1. "Benson's Butchery" is about a laborer who lived on the Mottweiler farm near Edwardsville in 1888. He wanted to marry a girl who also worked there, but felt that his efforts would be futile as long as the Mottweilers were still around. So, despite the kindness his employers had showed Benson, he sought to clear the path to marital bliss by means of shotgun and hatchet.
2. "A Rather Bad Neighbor" tells the remarkable story of a man who murdered an entire Daviess County family with a hatchet and a corn knife in 1893, then blamed a half dozen other men before he finally confessed.
3. The chapter "Oops!" has a sound moral to it, I think: If you are determined to shoot a stranger on your doorstep because you think he castrated one of your neighbors, make sure you have the right man.
4. "Music Hath Charms:" In 1894, William Artmann stomped his wife and one of his children to death at Tell City. Later he claimed a ghost instructed him to do it. Was he insane or just plain mean? As a bonus, this chapter demonstrates why it is not always merciful to commute a death row prisoners sentence.
5. In 1902, workmen at Evansville found "A Petrifaction" in a pile of gravel--that is, the petrified body of a never-identified murder victim. Many absurd events followed.
6. "Evansville's Serial Killer": Yes, staid old Evansville had one in operation in the early twentieth century. He strangled two women for certain, probably three, possibly four. Was he ever identified? Maybe this chapter describes the arrest, trial, and acquittal of the most likely suspect. (On a note of personal triumph, I finally accomplished my longstanding goal of beginning a chapter with the phrase It was a dark and stormy night, a la Snoopy.)
7. Suppose a guy had a long history of verbally and physically abusing his twin sister; suppose he made no secret of it; suppose she was killed with an unusual weapon that her brother was known to possess; suppose he stonewalled when the law came calling; suppose everyone in town knew he did the murder. This hypothetical man could not escape punishment, could he? Read "Brotherly Love at Rising Sun" and found out.
8. "Grand Guignol at New Albany" is a tragic tale illustrating what happens when an insane woman becomes jealous of her small daughter. I wonder if that house is still standing and if so, do the inhabitants know what happened there once?
9. "Name Your Poison:" As the case of New Albany's Pearl Armstrong illustrates, it is best not to overdo things in a fit of zeal. For example, if you want to murder your husband, rely on just one poison and not four administered all at once.
As a bonus, don't miss Kyle's illustration at the very beginning of the book, a humorous parody of the Indiana state seal. It was intended to go on the cover but was turned down for being "too gory".
