Book of the Year Award, 2009 ForeWord Magazine, True Crime category ; Jackson County Historical Society's 2009 Outstanding Achievement Award for the Historic Book of the Year The 1909 murder case surrounding the wealthy Swope family of Independence, Missouri, gripped newspaper readers throughout the nation. This book gathers the facts behind the suspicious fates of three Swope family members: the eccentric Colonel, millionaire donor of Kansas City, Missouri's Swope Park, his affable cousin, and a young nephew and heir. The mystery pits the Swope matriarch against her disfavored son-in-law, Dr. Bennett Clark Hyde. Charged with poisoning the Colonel and suspected of multiple other attempted murders, Dr. Hyde endures national media attention for this crime of the century. The series of trials and appeals that followed explores the question: Was he a diabolical villain bent on inheriting Swope's millions or the unfortunate victim of a family grudge? This account of gothic-era America follows streetcar tracks from the courtrooms of Kansas City to the typhoid-plagued Swope mansion in nearby Independence. The author delivers an engaging and accurate retelling of these 100-year-old events in the literary journalism tradition by analyzing court transcripts, newspaper coverage, and personal memoirs. Readers also get a new scenario based on modern science for what may have happened in the dark hallways of the mansion on Pleasant Street.

The 1909 murder case surrounding the wealthy Swope family of Independence, Missouri, led to the "trial of the century" in the gothic-era Midwest. This book gathers the facts behind the suspicious fates of the eccentric Colonel, who was the millionaire donor of Kansas City's Swope Park as well as his affable cousin, and a young nephew and heir. National media relished the drama as the Swope matriarch accused her disfavoured son-in-law, Dr Bennett Clark Hyde, of triple homicide, plus the spreading of deadly disease germs throughout the household. The author delivers an engaging and accurate retelling of these century-old mysteries by analysing court transcripts, newspaper accounts, and personal memoirs. Readers also get a new scenario based on modern science for what may have happened in the dark hallways of the mansion on Pleasant Street.

Charles Lenox, an amateur detective, investigates the murders of two veteran journalists on Christmas Eve in 1866 London, as he tries to deal with unexpected news from his fiancée, while running for Parliament in his remote district.