Murder at Midnight: The FBI's battle with violence and drugs in a small Southern town.

by Jerry Spurgers, Erin Wood (Editor), Bart Dickinson (Contributor)

For two years, silence shrouded the vanishing of a woman from the small Southern town of Malvern, Arkansas. Now, the mysterious disappearance and the suppression of the truth are cracked open by the FBI Agent who worked this case of drug conspiracy, witness intimidation, and murder from start to finish. Murder at Midnight is the true story of how the Agent and a team of local officers, sheriff deputies, and a Federal analyst combined traditional police work with new technologies to unravel the circumstances of Susan Cooper’s fate. Beyond sharing the facts from the case file, it offers insight into the thought processes of the victim and those responsible for her disappearance from a veteran investigator’s perspective, and it gives readers a better understanding of the dedication and effort required of law enforcement officers to uncover the truth.

307 pages, Paperback

Published June 5, 2025

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder at Midnight was a fascinating read with up close detail of a drug-related murder in a small town and the ensuing multi-year investigation/prosecution of those responsible. I appreciated all the details broken down so they were easily understandable. Highly recommend if you enjoy true crime, and I hope Mr. Spurgers will come out with a book on one of his many other cases that he worked on during his time with the FBI.

[Lori Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was based on a murder that happened in my hometown, so of course I had to read it!! The retired FBI agent and author wrote this book very well. I don't remember a lot of hearing about the case, but I really enjoyed how the author wrote this book! I finished it in under 8 hours it was so well written.

[Sunni Costello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great true crime read! The investigation took place in my hometown so it was fascinating to read about several locations I was familiar with. Jerry does a great job immersing the reader in the story, building empathy for the victim, and laying out the investigative process. I devoured this book and can’t wait to read more future books!