A true story of romance and courtship, intrigue, and murder, this book is set among the hills of southwestern Wisconsin in 1926. Clara Olson, a pretty, devout Norwegian Lutheran farm girl meets Erdman Olson, a handsome, suave, smooth-talking college lad at a church picnic. They date for 18 months. When she finds herself in a family way and dreams of marriage, he promises her a wedding, and they plan a secret elopement. However, when Clara instead disappears, a search ensues and is resolved by the chance discovery of her hidden grave. The whole country is ultimately horrified by the shocking details of the tragic betrayal and murder. Laid out in suspenseful detail are the inquest, the funeral, and the subsequent search for her killer. This is a mesmerizing account of true crime at its worst.
After pleading guilty to hideous acts of rape, mutilation and murder, Weber was convicted on multiple counts. He is currently serving over 165 years in prison. This is the brutal true story of John Weber and Carla and Emily, the two sisters he terrorized and worse.
While Wisconsin is now perhaps best known for its die-hard love of both the Green Bay Packers and its cheese, deep beneath the surface of Wisconsin history simmers a cesspool of nightmares that began before the term serial killer had been coined. The horror started when Ed Gein tried desperately to bring back his dead mother by first exhuming bodies, then by killing in order to harvest female body parts that he himself would wear.His story sparked a nation's macabre fascination with American serial killers, though its bizarre tale of grave robbing and decorating with the dead meant that when other true crime stories surfaced from the state, no one was terribly surprised.Ed Gein was among the first to undergo criminal profiling - was he transgender, a woman trapped in a man's body, or did he really just miss his mother? - but he would not be the last.Wisconsin's infamous list of true crime serial killers includes the lonely Jeffrey Dahmer, who attempted science experiments in hopes of creating a sex slave to call his own, sex criminal David Spanbauer, who preferred raping little girls when he got the chance, and Walter Ellis, who preyed on prostitutes because he thought he would be able to get away with it. Turns out, he could, for more than a decade.Wisconsin is full of secrets, and very bad men. This biography of four prolific serial killers steps into the heart of the state's madness, and is likely to make their nightmares yours, at least for a spine-tingling night or two, especially when you realize that what happens in the movies is sometimes horrifyingly real.
Murder Capital explores Prohibition-era Madison, Wisconsin. Per capita, Madison was the most violent and deadly city in the United States during the 1920s. Along with the usual suspects (bootleggers), Madison was unique in its strong Ku Klux Klan presence. In the background was a prominent judge, overseeing Mafia cases by day, but by night taking illegal loans from these very same criminals. In effect, the Judge tied his own hands and the violence was allowed to continue unabated.
Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series meets the cult classic film Fargo in this gripping, dark comedy by debut author Kathleen Hale. A quiet town like Friendship, Wisconsin, keeps most of its secrets buried . . . but when local teen Ruth Fried is found murdered in a cornfield, her best friend, Kippy Bushman, decides she must uncover the truth and catch the killer. Since the police aren't much help, Kippy looks to her newly discovered idol, journalist Diane Sawyer, for tips on how to conduct her investigation. But Kippy soon discovers, if you want to dig up the truth, your hands have to get a little dirty, don'tcha know. In this riveting young adult novel, Kathleen Hale creates a quirky murder mystery that is intricately plotted and sure to keep readers guessing, laughing, and cringing until the surprising final pages. "Can a murder mystery be funny? You betcha!" raved Kirkus Reviews in a starred review.
Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime "Bugliosi, the quintessential prosecutor, has written a crime book that should be read by every lawyer and judge in America." —F. Lee Bailey On December 11, 1966, a mysterious assassin shot Henry Stockton to death, set his house on fire, and left the scene without a trace. A year later, when a woman was found brutally killed, shreds of evidence suggested a connection between the two murders. In the Palliko-Stockton trial, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi offered a brilliant summation that synthesized for the jury the many inferences and shades of meaning in the testimony, fitting all the pieces together in a mosaic of guilt. But will the jury be persuaded?
Trying to leave painful memories behind her, Chloe Ellefson is making a fresh start. She's the new collections curator at Old World Wisconsin, an outdoor ethnic museum showcasing 1870s settlement life. On her first day, Chloe meets with an elderly woman who begs her to find a priceless eighteenth-century Norwegian ale bowl that had been donated to the museum years ago. But before Chloe can find the heirloom and return it to her, the woman dies in a suspicious car crash. Digging up the history and whereabouts of the rare artifact quickly turns dangerous. Chloe discovers that someone is desperately trying to cover up all traces of the bowl's existence—by any means necessary. Assisting Chloe is police officer Roelke McKenna, whose own haunting past compels him to protect her. To catch the covetous killer, Chloe must solve a decades-old puzzle...before she becomes a part of history herself. Praise: "Clever plot twists and credible characters make this a far from humdrum cozy."—Publishers Weekly "This series debut by an author of children's mysteries rolls out nicely for readers who like a cozy with a dab of antique lore. Jeanne M. Dams fans will like the ethnic background."—Library Journal "Information on how to conduct historical research, background on Norwegian culture, and details about running an outdoor museum frame the engaging story of a woman devastated by a failed romantic relationship whose sleuthing helps her heal."—Booklist "Old World Murder is strongest in its charming local color and genuine love for Wisconsin's rolling hills, pastures, and woodlands...a delightful distraction for an evening or two."—New York Journal of Books "A wonderfully-woven tale that winds in and out of modern and historical Wisconsin with plenty of mysteries—both past and present. In curator Chloe Ellefson, Ernst has created a captivating character with humor, grit, and a tangled history of her own that needs unraveling. Enchanting!"—Sandi Ault, author of the WILD Mystery Series and recipient of the Mary Higgins Clark Award "Propulsive and superbly written, this first entry in a dynamite new series from accomplished author Kathleen Ernst seamlessly melds the 1980's and the 19th century. Character-driven, with mystery aplenty, Old World Murder is a sensational read. Think Sue Grafton meets Earlene Fowler, with a dash of Elizabeth Peters."—Julia Spencer-Fleming, Anthony and Agatha Award-winning author of I Shall Not Want and One Was A Soldier "Museum masterpiece."—Rosebud Book Reviews "A real find...5 stars."—Once Upon a Romance
In 1924, in the small ore-mining town of Hurley, Wisconsin, wife and mother Emma Sigler killed her abusive husband, Andrew, with a .32 caliber revolver in the Gogebic Hotel. She phoned Andy Anderson and asked him to help her dispose of the body. Andy drove the back roads until he came to a field and threw Sigler's body across a ditch on the side of the road. Then he left town for a week. When he returned to Hurley, he was arrested for killing Sigler. After being jailed, he bragged to an undercover private detective that he killed Sigler. Andy was sentenced to life imprisonment at the state penitentiary. Emma was arrested as an accessory and was locked up in the county jail for six months until her trial. Shortly before her trial, Emma confessed to murdering her husband in self defense, but she was convicted and received a life sentence in the state penitentiary, and her four children were sent to an orphanage. When she arrived at the prison, it was discovered that Emma was pregnant. After more than 80 years, the circumstances surrounding the murder of Andrew Sigler and the convictions of Andy Anderson and Emma Sigler are being told in this novel based on a crime that had been considered "solved." Glen Carlson, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, has done graduate work at Harvard, and served in both the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Army. He and his wife live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula snowbelt with their dog, Buddy; their cat, Sophie; and their large and powerful snow-blower, Brutus. Andy Anderson was married to Glen's great-aunt, Lillian Randa.
Ah, Wisconsin. . . land of beer, cows, and the Green Bay Packers. And also the home of Ed Gein, Jeffery Dahmer, and a host of other bloodthirsty maniacs. This book goes behind the bucolic Dairy State image to reveal shocking acts of mayhem in the dark corners of Wisconsin history, and asks the troubling question: Is it something in the cheese?
