Murder in the Garden: Famous Crimes of Early Fresno County

Murder in the Garden: Famous Crimes of Early Fresno County

Product Type: Book

Product Price: $16.95

Manufacturer: Linden Publishing

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Description

Presenting 15 famous cases from Fresno, California, set in the first part of the 20th century, a long-time detective in the sheriff's office introduces key figures such as a bootlegger, an unfortunate local dubbed Alligator Jack, and a perpetrator known as the Fig Garden Fiend. Featuring local landmarks such as Mussel Slough—the setting for Frank Norris's The Octopus—and offering additional commentary that compares these sensational past cases to current high-profile criminal cases. A consideration of the changing face of crime, this history reveals a modern upswing in child abuse, multiple murders, and kidnapping cases and highlights the extended nature of the current legal process as compared to the open-and-shut character of the early 1900s.

Reviews

Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-03-14
Summary: "Interesting Read for Locals"

Enjoyable reading for residents of Central California. History of "famous" crimes that many of us don't even know about because they occurred before our time,

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2007-10-29
Summary: "Disappointed..."

..that it wasn't 500 pages longer! What a fun read about often tragic stories. I haven't lived in Fresno all that long, so ALL of these stories were new to me. I am a history and a crime buff, so this well written book was right up my alley. Now I need to take a Saturday and go on a self guided "ghoul tour" using this book as a sort of road map.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2007-01-10
Summary: "!!!!!FIVE STARS FOR MORRISON!!!!!"

This book is of interest to me because I live in the Corcoran, CA area and am impressed with the attention to detail given to these historical crimes. The pictures were superb for being as old as they are and the author worked very hard collecting all this data. I am a fan of mystery/crime novels and was enthralled all the more since it is a true account of actual happenings. Hats off to all who made this publication possible!!!

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2006-07-03
Summary: "Murder in the Garden a captivating hit."

Just one glimps at the cover, and a quick skim of the first few pages was enough to draw my family into this book. My wife and I read the book out loud, taking turns every few pages. This book has a little of everthing suspence, history, etc. I reguad this book as esential reading for anyone who lives in the central valley, and a must for lawenforcement.
jason

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2006-05-20
Summary: "Gasp! I cannot believe it! I was so close!"

I cannot begin to describe how much I enjoyed Scott Morrison's new book, "Murder in the Garden." Who would have guessed, when walking to school as a child near the corner of Cedar and Dakota Avenues, that a grizzly murder had occurred there. Or, riding down Gettysburg Avenue on a family outing passed the site of another murder. Living far away now so many years later, what fun it is to read of events that once shocked Fresno County citizens. Great reading! I hope more stories will follow.