Between the summers of 1967 through 1969, a predatory killer stalked the campuses of Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan seeking prey until he made the mistake of killing his last victim in the basement of his uncle's home. All-American boy John Norman Collins was arrested, tried, and convicted of the strangulation murder of Karen Sue Beineman. The other murders never went to trial, with one exception, and soon became cold cases. With the benefit of fifty years of hindsight, hundreds of vintage newspaper articles, thousand of police reports, and countless interviews, Fournier tells the stories of the other victims, recreates the infamous trial that took Collins off the streets, and details Collins's time spent in prison.

Edgar Award Finalist: The true story of a serial killer who terrorized a midwestern town in the era of free love—by the coauthor of The French Connection. In 1967, during the time of peace, free love, and hitchhiking, nineteen-year-old Mary Terese Fleszar was last seen alive walking home to her apartment in Ypsilanti, Michigan. One month later, her naked body—stabbed over thirty times and missing both feet and a forearm—was discovered, partially buried, on an abandoned farm. A year later, the body of twenty-year-old Joan Schell was found, similarly violated. Southeastern Michigan was terrorized by something it had never experienced before: a serial killer. Over the next two years, five more bodies were uncovered around Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan. All the victims were tortured and mutilated. All were female students. After multiple failed investigations, a chance sighting finally led to a suspect. On the surface, John Norman Collins was an all-American boy—a fraternity member studying elementary education at Eastern Michigan University. But Collins wasn’t all that he seemed. His female friends described him as aggressive and short tempered. And in August 1970, Collins, the “Ypsilanti Ripper,” was arrested, found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole. Written by the coauthor of The French Connection, The Michigan Murders delivers a harrowing depiction of the savage murders that tormented a small midwestern town.

On July 1, 1959, at Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan, the social psychologist Milton Rokeach brought together three paranoid schizophrenics: Clyde Benson, an elderly farmer and alcoholic; Joseph Cassel, a failed writer who was institutionalized after increasingly violent behavior toward his family; and Leon Gabor, a college dropout and veteran of World War II. The men had one thing in common: each believed himself to be Jesus Christ. Their extraordinary meeting and the two years they spent in one another’s company serves as the basis for an investigation into the nature of human identity, belief, and delusion that is poignant, amusing, and at times disturbing. Displaying the sympathy and subtlety of a gifted novelist, Rokeach draws us into the lives of three troubled and profoundly different men who find themselves “confronted with the ultimate contradiction conceivable for human beings: more than one person claiming the same identity.”

The Elusive Purple Gang: Detroit's Kosher Nostra is a concise history of one of America's most notorious Prohibition gangs. The Burnstein brothers and their associates were the only Jewish gang in the United States to dominate the rackets of a major American city. From their meteoric rise to the top of Detroit's underworld to their ultimate demise, this is an episodic account of the Purple Gang's corrosive pursuit of power and wealth and their inevitable plunge towards self-destruction.

During the depths of the Great Depression in Ypsilanti, Michigan, a seven-year-old boy is found frozen to death under the Frog Island footbridge in Depot Town after being reported missing the night before by his parents. Upon examination, the Washtenaw County coroner discovers the child is the victim of foul play. After three years of investigation, the Ypsilanti and Michigan state police are no closer to making an arrest than they were when Richard Streicher Jr.'s body was discovered. Local gossips and many police are convinced they know who the guilty party is, but proving it in a court of law is a different matter. Who stabbed Richard Streicher Jr. to death?

Detroit Time Capsule is a collection of seventy-five articles that first appeared as Fornology.com blog posts. The original posts have been revised and re-edited for inclusion in this anthology. Topics vary from significant historical events to biographical profiles of people who left their mark on Detroit history. Although this collection can be read from beginning to end, most chapters are self-contained with no narrative thread binding them. This eclectic collection makes a great springboard for readers interested in learning more about Detroit's rich past.

She would be severely beaten and likely killed if she stayed, but certainly killed if she tried to leave. Was it self-defense, or was it murder? To defend his client, one lawyer from Michigans Upper Peninsula must fmd the truth in forensic evidence and through a sensational trial, portray to the jury a drama of the life of Jean and John Davis. Raoul Revords Beyond Terror tells readers this gripping story of a battered wife who suddenly is left no choice but to end years of domestic violence by killing her abusive husband. Attorney David Chartier was spending quality time with his family in their cabin near the Upper Twin Lake when a phone call from a highly distressed woman broke the peace and serenity of that evening. It was Jean Davis, Davids longtime client, calling from the Michigan State Police Post where she is being held for her husbands murder. After years of physical and emotional abuse, Jean abruptly realized that her only chance of staying alive was to kill her husband. So begins Davids investigation, examination, gathering and analysis of forensic evidence that will provide a defense for his client. Beyond Terror follows the proceedings of the trial, beginning with Davids investigation at the scene until the final verdict from the jury and appellate decision of the Court of Appeals. A shocking and unexpected end to the novel awaits readers. A trial lawyer for forty-eight years himself, Revord delivers this fictional storybased largely on real eventswith much precision, capturing the technicalities and the drama involved in criminal proceedings. For more information on Beyond Terror, log on to www.beyondterror-novel.com.