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Amanda R. Woomer

A murder at the hands of a mother is a heartbreaking deviation and a crime against nature! How can a mother commit such an appalling crime? How can she end the lives of the innocents she so recently bore and nurtured?

A mother is supposed to be loving, protective, caring, and kind. She’s supposed to nurture and guide her children from infancy into childhood and adolescence. The very thought of murdering a child—much less their own child—is not only bizarre but perhaps the most disturbing thought a parent could have! Exploring the ultimate betrayal of a mother’s duty, Killer Moms: True Stories recounts 31 harrowing tales of motherhood gone wrong, including … 

Rachel David, who believed she was married to God
Andrea Yates, who systemically executed each of her five children by drowning them
Magda Goebbels, one of the most powerful women in Nazi Germany, the propaganda minister’s wife and a Hitler favorite
The ambiguous Casey Anthony case, whose acquittal shocked the public
Melissa Drexler, aka “The Prom Mom,” who hid her pregnancy from everyone
Rosemary West, one of England’s most notorious serial killers
Lindsey Nicole Blansett, whose solution to ensuring her children wouldn’t suffer in the future was to make sure they did not have a future
Nannie Doss, the “Giggling Granny,” who managed to murder four generations of her family in a killing spree that lasted 30 years
Angela Camacho, who helped her husband murder her three young children because he believed they were possessed by witches.

An unflinching look into humanity’s dark side, Killer Moms is an unnerving read that delves into the twisted paths, the chilling motives, and the devastating consequences of maternal malice!

Visible Ink Press

Dark Minds True Crimes

Killer Moms: True Stories

Richard Estep

Delve into the chillingly true world of murder and deceit. Explore the twisted paths of those driven by dark motives of control, money, social status, and revenge, and the unsuspecting victims who placed their trust in them.

Discover the dark secrets that lurk behind closed doors in Family, Friends and Neighbors: Stories of Murder and Betrayal. You will be left questioning just how well you truly know those around you in this gripping true-crime collection. Dive into infamous cases such as Richard “Alex” Murdaugh, the Menendez Brothers, and Lizzie Borden, and also examine lesser-known crimes that will send shivers down your spine. You'll investigate thirty-four shocking tales of mind-boggling acts of violence, such as … 

The captivating downfall of prestigious attorney and community figure Alex Murdaugh, whose addiction spiraled into a web of deceit, fraud, and murder.
The heartbreaking story of Michael and Robert Bever, brothers driven to commit unspeakable acts due to a lifetime of torment inflicted by their own parents.
The macabre case of Heather Mack and her boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, who were entangled in a web of greed and trust funds leading to a gruesome discovery inside a suitcase.
The shocking crimes committed by Lyle and Erik Menendez, whose privileged lives culminated in the massacre of their own parents, forever shocking the nation.
The accused Victorian-era serial poisoner, Mary Ann Cotton, and the mysterious deaths of her husbands and children.
The troubled Florida teen Tyler Hadley and his wild house party that went on while his parents' bodies bled in the master bedroom.
The bank vice-president-turned-embezzler Steven Sueppel, whose mounting debts compelled him to commit a desperate act of murder.
And dozens of other intimate murders and webs of deceit!

Murders committed to escape a marriage, or out of dire desperation, or from an insane separation from reality, these and other less comprehensible motivations fill the pages of Family, Friends and Neighbors. It’s an unflinching look into humanity’s dark side! Read the stories, investigate the facts, and meet the vicious killers who murder the people who should have been nearest and dearest to them.

Family, Friends and Neighbors: Stories of Murder and Betrayal

Power, Money, Sex: The Corrupt Trifecta! This captivating book uncovers the insidious web of deceit that infiltrates every facet of our nation's past and present. Immerse yourself in the stories of 50 of the most audacious frauds, cons, and lies!

Discover the dark underbelly of American history as you delve into the gripping pages of Grifters, Frauds, and Crooks: True Stories of American Corruption. From the heights of Wall Street to the heart of Main Street, from the hallowed halls of the Capitol to the battlefields of the military, and from the glitz and glamour of entertainment to the sanctity of science, no realm is immune to the clutches of corruption. Through meticulous research, this riveting account exposes both notorious figures and obscure swindles, including … 

Bernie Madoff's infamous Ponzi schemes

Big Pharma scandals

the Black Sox

the dark secrets of the Catholic Church

Operation ABSCAM

the seedy underworld of the Mafia

Harvey Weinstein

Corruption in the White House

the Enron deceit

the shocking depths of NYPD corruption

Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker

the Lehman Brothers collapse

the Watergate break-in and cover-up

the Clinton/Lewinsky affair

J. Edgar Hoover’s abuse of power

the Sackler family’s opioid empire

and many other dishonest and duplicitous people and organizations!!

With more than 120 photos and graphics, Grifters, Frauds, and Crooks is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. In the pursuit of money, influence, and fame, the line between right and wrong sometimes becomes blurred, leaving a trail of shattered trust and broken dreams. Take an illuminating journey into the cons, scams, and shady deals that have shaped our nation.

Grifters, Frauds, and Crooks: True Stories of American Corruption

Jim Willis

America has spawned hundreds of cults. Charismatic leaders periodically burst into the news for the most awful of reasons. We are awash with stories of brainwashed members’ struggles to leave. Meet the messianic leaders, see the indoctrination and manipulation, look at their beliefs, and read the stories of some of America’s most notorious, eccentric, and unusual cults!

From false religions and offshoots of traditional religions to political, financial, sexual, and hate groups, American Cults: Cabals, Corruption, and Charismatic Leaders looks at 40 groups and leaders, including their histories, deceits, manipulations, and twisted ideologies. Some rely on systems of obedience, submission, and dependency. More than a few have mystifying beliefs. Others are dark and murderous. You’ll encounter curious, bizarre, and sometimes upsetting stories of … 
 

Charming, manipulative, and exploitative leaders—Jim Jones, Jim Baker, David Berg, David Koresh, and many, many others.
The breakaways from traditional religions—Father Divine and the Peace Mission, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Westboro Baptist Church, the Gospel of Prosperity, and many more.
Political, Ponzi, metaphysical, and science schemes—the cult of the scientific method, pyramid schemes, political cults, the Unification Church, and much more.
Aliens, extraterrestrials, and the cosmos—Church of Scientology, Raëlians and Heaven’s Gate, to name a few.
End-times and doomsday cults—rapture beliefs, Edgar Cayce, the Ant Hill Kids and more.
Racial, radical, and social media cults—QAnon, Ku Klux Klan, Oath Keepers, Antifa, and others. 
Sex, perversity, and submission—NXIVM, Sullivanians, Rajneesh, and many more.

American Cults looks at why America is such a fertile ground for cults, how some people got caught in their webs, and how some managed to escape! With more than 120 photos and graphics, this tome is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography provides sources for further exploration, and an extensive index adds to its usefulness.

American Cults: Cabals, Corruption, and Charismatic Leaders

How well do you know your neighbors? Maybe you should get to know them better! Growing up, we are taught that monsters are easy to identify, but the truth is very different. Too often, the serial murderer does not stand out. Otherwise, he, or she, would get caught.

The contrast between the ordinary-seeming lives that provided cover for their cruel secrets is exposed in The Serial Killer Next Door: The Double Lives of Notorious Murderers. To their coworkers, neighbors, and others who knew them, they led unremarkable lives. They had careers as military pilots, police officers, landscapers, small business owners, farmers, realtors, reporters, authors, veterinary technicians, nurses, doctors, handymen, painters, and chefs, while they simultaneously stalked city suburbs, college campuses, trailer parks, and red-light districts. This chilling book looks at the horrifying stories of nearly 30 malevolent killers (and hundreds of innocent victims) who were mistakenly trusted, including …

Genene Jones • , a nurse responsible for the murder of 60 infants and children in her care. She’s said to be the inspiration for Stephen King’s iconic character of Annie Wilkes, in 
Misery • – and her nephew broke into King’s home, threatening to blow up the writer and his family because of it!
Robert Lee Yates • , a helicopter pilot in the Army National Guard who, when caught, buried one body outside his bedroom window as his wife slept.
Gary Ridgway • , also known as the Green River Killer, went undetected for 20 years, working for 30 years as a painter for a truck company and married for 17 years.
Kathleen Folbigg • , whose three children were at first thought to have died from natural causes. She only got caught when her husband found her personal diary.
Joseph James DeAngelo • , who worked various jobs, including as a police officer and a truck mechanic. He went on a decades-long crime spree and was finally caught with the help of DNA evidence. His case was instrumental in the establishment of California's DNA database.
 • And dozens of other serial killers!

It’s chilling to realize that many serial killers have created second lives that are completely divorced from the brutality and evils they commit. It’s incomprehensible to think that they are able to flip a switch, transforming them from apparently loving, ordinary men and women into torturous, homicidal slaughterers. With more than 120 photos and graphics, The Serial Killer Next Door is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. We trust our neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances. Of course, we do. It's ominous to think that we can't!

The Serial Killer Next Door: The Double Lives of Notorious Murderers

Pain, torment, and torture. Cruelty, brutality, and violence. The twisted psyches, murder. and yes, even the ability to charm people. Take a deep dive into the terrifyingly real serial murderers, spree killers, and true faces of evil! 

They prey on the innocent with a malicious desire to inflict damage and harm. They hunt and stalk misfortunate victims in the dark, in broad daylight, in quiet neighborhoods, and in the local woods. Their bloodthirst isn't satisfied after their first kill. Or their second. Or third. Serial Killers: The Minds, Methods, and Mayhem of History's Most Notorious Murderers delves into the global phenomenon of serial and spree murderers. 

This chilling book looks at the horrifying stories of forty malevolent killers and hundreds of innocent victims, including such notorious homicidal maniacs as John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, and Jeffery Dahmer, but it also looks at lesser-known and overlooked murderers like Herbert Baumeister, America’s I-70 Strangler; Japan’s “Anime Killer,” Tsutomu Miyazaki; Russia’s “Rostov Ripper,” Andrei Chikatilo; the “Giggling Granny,” Nannie Doss; and many more. It journeys to 16th-century Scotland to meet a clan of cannibals whose existence is still debated by historians today, and to the fog-shrouded alleys of Whitechapel, London, where Jack the Ripper earned his grisly namesake. Along the way, we’ll meet the Dating Game Killer, the Milwaukee Cannibal, the Acid Bath Murderer, and other monsters.

Serial Killers also asks the questions …

 What makes a seemingly ordinary person stalk, torture, and murder their fellow human beings? 
 Are serial killers born or made? 
 What is the difference between a serial killer and a spree killer? 
 What were the identities of Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer? 
 Was Albert DeSalvo really the Boston Strangler? 
 Is it possible that you could know a serial killer? 

Caution is advised before entering the alarming world of twisted psychos and sociopaths! With more than 120 photos and graphics, this fright-filled tome is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness.

Serial Killers: The Minds, Methods, and Mayhem of History's Most Notorious Murderers

Nick Redfern

A deep dive into high stakes killings, conspiracies and crimes!

Ruthless killers and murderers for hire: they are here, there, and everywhere. They lurk in the shadows, ready to pounce. They terminate on command. And, in the process, they change the course of the world. They are among the world’s most cold-hearted, deadly, and emotionless figures. They are assassins, and they have a long history of grievous deeds. 

From the cunning, calculating, government-trained warriors to the psychopathic, homegrown freelancers, you can find them all in Assassinations: The Plots, Politics, and Powers behind History-changing Murders. Exposed are the hidden agendas as well as the open warfare. The cynical preparations and devastating aftermaths are laid bare. You will quickly find yourself immersed in a world that is filled with killings made to seem like suicides, murders that were designed to look like heart attacks or overdoses, and accidents that, in reality, were carefully orchestrated deaths. 

 Did Lee Harvey Oswald really kill JFK? Or was Oswald the patsy he claimed to be? 
 Was Jack the Ripper, who terrified London in 1888, a madman or a ruthless secret agent of the British government? 
 Did the United States’ first secretary of defense, James Forrestal, kill himself, or was he thrown out of a window to his death in May 1949?
 Did Marilyn Monroe take her own life in August 1962? Was a contract put out on her?
 What led to the demise of Danny Casolaro, an investigative journalist who, at the time of his death in 1991, was investigating a powerful cabal known as “The Octopus”? 
 Was Diana, Princess of Wales, the victim of a car accident or of a carefully orchestrated plot? 
 Can sound waves and microwaves kill people at the flick of a switch? 
 Was John Lennon’s murder not at all what it appeared to be?

These questions and many more are answered in Assassinations, and with more than 120 photos and graphics, this tome is richly illustrated. Its helpful bibliography and extensive index add to its usefulness. It's a fascinating read that looks into how and why so many famous and influential figures just had to go!

Dark Minds True Crimes - The book series

Dark Minds True Crimes - The book series

Dark Minds True Crimes books in order

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