The Murder of Billie-Jo

The Murder of Billie-Jo
Author: Sion Jenkins
Publisher: Metro Publishing
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2009-09-07
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1843582201

In February 1997 Billie-Jo Jenkins was murdered at her home in Hastings, Sussex. In July 1998 her foster father Siôn was convicted and sent to prison for life. After a monumental legal battle, in which there were an unprecedented six court hearings, Siôn Jenkins was finally acquitted in February 2006 after a gross miscarriage of justice. Having already faced three criminal trials, Siôn Jenkins had to undergo a fourth - a trial by media which continues to this day. Now, Siôn Jenkins puts on record what actually happened; the whole story from the beginning.

Murder in McComb

Murder in McComb
Author: Trent Brown
Publisher: LSU Press
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2020-02-19
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 0807173657

What remained of the badly decomposed body of twelve-year-old Tina Marie Andrews was discovered underneath a discarded sofa in the woods outside of McComb, Mississippi, on August 23, 1969. Ten days earlier, Andrews and a friend had accepted a ride home after leaving the Tiger’s Den, a local teenage hangout, but they were driven instead to the remote area where Andrews was eventually murdered. Although eyewitness testimony pointed to two local police officers, no one was ever convicted of this brutal crime, and to this day the case remains officially unsolved. Contemporary local newspaper coverage notwithstanding, the story of Andrews’s murder has not been told. Indeed, many people in the McComb community still, more than fifty years later, hesitate to speak of the tragedy. Trent Brown’s Murder in McComb is the first comprehensive examination of this case, the lengthy investigation into it, and the two extended trials that followed. Brown also explores the public shaming of the state’s main witness, a fifteen-year-old unwed mother, and the subsequent desecration of Andrews’s grave. Set against the uneasy backdrop of the civil rights movement, Brown’s study deftly reconstructs various accounts of the murder, explains why the juries reached the verdicts they did, and explores the broader forces that shaped the community in which Andrews lived and died. Unlike so many other accounts of violence in the Jim Crow South, racial animus was not the driving force behind Andrews’s murder; in fact, most of the individuals central to the case, from the sheriff to the judges to the victim, were white. Yet Andrews, as well as her friend Billie Jo Lambert, the state’s key witness, were “girls of ill repute,” as one defense attorney put it. To many people in McComb, Tina and Billie Jo were “trashy” children whose circumstances reflected their families’ low socioeconomic standing. In the end, Brown suggests that Tina Andrews had the great misfortune to be murdered in a town where the locals were overly eager to support law, order, and stability—instead of true justice—amid the tense and uncertain times during and after the civil rights movement.

Too Pretty to Live

Too Pretty to Live
Author: Dennis Brooks
Publisher: Diversion Books
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2016-02-09
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1682301982

Murder begins with the click of a button in this true crime story of Facebook, catfishing and deadly jealousy—as seen on Investigation Discovery. Chris was a CIA agent worried for the safety of Jenelle Potter. Contacting her parents and boyfriend, Chris warned them that Billy Payne and Billie Jean Hayworth were bullying Jenelle online and posed an imminent, physical threat. Something needed to be done, Chris said. And he’d have their backs if they took action to protect Jenelle. And so they did. Jenelle’s father and boyfriend murdered Payne and Hayworth in their own home—mercifully leaving the couple’s infant unharmed. But when they told their story to the police, they discovered a devastating truth: there was no Chris. It had been Jenelle the entire time, catfishing them to exact revenge over a Facebook feud. Using forensic linguistics and diving through the brambles that Jenelle laid to cover her tracks, police were able to put together a chilling portrait of a sociopath who set a double murder in motion from the shadows of the internet. Dennis Brooks, the lead prosecutor in this strange and tragic case, examines the crime and trial from all angles in Too Pretty to Live. What the police investigation turned up, though, made this crime all the more terrifying. Jenelle had been Chris the entire time, catfishing her family and her boyfriend to act in vengeance on her behalf. Using forensic linguistics and diving through the brambles that Jenelle laid to cover her tracks, police were able to put together a chilling portrait of a sociopath, made all the more ruthless by the anonymity of her online life. Bizarre and unforgettable, Dennis Brooks examines the crime and trial from all angles, bringing his expertise as the lead prosecutor in the strange and disturbing case.

Billie Starr's Book of Sorries

Billie Starr's Book of Sorries
Author: Deborah E. Kennedy
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2022-10-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1250138442

“Funny yet bitingly realistic look at small-town life...A grim literary mystery and a hopeful family story, this genre-blending novel manages to be both charming and heartbreaking.” —Kirkus “An enthralling suspense thriller...Exquisite prose matches deep characterization. Kennedy deserves to win an Edgar.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review Sometimes, a woman has to rescue herself. Jenny Newberg, Queen of Bad Decisions, is about to make another one. In a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business, down-on-her-luck single mother Jenny is on a first-name basis with the debt collector at the bank, who is moving toward foreclosure. She is constantly apologizing to her precocious young daughter, Billie Starr, who is filling a book with her mother’s sorries, and it seems to Jenny that no apology will ever be enough. Then a pair of strangers in black suits offers her a hefty check to seduce someone known as the Candidate. Finally, something will go her way. But nothing ever goes as Jenny plans, and she is swept into the Candidate’s orbit. Surrounded by a wide universe of new ideas, she realizes how constrained her life has been by the expectations of everyone around her, and she starts to see how much more she might be capable of. And when her world is rocked to its core and Billie Starr may be in danger, Jenny is forced to do what she once thought impossible: trust in herself and her own power to make things right. Shimmering with rage and sparkling with subtle humor, Billie Starr's Book of Sorries showcases Edgar Award-nominee Deborah E. Kennedy's singular voice and shines a light on the town of Benson, Indiana, where lakes, grudges, and family rifts run deep – but so does a mother’s love.

Billie Jo

Billie Jo
Author: Kimberley Chambers
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2008
Genre: Adultery
ISBN: 1848091109

Terry, the lucky villain with a heart of gold, is riding for a fall in this marvellous down-to-earth first novel, full of humour, warmth, sexual shenanigans -- and violence. Kimberley Chambers is a talent to match Martina Cole. "From the Paperback edition."

The Murder of Mr. Wickham

The Murder of Mr. Wickham
Author: Claudia Gray
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2022-05-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0593313828

A summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Jane Austen's Mr. Wickham—one of literature’s most notorious villains—meets a sudden and suspicious end in this brilliantly imagined mystery from a New York Times bestselling author featuring Austen’s leading literary characters. “Had Jane Austen sat down to write a country house murder mystery, this is exactly the book she would have written.” —Alexander McCall Smith The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst. Nearly everyone at the house party is a suspect, so it falls to the party’s two youngest guests to solve the mystery: Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry, eager for adventure beyond Northanger Abbey; and Jonathan Darcy, the Darcys’ eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost relaxed. In this tantalizing fusion of Austen and Christie, from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray, the unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party—before an innocent person is sentenced to hang. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL

Out of the Dust (Scholastic Gold)

Out of the Dust (Scholastic Gold)
Author: Karen Hesse
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2012-09-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0545517125

Acclaimed author Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal-winning novel-in-verse explores the life of fourteen-year-old Billie Jo growing up in the dust bowls of Oklahoma. Out of the Dust joins the Scholastic Gold line, which features award-winning and beloved novels. Includes exclusive bonus content!"Dust piles up like snow across the prairie. . . ."A terrible accident has transformed Billie Jo's life, scarring her inside and out. Her mother is gone. Her father can't talk about it. And the one thing that might make her feel better -- playing the piano -- is impossible with her wounded hands.To make matters worse, dust storms are devastating the family farm and all the farms nearby. While others flee from the dust bowl, Billie Jo is left to find peace in the bleak landscape of Oklahoma -- and in the surprising landscape of her own heart.

Billy Bathgate

Billy Bathgate
Author: E.L. Doctorow
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2010-12-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0307767388

To open this book is to enter the perilous, thrilling world of Billy Bathgate, the brazen boy who is accepted into the inner circle of the notorious Dutch Schultz gang. Like an urban Tom Sawyer, Billy takes us along on his fateful adventures as he becomes good-luck charm, apprentice, and finally protégé to one of the great murdering gangsters of the Depression-era underworld in New York City. The luminous transformation of fact into fiction that is E. L. Doctorow’s trademark comes to triumphant fruition in Billy Bathgate, a peerless coming-of-age tale and one of Doctorow’s boldest and most beloved bestsellers.

Dolly Parton, Songteller

Dolly Parton, Songteller
Author: Dolly Parton
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2020-11-17
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1797208381

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics is a landmark celebration of the remarkable life and career of a country music and pop culture legend. As told by Dolly Parton in her own inimitable words, explore the songs that have defined her journey. Illustrated throughout with previously unpublished images from Dolly Parton's personal and business archives. Mining over 60 years of songwriting, Dolly Parton highlights 175 of her songs and brings readers behind the lyrics. • Packed with never-before-seen photographs and classic memorabilia • Explores personal stories, candid insights, and myriad memories behind the songs Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics reveals the stories and memories that have made Dolly a beloved icon across generations, genders, and social and international boundaries. Containing rare photos and memorabilia from Parton's archives, this book is a show-stopping must-have for every Dolly Parton fan. • Learn the history behind classic Parton songs like "Jolene," "9 to 5," "I Will Always Love You," and more. • The perfect gift for Dolly Parton fans (everyone loves Dolly!) as well as lovers of music history and country Add it to the shelf with books like Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton, The Beatles Anthology by The Beatles, and Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen.

Chase Darkness with Me

Chase Darkness with Me
Author: Billy Jensen
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2019-08-13
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 1492685860

***With an exclusive behind-the-scenes conversation between Billy Jensen and retired detective Paul Holes on the Golden State Killer, their favorite cold cases, and more*** Have you ever wanted to solve a murder? Gather the clues the police overlooked? Put together the pieces? Identify the suspect? Journalist Billy Jensen spent fifteen years investigating unsolved murders, fighting for the families of victims. Every story he wrote had one thing in common—they didn't have an ending. The killer was still out there. But after the sudden death of a friend, crime writer and author of I'll Be Gone in the Dark, Michelle McNamara, Billy became fed up. Following a dark night, he came up with a plan. A plan to investigate past the point when the cops had given up. A plan to solve the murders himself. You'll ride shotgun as Billy identifies the Halloween Mask Murderer, finds a missing girl in the California Redwoods, and investigates the only other murder in New York City on 9/11. You'll hear intimate details of the hunts for two of the most terrifying serial killers in history: his friend Michelle McNamara's pursuit of the Golden State Killer and his own quest to find the murderer of the Allenstown Four. And Billy gives you the tools—and the rules—to help solve murders yourself. Gripping, complex, unforgettable, Chase Darkness with Me is an examination of the evil forces that walk among us, illustrating a novel way to catch those killers, and a true-crime narrative unlike any you've read before.