“A socialite bride, a $1 million inheritance, an older husband of questionable social rank, Yankees misbehaving on Southern soil . . . [A] web of intrigue” (Our State). A news media frenzy hurled the quiet resort community of Pinehurst, North Carolina, into the national spotlight in 1935 when hotel magnate Ellsworth Statler’s adopted daughter was discovered dead early one February morning weeks after her wedding day. A politically charged coroner’s inquest failed to determine a definitive cause of death, and the following civil action continued to expose sordid details of the couple’s lives. More than half a century later, the story was all but forgotten when local resident Diane McLellan spied an old photograph at a yard sale and became obsessed with solving the mystery. Her enthusiastic sleuthing captured the attention of Southern Pines resident and journalist Steve Bouser, who takes readers back to those blustery winter days so long ago in the search to reveal what really happened to Elva Statler Davidson. Includes photos “As compelling as any crime mystery an American writer has ever written: suspenseful, titillating, true and set in Moore County.” —The Pilot “Bouser is both compassionate and balanced in his reports of the Davidson affair.” —Authors ’Round the South “Bouser uses a story ‘ripped from the headlines’ as they say to reveal what’s known and unknown about a young Pinehurst socialite’s bizarre death . . . [He] takes the reader through the wild inquest, a later trial over Elva’s will, and buckets of speculation.” —Salisbury Post

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Butler Emanuel Birch went to the front room of Edgewood Cottage, parted a curtain, and glanced outside. It was going to be a cold, sunny morning. The car was empty, and there was a woman’s foot underneath the driver's side door. #2 When Curtis Campaigne and his wife, Edna, visited the Davidsons the next morning, they found Brad holding his wife’s head in his lap. They had no idea what had happened. #3 Elva Davidson, bride of a few weeks, superb athlete, hotel heiress, and socialite, was dead by the time Dr. Marr arrived at the hospital. She had been beaten and was not wearing any undergarments.

One of the finest golf courses in America in the early 1900s was the revered Pinehurst No. 2, designed by the legendary Donald Ross and first opened in 1907. Physically and mentally demanding, the course gave players options on every hole and required them to envision and execute recovery shots from the sandy perimeters and the pine forests as well as think creatively around the intricate greens. As a result, No. 2 became a favorite of the nation's top amateurs and professionals. Unfortunately, a modernization of the course over the last four decades stripped it of much of its character. In The Golden Age of Pinehurst, Lee Pace chronicles the breathtaking restoration of No. 2 from its recent slick and monochromatic presentation back to a natural potpourri of hardpan sand, wire grass, and Sandhills pine needles. The restored No. 2--accessible for amateur play, yet challenging enough for the professional--once again stands apart for its beauty, strategic appeal, and Old World flavor.