True stories from the files of an award-winning journalist and New York Times–bestselling author: "One of America's finest true-crime writers" (Vincent Bugliosi).   Someone tries to pin a gruesome murder on a horse. Infamous serial killer Son of Sam shows us his true evil nature in a series of lost letters this psychopath never wanted you to see. Sesame Street's Big Bird comes home to find a dead woman on his estate. These shocking stories and several others are collected in one volume for the first time, with added updates from the author.   One story involves a young man who believes he's figured out the perfect way to commit a murder after binge-watching Forensic Files. In this opening tale, a Massachusetts man is stalked by a hired killer because of the information he holds in the case of insurance scam gone bad, resulting in savage murder. Next up is the story of a restaurant owner and her husband, enjoying a tranquil life in the Berkshires, until a bloody trail inside a barn leads to a gruesome discovery and a family's deepest, darkest secrets are exposed.   As a bonus, Phelps takes readers behind the scenes of his hit Investigation Discovery series Dark Minds, revealing his investigative secrets with an intimate look at those serial-killer cold cases that still haunt Phelps today—and meets with forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee in a narrative interview that reveals Lee's ingenious and humorous take on life, his crime-scene philosophy, and the ways in which he deals with the brutality of the work he does.

A convicted murderer tells the story of the years of domestic abuse she endured that drove her to kill her police sergeant husband. The day we met in October of 1997, I was working at the District Court in Traverse City, Michigan as a Deputy Clerk. It was like most other days with arraignments, sentencings, civil case hearings and the like. People shuffling in and out, everyone taking care of their important business with court appearances, document filings, paying tickets, fines and bonding loved ones out of jail. I loved my job. It was extremely satisfying and interesting with constant interaction with all walks of life, including people on either end of the judicial spectrum and many in between. Suddenly, there he was. Tall, handsome, and looking so impressive and important in his Michigan State Police uniform with his hat, gun belt and badge. A powerful man who had chosen a profession to serve and protect. He was extremely friendly and upbeat, smiling profusely. Best of all, he, too, was unattached. What could go wrong? He was like a dream man. We clicked, immediately, and began dating exclusively. But he was not a dream man. He was a nightmare . . . as I learned over the next twelve years. Twelve years of enduring domestic violence at its absolute worst. Constant abuse, control, manipulation, and threats. Sadistic sexual deviance and sexual violence. It was only going to end one way: someone would die in our bed and someone would go to prison for murder. This is my story about domestic violence, resilience, reckoning and survival.

Raynella Dossett Leath said she came home one morning in 2003 and found her husband's body in bed—covered in blood, a Colt .38 by his side. But authorities were suspicious of Raynella's story. Why would her husband of ten years suddenly commit suicide? And if he had taken his own life, why did it appear that three shots were fired? David Leath was not the first of Raynella's husbands to turn up dead. After digging into Raynella's past, police unearthed bizarre, gruesome details surrounding the death of her first husband, who was seemingly trampled by his own cattle. Which led investigators to wonder: Could Raynella have staged his death, too? To those who knew her, Raynella was a loving mother of two, a good neighbor and friend, a nurse who always reached out a helping hand. Was this woman capable of killing both her husbands? And if so: Why did she do it—out of greed, jealousy, revenge? This is the story about what dark secrets were lurking inside HER DEADLY WEB.

The New York Times–bestselling author's "haunting, compassionate, and terrifyingly true" story of a man breaking free from his notorious past (Gregg Olson, New York Times–bestselling author of Starvation Heights).   From 1926 to 1928, Gordon Stewart Northcott committed at least twenty murders on a chicken ranch outside of Los Angeles. He held his nephew, Sanford Clark, captive there from the age of thirteen to fifteen. Sanford would be Northcott's sole surviving victim. Forced by Northcott to take part in the murders, he carried tremendous guilt all his life. Yet despite his youth and the trauma he endured, Sanford helped gain justice for the dead and their families by testifying at the trial that led to Northcott's execution.   These shocking events inspired Clint Eastwood's film The Changeling. But in The Road Out of Hell, acclaimed crime writer Anthony Flacco uses revelatory new accounts from Sanford's son to tell the complete, true story. Going beyond the film's narrative, Flacco recounts not only Sanford's nightmarish captivity, but also the inspiring life he led afterward.   In dramatizing one of the darkest cases in American crime, Flacco constructs a riveting psychological drama about how Sanford was able to detoxify himself from the evil he'd encountered, offering the ultimately redemptive story of one man's remarkable ability to survive hell on earth and emerge intact.

The cold case that put Speedway, Indiana, on the map. "What may be the definitive public accounting of the murder mystery that still resonates today." —Fox59   The evening of November 17, 1978, should have been like any other for the four young crewmembers closing the Burger Chef at 5725 Crawfordsville Road in Speedway, Indiana. After serving customers and locking the doors for the night, the kids began their regular cleanup to ready the restaurant for the following day. But then something went horribly wrong. Just before midnight, someone muscled into the place, robbed the store of $581 and kidnapped the four employees. Over the next two days, investigators searched in vain for the missing crewmembers before their bodies were discovered more than twenty miles away. The killer or killers were never caught. Join Julie Young on an exploration of one of the most baffling cold cases in Indiana history.   "Young doesn't try to solve the murders. Instead, her goal is to make sure no one forgets the victims." —IndyStar

She was his second wife—to die. . . Coming off a failed marriage, a beautiful woman named Toni joined an online dating site, hoping to find true and lasting love. Harold Henthorn seemed like her dream come true—a handsome man who said he had "a heart for others." Only weeks after meeting, they were wed. But Toni's family began noticing Harold's dark side—especially his controlling nature, which Toni didn't seem to mind. Until she met her end at the bottom of a ravine. . .Was he a grieving husband—or a black widower? Harold's tearful story of his wife's hiking "accident" just didn't hold up with Toni's family—or the police. Then a shocking truth was uncovered: twenty years before, Harold's first wife had also died suspiciously in a remote area with no witnesses. Soon, more questions arose: Who was Harold Henthorn—a devoted, grief-stricken husband or a cold, calculating killer? Could authorities find a way to connect his wives' deaths and expose the truth?