Murder in Minnesota: A Collection of True Cases

"My investigation of Minnesota murders over the years revealed no new motives for killing anyone. The old ones are perfectly satisfactory. . . . I hope you will find these murders interesting. I regret that I could not report the most ingenious and remarkable ones. They looked like accidents or natural deaths and were never discovered."—Walter N. Trenerry

Murder in Minnesota features some of the state's most infamous criminals—a collection of fascinating and disagreeable characters usually ignored by historians. They live again in these pages as the conniving, clever, mad, or pitiful creatures they were. Fifteen chapters—involving both well-known and obscure practitioners of the deadly art—tell the stories of Ann Blansky, the only woman hanged in Minnesota; the famous Younger brothers, who with the James boys robbed the Northfield bank in 1876; the six Arbogast women of St. Paul, who kept a murderous secret that still remains undisclosed; and many more.

Praise for Murder in Minnesota:

"You should not overlook this exemplary work."—New York Times Book Review

"An exemplary treatment of regional history as revealed by the spotlight of crime. Would that the other . . . state historical societies might follow Minnesota's noble example!"—Anthony Boucher, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

"A fine example of true-crime writing for all devotees of that form."—San Francisco Chronicle

• Minnesota Mayhem: A History of Calamitous Events, Horrific Accidents, Dastardly Crime & Dreadful Behavior in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes (True Crime)
• Sundown at Sunrise: A Story of Love and Murder, Based on One of the Most Notorious Ax Murders in American History
• Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson
• Famous Crimes of Minnesota
• Minnesota's Oldest Murder Mystery: The Case of Edward Phalen: St. Paul's Unsaintly Pioneer
• John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks' Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul, 1920-1936
• Twin Cities Haunted Handbook: 100 Ghostly Places You Can Visit in and Around Minneapolis and St. Paul (America's Haunted Road Trip)
• Minnesota Mysteries: A History of Unexplained Wonders, Eccentric Characters, Preposterous Claims & Baffling Occurrences in the Land of 10,000 Lakes