Despite its early law enforcement presence, Prescott's place in the violent history of Yavapai County is written in blood. The jealousy, greed and pure meanness of some of its citizens produced shocking trails of destruction and death. The Keystone Saloon couldn't keep a proprietor--a series of owners was found dead with gunshot wounds. A driver-for-hire was brutally assaulted and his car stolen in Prescott's first homicidal carjacking. Two nurses conspired to poison a rich patient in their care. From the shootout that began Virgil Earp's career to knifings and dynamite attacks, Prescott history blogger Drew Desmond and Whiskey Row historian and author Bradley G. Courtney tell rarely heard stories that once rocked the town.

"Muncie epitomizes the small-town America of squeaky-clean 1950s sitcoms, but its wholesome veneer conceals a violent past. Public scandals and personal tragedy dogged the long, notorious life of Dr. Jules LaDuron. Baseball ace Obie McCracken met a tragic and violent end after joining the police force. A mother's love could not stop James Hedges from committing murder. The paranoid delusions of Leonard Redden hounded him until one day he carried a shotgun into a quiet classroom. Detectives Melvin Miller and Ambrose Settles chased a murderer across county lines in pursuit of justice. And newsman George Dale's showdown with the Klan prepared him for the political fight of his life. Douglas Walker and Keith Roysdon, authors of Wicked Muncie, introduce a new cast of characters from the city's notorious past." --Publisher description.

When Arizona was created as a U.S. territory in 1864, Prescott became its first capital. Accompanying the city's rich history is an equally dramatic heritage of supernatural manifestations. Visitors report a strange chill in the Palace Restaurant and taps on the shoulder at the Smoki Museum. Lingering spirits crowd famed hotels like the Vendome and the Hassayampa Inn, as well as theaters such as the Elks Opera House and Prescott Center for the Arts. Learn the secrets of Prescott's cemeteries and the truth about the hangings on the Courthouse Plaza as Darlene Wilson and Parker Anderson lead an excursion through the haunted sites of Arizona's mile-high city.

A saloon town like no other. Carved out of the wilderness to become the first capital of Arizona Territory, Prescott has been a magnet for colorful characters since 1864. From Isaac Goldberg, proprietor of the first saloon, to musical icon Bruce Springsteen, Prescott has hosted its fair share of legends. Highwayman Brazen Bill Brazelton moseyed through the streets of Prescott, as did Bucky O'Neill and Barry Goldwater. Famous landmarks like the Palace Saloon not only survived prohibition but the Great Fire of 1900 that burned through Whiskey Row. Join historians Bradley G. Courtney and Drew Desmond as they round up tales of Prescott's fascinating past.

For fans of Karen McManus' One of Us is Lying and films like I Know What You Did Last Summer, comes a gripping thriller about murder, mystery, and deception. Blackmail lures Ava to the abandoned amusement park on Portgrave Pier. She is one of ten teenagers, all with secrets they intend to protect whatever the cost. When fog and magic swallow the pier, the group find themselves cut off from the real world. As the teenagers turn on each other, Ava will have to face up to the secret that brought her to the pier and decide how far she's willing to go to survive. The teenagers have only their secrets to protect and each other to betray. Perfect for: 13-18 year-old mystery fans Fans of Karen McManus and Stephen King

How the forgotten case of murder while sleepwalking changed history After creeping out of bed on a frigid January night in 1832, teenage farmhand Abraham Prescott took up an ax and thrashed his sleeping employers to the brink of death. He later explained that he'd attacked Sally and Chauncey Cochran in his sleep. The Cochrans eventually recovered but--to the astonishment of their neighbors--kept Prescott on, somehow accepting his strange story. This decision would come back to haunt them. While picking strawberries with Sally in an isolated field the following summer, Prescott used a fence post to violently kill the young mother. His explanation was again the same; he told Chauncey he'd fallen asleep and the next thing he knew, Sally was dead. Prescott's attorneys would use both a sleepwalking claim and an insanity plea in his defense, despite the historically dismal success rates of these arguments. In the two murder trials that followed, Prescott was convicted and sentenced to death both times. Prescott's crime has landmark significance, however, notably because many believed the boy was mentally ill and should never have been executed. The case also highlights the discriminatory role class plays in the American justice system. Using contemporaneous accounts as well as information from other insanity and sleepwalking defenses, author Leslie Lambert Rounds reconstructs the crime and raises important questions about privilege, societal discrimination against the mentally ill and the disadvantaged, and the unfortunate secondary role of women in history.

Mysteries and Legends of Arizona explores unusual phenomena, strange events, and mysteries in Arizona’s history. Each episode included in the book is a story unto itself, and the tone and style of the book is lively and easy to read for a general audience interested in Arizona history.