The Miami Valley of Ohio has a rich but gruesome and bloody history. In Dayton, Christine Kett murdered her daughter and confessed seventeen years later on her deathbed. William Fogwell of Beavercreek clung to life long enough to name his killer before he died. Joshua Monroe, a Yellow Springs man, killed his lover--also his sister-in-law--in a jealous rage. Reputed serial killer Oliver Crook Haugh was accused of murdering multiple women over several years, but he was ultimately convicted of killing "only" his family. Author and founder of the Dayton Unknown history blog Sara Kaushal uncovers the violent and horrific crimes of the past.

Visit the long ago crime and dire deeds in the Hudson Valley of New York. The Hudson Valley is drenched in history, culture and blood. In the fall of 1893, Lizzie Halliday left a trail of bodies in her wake, slaughtering two strangers and her husband before stabbing a nurse to death at the asylum housing her. A Jazz Age politician, tired of fighting with his overbearing wife, murdered her and buried the body under the front porch. In 1882, a cantankerous old miner, dubbed the Austerlitz Cannibal by the press, chopped up his partner before he himself swung from the end of a rope. Author Andrew Amelinckx dredges up the Hudson Valley's dark past, from Prohibition-era shootouts to unsolved murders, in eleven heart-pounding true stories.

The pleasant neighborhoods of the Crescenta Valley offer no hint of the many violent and heinous crimes that have occurred between the San Gabriel and Verdugo Mountains. But ties to such macabre episodes as the Onion Field murder and the search for the Hillside Strangler left lasting scars here. Infamous criminals such as mafia boss Joe "Iron Man" Ardizzone, red-light bandit Caryl Chessman and accused yacht bomber Beulah Overell have left a black eye on La Cresecenta's history--not to mention the "Rattlesnake Murder," "Female Bluebeard" and "Santa Claus Killer." Join historians Gary Keyes and Mike Lawler as they expose the crimes and criminals that have inflicted murder and mayhem in Glendale, La Crescenta, Montrose and La Canada Flintridge.

In the late 1880s, Pleasant Valley, Arizona, descended into a nightmare of violence, murder, and mayhem. By the time the Pleasant Valley War was over, eighteen men were dead, four were wounded, and one was missing, never to be found. Valley of the Guns explores the reasons for the violence that engulfed the settlement, turning neighbors, families, and friends against one another. While popular historians and novelists have long been captivated by the story, the Pleasant Valley War has more recently attracted the attention of scholars interested in examining the underlying causes of western violence. In this book, author Eduardo Obregón Pagán explores how geography and demographics aligned to create an unstable settlement subject to the constant threat of Apache raids. The fear of surprise attack by day and the theft of livestock by night prompted settlers to shape their lives around the expectation of sudden violence. As the forces of progress strained natural resources, conflict grew between local ranchers and cowboys hired by ranching corporations. Mixed-race property owners found themselves fighting white cowboys to keep their land. In addition, territorial law enforcement officers were outsiders to the community and approached every suspect fully armed and ready to shoot. The combination of unrelenting danger, its accompanying stress, and an abundance of firearms proved deadly. Drawing from history, geography, cultural studies, and trauma studies, Pagán uses the story of Pleasant Valley to demonstrate a new way of looking at the settlement of the West. Writing in a vivid narrative style and employing rigorous scholarship, he creatively explores the role of trauma in shaping the lives and decisions of the settlers in Pleasant Valley and offers new insight into the difficulties of survival in an isolated frontier community.

The picturesque vineyards of California's Napa Valley, one of the world's premier tourist destinations, disguise a tangled history of lawlessness, depravity and frontier justice. Some crimes were committed over debts, some for retribution and others in the name of love. Famed photographer Eadweard Muybridge killed a man for seducing his wife but was acquitted. Other criminals were not so lucky and met the gallows, like murderer William Roe, the state's final public execution. From the Pomo massacre--the first criminal case heard by the California Supreme Court--to the cold cases that continue to haunt the region, Napa Police Detective Todd Shulman decants the crimes of the Napa Valley, memorializing the victims and honoring the efforts of local law enforcement.

From the horrific Enoch Brown Schoolhouse Massacre of 1764 to settlers who hunted local tribes for a bounty, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, has long had a violent and bloody history. As more people came to the region, murder and mischief of every kind only multiplied. Local author Joseph David Cress explores the dark side of history, from little-known cases such as that of Sarah Clark--who became the first woman hanged in the county after she poisoned a family to dispatch a romantic rival--to high-profile crimes like the shocking 1955 courtroom slaying that left one person dead and three injured. Join Cress on a hair-raising walk down Hell Street as he investigates the underbelly of Cumberland County.

Faye Blakemore is a photojournalist for a major New York newspaper. Faye has been taking photos since she was a small child, taught by her photographer grandfather, after spending hours in the strange blood-red light of his darkroom. Now Faye specializes in what one reviewer calls, “blood-and-guts journalism.” Her first book of photos is as celebrated as it is controversial—and as harrowing. Faye convinces her editor to send her to Afghanistan and the Congo to report on the acid burnings, the machete attacks, and the women survivors. Yet that series of assignments—each darker and more dangerous than the next—brings Faye closer to her both her own demons and to the family secrets that still haunt her and threaten to destroy her and the woman she loves.

A lot can change in a few months. Jake Palmer is living proof of that. In a short time, the once–shy loner has discovered his incredible supernatural abilities and forged a tight bond with his fellow Mystyx. What's more—he's fallen for his best friend, Krystal. And fallen hard. Still, some things remain the same—like the jocks who keep bullying him. Even though they have no idea how powerful Jake has become. And while he tries to follow Krystal's advice, he may not be able to keep his cool much longer. But there are bigger problems ahead, because the darkness that's been hovering nearby is about to descend on the town of Lincoln, Connecticut. And when it does, the Mystyx will learn who to trust, who to fear and just how much is at stake…

In 1870, the" New York Herald" proclaimed that Ulster County was New York's "Ulcer County" due to its lawlessness and crime. The columnist supported his claim by citing that in only six months, "it has been the scene of no less than four cold blooded and brutal murders, six suicides and four elopements." Hannah Markle--the bane of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union--ran a Kingston saloon where murder and violence were served alongside the whiskey. John Babbitt confessed on his deathbed to murdering Emma Brooks, and Willie Brown--reputed member of the Eastman Gang--accidentally shot his best friend. The infamous Big Bad Bill, the "Gardiner Desperado," lashed out more than once and killed in a drunken rage. Discover the mayhem and murder that these and others wreaked on one of New York State's original counties.

Tienan is a warlock and a lawman determined to solve a series of diabolical murders. An incident in his youth gave him a terror of death and made him fear his birthright soul-an energy symbiote called a veed-which gives Tienan extraordinary skills. Hosting that veed has also contributed to Tienan's failed relationships with women and convinced him true love doesn't exist. Janay is an ex-militia woman down on her luck who is haunted by personal demons, and real ones. When she rescues Tienan's brother, Tienan considers her a gutsy but semi-deranged commando. She's audacious and unconventional but, with all she's been through in her life, it rankles him that she still believes in true love. So can Tienan accept and trust in his love for Janay, embrace the power needed to wield an Executioner's Katana, and defeat a triad of murderous witches intent on immortality?