Explore the international headlines and the little-known crimes, the solved and the wrongly solved, in these tales of the North Carolina mountains. Western North Carolina is known for mountain vistas and wild, rocky rivers, but remote wilderness and quaint small towns can have a dark side. Learn the truth behind the famous murder ballad Tom Dooley. Delve into the criminal history of moonshine, and the tales of two unexpected bombers in idyllic Mayberry. Crime writer Cathy Pickens brings a novelist's eye to Western North Carolina's crime stories that define the sinister--and quirky--side of the mountains.

Eastern North Carolina is a land of contrasts, and its crime stories bear this out. A lovelorn war hero or a stalker? Conniving wife or consummate homemaker? Murder or suicide? The answers can be as puzzling as the questions. Mystery author Cathy Pickens details an assortment of quirky cases, including a duo of poisoning cases more than one hundred years apart, a band of folk hero swamp outlaws, sex swingers and a couple of mummies. Each story has, in its way, helped define Eastern North Carolina and its history.

Guns, liquor, racial strife, divisive politics, and war come together in ten well-documented, true-crime stories of nineteenth-century families in the western North Carolina mountains.

North Carolina's Triangle region is known for universities, research facilities and politics, but even in such a prosperous, diverse, modern environment, crime helps define the edges. These cases cover several decades of murder, fraud and betrayal. Read about the nation's largest prison escape and a couple of North Carolina's poisoners. From a civil rights-era clash of Old South and New and a suspected Cold War spy to new-tech sleuths and tales of diligent as well as discredited investigators, these stories will keep you entertained and aghast at the dark side of daily life. Crime writer Cathy Pickens explores a collection of headline-grabbing tales that shows the sinister side of the Triangle's cities.

The crime that shocked post-Civil War America and inspired the folk song that became The Kingston Trio’s hit, “Tom Dooley.” At the conclusion of the Civil War, Wilkes County, North Carolina, was the site of the nation’s first nationally publicized crime of passion. In the wake of a tumultuous love affair and a mysterious chain of events, Tom Dooley was tried, convicted and hanged for the murder of Laura Foster. This notorious crime became an inspiration for musicians, writers and storytellers ever since, creating a mystery of mythic proportions. Through newspaper articles, trial documents and public records, Dr. John E. Fletcher brings this dramatic case to life, providing the long-awaited factual account of the legendary murder. Join the investigation into one of the country’s most enduring thrillers. “Fletcher has spent a great deal of time researching almost all of the characters involved with the Foster homicide and has gone further than any researcher I know in establishing the relationships—blood, marriage and social—between the major actors in the tragedy.”—Statesville Record & Landmark

Upstate South Carolina is a scenic region of business centers, farms and textile towns. But it has a dark side. In 1924, a local resident was convicted for poisoning a neighbor in a case that went to the state supreme court. One resident aided a prisoner in a daring outbreak in the name of love. Fairfield County had its own version of witch trials. Crime writer Cathy Pickens brings a novelist's eye to the Upstate's real crime stories and the international headlines and the little-known tales that define the sinister--and quirky--side of her home state.

An absorbing collection of ten famous murder stories of North Carolina, spanning the years 1808 to 1914. “An interesting job of reporting....A book that rates a place on the bedside table.”-Charlotte Observer