Why do people kill? Most of us will never truly understand how one human being can deliberately take the life of another. When we read about a murder in the newspaper we wonder - why? What was the motive? Perhaps knowing the motive and the circumstances of a murder somehow makes us feel a little safer because we can then make a mental checklist of what behaviors, or words, or places, or people to avoid. Is it even possible to safeguard ourselves against murder, or are we merely pawns of fate? The following books contain the stories of some very ill-fated people.

---- Kelley, MCMLS librarian


America's Most Hated Woman: The Life and Gruesome Death of Madalyn Murray O'Hair by Anne Rowe Seaman

Whatever happened to Madalyn Murray O'Hair? You may remember that she disappeared from Austin, Texas in 1995 along with her son Jon, and granddaughter Robin. Their disappearance was a mystery for years because Madalyn was so widely disliked that nobody cared enough to find out what happened to her. A newspaper reporter and a private investigator finally uncovered the shocking truth.


Judgment Ridge: The True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders by Dick Lehr

Two popular Dartmouth college professors were brutally murdered in their home in 2001. But who killed Half and Susanne Zantop, and why? Read the tragic story of their deadly encounter with two "normal" high school boys from a neighboring town.

Confederacy of Silence: A True Tale of the New Old South by Richard Rubin

A writer returns to Leflore County, Mississippi to cover the murder trial of Handy Campbell, former Ole Miss football player. Campbell and an associate have been accused of killing a UPS delivery man. Are they guilty or is a there a miscarriage of justice in the works?