No Place Like Murder
True Crime in the Midwest
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Indiana University Press
Published:29th Sep '20
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£15.99(9780253052780)
A modern retelling of 20 sensational true crimes, No Place Like Murder reveals the inside details behind nefarious acts that shocked the Midwest between 1869 and 1950. The stories chronicle the misdeeds, examining the perpetrators' mindsets, motives, lives, apprehensions, and trials, as well as what became of them long after.
True crime author Janis Thornton profiles notorious murderers such as Frankie Miller, who was fed up when her fiancé stood her up for another woman. As fans of the song "Frankie and Johnny" already know, Frankie met her former lover at the door with a shotgun.
Thornton's tales reveal the darker side of life in the Midwest, including the account of Isabelle Messmer, a plucky young woman who dreamed of escaping her quiet farm-town life. After she nearly took down two tough Pittsburgh policemen in 1933, she was dubbed "Gun Girl" and went on to make headlines from coast to coast. In 1942, however, after a murder conviction in Texas, she vowed to do her time and go straight. Full of intrigue and revelations, No Place Like Murder also features such folks as Chirka and Rasico, the first two Hoosier men to die in the electric chair after they brutally murdered their wives in 1913. The two didn't meet until their fateful last night.
An enthralling and chilling collection, No Place Like Murder is sure to thrill true crime lovers.
True crime fans will be well satisfied.
* Publishers Weekly *No Place Like Murder is a manifestation of Thornton's love for local history and fascination with mysteries and true crime.
-- Amy Oberlin * The Herald Republican *With no marker in sight, writer Janis Thornton a week ago stood in the shade of an old white oak tree she believed covered the grave of Andrew Jackson "A.J." Baker at Beech Grove Cemetery in Muncie to take a picture featured in her blog. She'd been to the site in June 2017 to look for the grave of the late butcher from Elwood who on Sept. 3, 1903, fatally shot Fred Kaiser, the husband of his alleged paramour, at the corner of Anderson and Main streets. "Some might call it a shady grave for a shady character, and I couldn't disagree," she wrote. The cemetery visit was part of a monthlong "Road Trip with the Dead," to visit the final resting places of victims and murderers. The visits coincided with the release of Thornton's latest book, "No Place Like Murder," a look at infamous historical murders throughout central Indiana.
-- Rebecca R. Bibbs * The Herald Bulletin *Janis Thornton, one of the Frankfort Community Public Library's 2019 Women's Expo speakers, has released her second true crime book titled No Place Like Murder: True Crime in the Midwest. This book will hit a little close to home because four of the crimes took place in Frankfort.
-- Ken Hartman * Clinton County Daily News *A Kokomo woman shot in the face twice by her boyfriend after rebuffing his advances. A Civil War veteran who shoots and kills a man in a downtown Kokomo hotel bar and gets away with it. A man sentenced to life for the poisoning deaths of his wife and her 8-year-old child. Those stories and more are the featured in "No Place Like Murder: True Crime in the Midwest," written by Tipton's own Janis Thornton. The book chronicles 20 true crime stories that "shocked the Midwest between 1869 and 1950," including crimes committed in Howard and Tipton counties.
-- Tyler Juranovich * Kokomo Tribune *No Place Like Murder by Janis Thornton is a collection of chronicles about 20 celebrated criminal cases from 1869 to 1950. The chapters explore the criminal acts themselves, the murderers' mindsets and motives, and the ultimate disposition of the cases. The author draws heavily from contemporary newspaper reports, and the entries are written in a straightforward journalistic style, which makes for easy reading. A smattering of photographs — no crime scene photos, thankfully — which add to the accounts.
-- Rich Gotshall * Daily Journal, Franklin, IN *Local author Janis Thornton is back with another true crime book. Tipton County locations and residents are featured in some of the tales. Most of the crimes I had not heard of, so it was a really interesting look into crimes of the past. Recommended for readers who like true crime and local history.
-- Tipton County Public Lib- Runner-up for Midwest Independent Publishers Association Book Award 2020 (United States)
- Commended for ABF Best Book Award 2020 (United States)
ISBN: 9780253052773
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 540g
272 pages