh and blood. And she hopes to make her reputation by solving the bizarre case before the man the press has dubbed Mr. Hyde strikes again. From the squalor of the Five Points to the high-class gambling dens of the Tenderloin and the glittering mansions of Fifth Avenue, Harry follows the trail of a remorseless killer, uncovering a few embarrassing secrets of New York's richest High Society families along the way. Are the murders a case of black magic—or simple blackmail? And will the trail lead closer to home than she ever imagined? Praise for The Daemoniac "While the clever mystery is reason enough to keep pages turning, the novel’s writing remains its greatest asset. Employing a tone that affects the style of Victorian literature and the Conan Doyle stories, but without the stiffness readers might associate with older fiction, the prose is a genuine delight. Furthermore, the characters conjure Holmes and Watson without belaboring the point or adopting a sense of smug superiority. Ross provides two endlessly charming sleuths, and Harry’s womanhood adds new depth to familiar ground. All in all, there’s an impressive amount of detail and care packed into these pages, not only in references to the Holmes canon, but also in inventive storytelling and colorful portraiture of 19th-century New York. An unexpected treat of a detective novel with a strong heroine, making Ross a name to look out for." -Kirkus Reviews "Harry and John are a most appealing pair…Frequent nods to the Sherlock Holmes canon and a blend of charm and darkness turned this first volume of a hopefully long-running series into a few hours of pure pleasure." -Buried Under Books "This mash-up of genres is amazing…Anyone who enjoys mysteries will appreciate this unique setting and intriguing setup. The characters are deep and the background is gripping." -Desert Rose Reviews "A truly gorgeous gothic mystery." -Mama Reads Blog "Greatly entertaining, fun, thrilling, at times chilling and with a light hint of romance. I have no word left to say, only 'perfect'." -Field of Bookish Dreams "Absolutely fascinating and delightful! The Daemoniac kept me guessing with a great cast of characters, wonderful atmosphere, and a mystery that I was eager to have unraveled. Definitely looking forward to the next book!" -It Starts at Midnight "The Daemoniac is a great read. Perfect for fans of the Jackaby series and of the Netflix TV show Penny Dreadful." -Book Briefs "Ross proved that the landscape of historical New York is just as magical as any fantasy setting." –Crazy for YA "An incredibly well written and developed story and one that will grab you from the very first page…This is a must read. That ending!!! Can't wait to see where the author goes with it!!" -Book Lovers Life

A cemetery restorer with a haunting secret must break her own rules when she meets a detective on the hunt for a killer in this romantic urban fantasy. Never acknowledge the dead. Never stray far from hallowed ground. Never get close to the haunted. Never, ever tempt fate. My name is Amelia Gray. I’m a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. In order to protect myself from the parasitic nature of the dead, I’ve always held fast to these rules passed down from my father . . . until now. Detective John Devlin needs my help to find a killer, but he is haunted by ghosts who shadow his every move. To warn him would be to invite them into my life. I’ve vowed to keep my distance, but the pull of his magnetism grows ever stronger even as the headstone symbols lead me closer to truth and to the gossamer veil that separates this world from the next.