The gripping tale of a legendary, century-old murder spree *** A silent, simmering killer terrorized New England in1911. As a terrible heat wave killed more than 2,000 people, another silent killer began her own murderous spree. That year a reporter for the Hartford Courant noticed a sharp rise in the number of obituaries for residents of a rooming house in Windsor, Connecticut, and began to suspect who was responsible: Amy Archer-Gilligan, who’d opened the Archer Home for Elderly People and Chronic Invalids four years earlier. “Sister Amy” would be accused of murdering both of her husbands and up to sixty-six of her patients with cocktails of lemonade and arsenic; her story inspired the Broadway hit Arsenic and Old Lace. The Devil’s Rooming House is the first book about the life, times, and crimes of America’s most prolific female serial killer. In telling this fascinating story, M. William Phelps also paints a vivid portrait of early-twentieth-century New England.

The Devil's Right Hand chroniclesthe legacy of death and destruction in the gunmaking Colt family during the nineteenth century, a legacy largely remembered for a lurid murder case that inspired Edgar Allan Poe’s story “The Oblong Box”—but one that encompassed much more. . . New York Times and nationally bestselling author M. William Phelps reveals an unfathomable pattern surrounding repeating arms inventor Samuel Colt—from the death of all his children, including Sam’s sea captain son’s mysterious demise aboard his yacht, to the eccentric life of his widow. But the tip of this iceberg was the 1841-42 murder case of brother John C. Colt, one of New York’s most sensational scandals. Printer Samuel Adams went to collect a debt from bookkeeper and author John Colt and was never seen alive again. Shocking revelations followed: Did John shoot Adams with one of his brother’s Colt firearms before hacking him up and packing him in an oblong box? Did Sam Colt invent the revolving pistol, or steal the idea? Part historical true-crime, part family biography and cultural history, The Devil’s Right Hand is a stirring narrative about a darkly cursed American dynasty.

The true-crime story of a cheating husband, the other woman, and her plot to kill the wife, by the bestselling author of Murder, New England. When librarian Martha Gail Fulton was gunned down in a Michigan parking lot on a quiet evening, there were two obvious suspects—Gail's husband George, a former military officer . . . and George's mistress, the flashy businesswoman Donna Kay Trapani. Police were baffled to find that both had ironclad alibis. Yet evidence showed the shooter, a male, had an accomplice—a mystery woman. Now, M. William Phelps recounts the compelling real-life drama of a twisted love triangle that ended in bloody murder, and the riveting investigation that brought to light a master manipulator's trail of deadly deceit. Praise for New York Times bestselling author M. William Phelps “One of our most engaging crime journalists.” —Katherine Ramsland, New York Times – bestselling author of Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer “Phelps creates a vivid portrait.” —Publishers Weekly “One of America's finest true-crime writers.” —Vincent Bugliosi, New York Times bestselling author of Helter Skelter Includes sixteen pages of dramatic photos

The world's largest building collapses as terrorists launch weapons of mass destruction against the civilian population. Except this time the target is His Majesty's Royal Dockyard. The superpower is England. The terrorists are American. And it’s 1776. Shock and awe, as a media war sows the seeds of fear, and panic sweeps the nation. The conspirators behind the atrocities are revealed to include a transvestite aristocrat, a crippled media baron and an alcoholic child, all holed up in the navy's favourite brothel. Welcome to Devil's Acre.

In 1896 Louis and his father, seduced by the allure of North Africa, travel to Algeria in search of a better life. There, Louis befriends Imez, a Berber boy, and the two become firm friends. They grow and prosper, and become like brothers. Years later, Nicolette, an Australian photojournalist, is drawn to cover the illness and eventual death of Algerian President Boumedienne. She sees it as an opportunity to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps, make her mark, and restore the bonds of the past. But the rules have changed – will the bonds that once existed be sufficient for her to survive? That Devil’s Madness tells of the often heart-rending tensions that exist between idealism and duty, between friendship and loyalty to one’s country – of the struggle for freedom, dignity and respect. Dramatic, honest and shockingly relevant to today’s world situation, the novel is driven by finely crafted characters, exquisite prose and razor-sharp drama and mystery.

A forensics expert follows the historic evolution of CSI through a century of serial killers. "Katherine Ramsland has brilliantly captured the insights and drama of some fascinating cases" (Dr. Henry Lee) in her previous bestselling books. Now she examines the case histories of twelve of the most notorious serial killers of the last one hundred years, and answers the questions: What clues did they leave behind? How were they eventually caught? How was each twist and turn of their crimes matched by the equally compelling weapons of science and logic? From exploring the nineteenth century's earliest investigative tools to remarkable twenty-first century CSI advances, The Devil's Dozen provides a fascinating window into the world of those who kill-and those who dedicate their lives to bringing them to justice.

The remarkable true story of a turn-of-the-19th century murder and the trial that ensued—a showdown in which iconic political rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr joined forces to make sure justice was served—from bestselling author of the Edgar finalist, Murder of the Century. In the closing days of 1799, the United States was still a young republic. Waging a fierce battle for its uncertain future were two political parties: the well-moneyed Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, and the populist Republicans, led by Aaron Burr. The two finest lawyers in New York, Burr and Hamilton were bitter rivals both in and out of the courtroom, and as the next election approached, their animosity reached a crescendo. But everything changed when a young Quaker woman, Elma Sands, was found dead in Burr's newly constructed Manhattan Well. The horrific crime quickly gripped the nation, and before long accusations settled on one of Elma’s suitors: a handsome young carpenter named Levi Weeks. As the enraged city demanded a noose be draped around his neck, Week's only hope was to hire a legal dream team. And thus it was that New York’s most bitter political rivals and greatest attorneys did the unthinkable—they teamed up. Our nation’s longest running cold case, Duel with the Devil delivers the first substantial break in the case in over 200 years. At once an absorbing legal thriller and an expertly crafted portrait of the United States in the time of the Founding Fathers, Duel with the Devil is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction.