This treasury of vintage crime offers a vivid picture of Minnesota from the time it achieved statehood in 1858 through 1917. It also traces the gradual changes in social attitudes from the days of frontier justice to the abolishment of capital punishment in 1911.

On September 27, 1839, the battered body of a middle-aged Irishman was found by some Dakota Indian boys. The corpse washed up along the Mississippi River shore, about seven miles downstream from Fort Snelling near the ancient Indian landmark the non-Indians called Carver's Cave. It was the body of Sgt. John Hays, a popular former soldier, who, prior to his disappearance twenty-one days earlier, had been sharing a log shanty a few miles upriver from the cave with his friend and business partner, Edward Phelan (or Phalen). Before the year was over, Phelan was arrested and charged with the murder of his friend. This is the first book to focus on this historic murder and the first thorough biography of Phelan, a notorious pioneer intimately involved in the making of St. Paul and founding of Minnesota. Was he guilty? All investigative reports and records of Phelan's trial were mysteriously lost and no newspapers covered the story. However, in 1994, St. Paul historian Gary Brueggemann made an amazing discovery in the Minnesota Historical Society archives: hidden in the papers of Joseph R. Brown was Brown's original Justice of the Peace casebook which included his handwritten transcription of the Hay's murder hearing. Using this record, other primary sources, and drawing from decades of studying Minnesota and St. Paul history, the author theorizes a logical solution to Minnesota's oldest unsolved murder. Book jacket.

A haunting recreation of the brutal death of an American housewife, the conviction of her husband, and the family trial at which their children determined for themselves how their father should be charged.

Fresh from a harrowing trans-Atlantic crossing aboard the Mauretania, and having recently earned a reputation as the best team of shipboard sleuths to sail the seven seas, George Porter Dillman and Genevieve Masefield hardly set foot on land before embarking on another assignment. Temporarily forsaking the Cunard Line to work as private detectives aboard the Minnesota, a combination freighter and passenger ship owned by the Great Northern Steamship Company, the couple are eagerly anticipating the prospect of a cruise bound for the Far East. Once aboard, the two begin to establish separate social circles in order to keep an eye on as many passengers and crew as possible. As the ship gets underway it's smooth sailing, and George and Genevieve are hoping that perhaps this will be their first uneventful cruise. Unfortunately, their luck turns quickly as a fiery Catholic missionary is murdered in what proves to be the first of a series of crimes that will stretch them to their limit. Dillman and Genevieve have to use all their skills to combat danger on more than one front, and to prevent an otherwise idyllic (and romantic) trip from becoming a terrifying nightmare. As fans of Conrad Allen and his nautical adventures have come to expect, Murder on the Minnesota packs another fast-paced, exhilarating mystery into the exquisitely rendered world of romance and suspense aboard the majestic ocean liners of the early 20th century.

Writing about murder mysteries for over twenty-five years, Bruce Rubenstein gives us a collection of Minnesota crimes in Greed, Rage, and Love Gone Wrong. Whether the killer is greedy and devoid of human compassion, desperate about money or love, or simply filled with bottled-up rage, this book puts the reader at the scene of the most notorious murders in the state. Bruce Rubenstein is a writer who specializes in true crime and legal stories. His work has appeared in many publications, including City Pages, Mpls/St. Paul Magazine, and Chicago Magazine. He is the recipient of the Chicago Bar Association’s Herman Kogan Media Award.

Robberies, murders, kidnappings - Minnesota has been home to several notorious crimes. Some were committed by infamous lawbreakers: the James-Younger gang, John Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde and others. But not all misdeeds have been done by career criminals. Take a closer look at more than two dozen unlawful acts that rocked Minnesota and often grabbed headlines across the country.

Murder and Misfortune in Minnesota This book contains stories of early crimes of disturbing proportions -- the weapons used to commit these dastardly deeds, the proceedings of the justice system at the time, early prison conditions and treatment of prisoners during their incarceration, and the judge's sentencing of the convicted. Most slayings in the 19th century started as disagreements among farmers in the field. They struggled to make a better life and many times took the law into their own hands. Insults to one's honor were taken seriously and violence was the method of settling disputes. The knife or a bludgeoning tool were the common weapons of choice, but later on, a good pistol could do a quick job in an unfortunate situation. Farm tools could also be used as weapons -- the ax, the pitchfork, the rope, the potato masher, the bolting pin, and even strychnine, which was used to poison vermin -- these were all at the ready and highly effective when needed. This book reveals how various types of lethal weapons were used to commit murder and misfortune in rural Redwood County in the early years. Eventually, official justice was established by the courts, replacing private vengeance committed as a result of feuds, fights or fraud. After reading these stories though, one might wonder -- is there truly any justice in this world!

On June 27, 1977, an intruder entered Glensheen, the stately manor built along the Lake Superior shore by Chester A. Congdon, patriarch of one of Duluth, Minnesota's, most generous and respected families. Before leaving with a basketful of stolen jewelry, the intruder used a satin pillow to smother Chester's last surviving daughter, Elisabeth Congdon, after killing the heiress's valiant nurse, Velma Pietila, by beating her with a candlestick -- crimes set in motion by a hastily hand-written will penned just days before the killings. For the first time the story of the Glensheen killings and the crimes and trials surrounding Marjorie Caldwell Hagen, Elisabeth Congdon's notorious adopted daughter, is told through the eyes of former Duluth Police Detective and St. Louis County Sheriff Gary Waller and St. Louis County Prosecutor John DeSanto, the men who led the investigation and prosecution of Marjorie and her husband, Roger Caldwell.

While investigating a case near his hometown, Jon quietly reopens the murder book on Mandy Baker and begins to see commonalities between Mandy's disappearance and his new case. Digging up the past raises intriguing possibilities with an old friend, Serena Bell--but also forces them to work through old betrayals. As the investigation intensifies, Jon realizes he has crossed paths with the killer before. Murder Book is the first book in the Jon Frederick series.

One Book, One Minnesota Selection for Summer 2021 Introducing Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman whose visions and grit help solve a brutal murder in this award-winning debut. 1970s, Red River Valley between North Dakota and Minnesota: Renee “Cash” Blackbear is 19 years old and tough as nails. She lives in Fargo, North Dakota, where she drives truck for local farmers, drinks beer, plays pool, and helps solve criminal investigations through the power of her visions. She has one friend, Sheriff Wheaton, her guardian, who helped her out of the broken foster care system. One Saturday morning, Sheriff Wheaton is called to investigate a pile of rags in a field and finds the body of an Indian man. When Cash dreams about the dead man’s weathered house on the Red Lake Reservation, she knows that’s the place to start looking for answers. Together, Cash and Wheaton work to solve a murder that stretches across cultures in a rural community traumatized by racism, genocide, and oppression.