Law enforcement in Napa County traces its roots back to the days of Spanish rule and was formalized when California became a state in 1850. Since then, those who wear the badge have pursued the lawless in search of justice. Chuck Hansen, who started as a patrol officer, pioneered the use of forensic science at the Napa Police Department, collecting DNA evidence in 1974 that would become key in solving a murder decades later. And the killer known as "Willy the Woodcutter" was caught thanks to the expertise of Hal Snook of the Napa County Sheriff's Department. Napa police sergeant Todd Shulman brings to life the stories of those who played a part in solving some of wine country's most infamous crimes.

Well known for its picturesque setting, Napa Valley is also home to crimes perpetrated in the name of greed, love and rage. Shocking incidents have rocked the small communities nestled among the vineyards, like that of greedy young Billy Duvall, who killed his parents as they slept, and Bob Edwards, who suffocated his beloved wife in a misguided attempt to keep a promise. Two victims of domestic violence came to very different ends--one murdered and the other offered a second chance at life after a jail sentence. Join author and retired Napa Superior Court judge Raymond A. Guadagni as he offers his unique perspective on these notorious court cases and the criminal justice system.

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.

Is it really better to burn out than to fade away? Aldo Evans is a desperate man. Fired from his job and deeply in debt, he struggles to balance a broken family life with his passion for music. Luce Figura is a troubled woman. A rhythmic perfectionist, she is haunted by childhood trauma and scorned by her religiously devout mother. Ross McArthur is a wise ass. Orphaned as an infant, his interests include game shows, home-grown weed, occasional violence and the bass guitar. They are Public Alibi. A rock n’ roll band going nowhere fast. But when the sharp-suited, smooth talking producer Gappa Bale offers them a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make their dreams come true, they are caught up in a maelstrom of fame, obsession, music and murder. This book contains graphic sex and violence, and is not suitable for readers under the age of 18.

Early outlaws tell their own raw tales of holdups, shootouts, and desperate flights from the law. Witness the cruel confessions of California bandits during the opening days of the Gold Rush, stage robbers, and California highwaymen. These tales of harrowing and sometimes hilarious antics are accompanied by many rare photographs.

Napans tend more than grapevines. The area's diverse soil and mild climate make possible a generous yield of agricultural products. This book traces the cultivation of these products through a chronology of Napa's farming history, from indigenous food plants to the orchards that were planted to feed gold miners--orchards that would soon function as both therapy and sustenance for the patients in the newly created asylum. European and Asian immigrants joined newly emancipated slaves and Mexican citizens who had settled here before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Together they cultivated the land, picked the fruit, nuts, and hops, cut the wheat, kept bees, and tended livestock on dairy farms and cattle ranches. Each chapter begins with a poem inspired by farming or a recipe reflecting the valley's bounty. The scents of peaches, apples, cherries, pears, prunes, and honey linger in the imaginations of thousands of locals, while the trees, hives, and vines continue to thrive wherever placed.

Murder. Robbery. Kidnapping. Welcome to Napa Valley, California. To lawmen and bad men alike, The Low Man is a ghost story. The most feared bounty hunter to ever walk the territories. Whispered to be a Native American shapeshifter, a renegade Pinkerton detective, or the Bible quoting son of a mad preacher. No one knows for sure. He's a spectre outlaws scare each other with around campfires. Adonias Lowe lives in the highlands of Napa Valley with his children, scratching a hard living as a farmer and occasional wagon guard. When a wealthy gin baron hires him to see a valuable shipment safely to San Francisco, the opportunity comes just in time to keep the family afloat. But when the job turns into a massacre and his daughter is abducted by a deviant killer, Adonias is forced into a reckoning that will awaken a darkness he's long tried to bury. As the corpses mount up, a dying sheriff tries to make sense of the madness, scalp hunters saddle up and ride for blood, fame and riches, and the local Wailaki are coming down from the hills, singing war songs of the Lost White Brother. Welcome to Napa Valley, California. Where fruit grows thick on the vine, and blood runs deep.