Notorious 92: Indiana's Most Heinous Murders in All 92 Counties

by Andrew E. Stoner

With about 400 murders each year in Indiana, Hoosiers witness their share of human darkness. And, while many citizens might prefer to forget these unfortunate episodes, the seamy side of the state must not go unexamined. Notorious 92: Indiana's Most Heinous Murders In All 92 Counties examines the state's dark side, illustrating that the murderous venom of today has been present in Indiana for two centuries. From marital and financial problems to substance abuse and racial hostilities, generations of Hoosiers are linked by not only the lands they inhabit, but by the demons they face.

In Notorious 92 , Andrew E. Stoner recounts murders from each of Indiana's 92 counties. Among the eye-opening cases detailed in this volume


Notorious 92 makes clear that for Indiana to cure itself of society's ills, it first must be familiar with the motives and patterns of its citizens' violent tendencies.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History

505 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2007

Reviews

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a remarkably quick read for such a big book -- a whopping 500-page trade paperback. There's a little of everything in here. Officers killed in the line of duty, unsolved sex murders, stalking, domestic violence, killer kids, murder for profit, even a mob hit or so. More than one serial killing. I was entertained by the way the copyediting got worse and worse as the book went along, as if someone's dose of caffeine were wearing off. By far the most egregious error was leaving Spencer County's crime out entirely and putting a duplicate of Sullivan County's crime in its place. Overall, though, this one was well written and well presented, with a bibliography after each chapter. This is not the book for you if you want in-depth analysis of each case, but if you're looking for many fascinating stories in one place, be sure to read this one.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sick & gross, & I loved it! This author is a Franklin College alumnus, & that makes it even better!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book ... i need to own it for myself, as i borrowed it from the library. i want to explore each of these locations ... it makes me wonder if EVERY state has a book like this!

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notorious 92: Indiana's Most Heinous Murders in All 92 Counties was a pretty fascinating read. Although some of these crimes were really hard to read about. The brutal and heartless ways a person(s) can treat another human being is almost unfathomable. The crimes were committed from the 1800's-2000's. It is sad to think about, but more heinous crimes have taken place since this was published. It was a quick sneak peak into true crime in the Hoosier state one county at a time.

[Mary Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book would be more historical crime but was mostly crimes from the 80's & 90's. The cases were sorted by counties which means nothing to me since I am not from Indiana. Also NO PICTURES! That being said it is well written and interesting for what it is, just plain old true crime.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not particularly well-written (it could have used another round or two of editing for blatant errors like indicating that a county was in a town and inexplicably having two chapters for Morgan County, not to mention just some overall flow improvement), it proved to have a balanced mix of historical and contemporary crimes. It serves better as more of an encyclopedia rather than a book to read straight through, and I feel like providing context for each county would have made some of author's choices for which crimes to feature more compelling. After the 3rd or 4th 1930s era robbery-turned murder, you start to wonder if he just finds those interesting or if perhaps there just haven't been any other murders in some of these very rural communities and so it's all that's available to discuss.

As an aside, it's worth noting that Kristi Bunch (Decatur County) has been exonerated since the time of publication. Her story was featured on the Actual Innocence podcast, for those interested in learning more.

[Asilef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Misspellings and bad grammar galore! Which all seemed to get worse as the book went on. I've read a handful of true crime books in the past 2 months & they've all been like that. Why?

The book itself was pretty interesting, and each story was well written (aside from, you know). It was heart wrenching reading about parents brutally killing their children. Probably why I took an entire month to finish.
I was surprised to see what Putnam's most notorious crime was. That happened just a few miles from my house when I was 7. I can still remember huddling in a circle in my aunt's backyard with some other kids, whispering to each other about it. None of the adults would tell us what happened. I guess it's good(? probably not the best descriptor) to finally know the real story.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each of the short (well-sourced) snippets of Indiana murder in this book are entertaining. I would like to know the author's reasoning behind why he chose certain cases. Take for instance Knox County; the case Mr. Stoner chose is rarely, if ever talked about anymore. There are other murders that still run the gossip wheels.
As other reviewers have mentioned, there are grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, tense mistakes, time mistakes and name mistakes. While middling in its current state, the book could have been great with a better editor. Some of the errors cause a need to reread and that can take away from the immersion in an otherwise juicy story.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book!! I could put it down!

[Lindsay Orberson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. Didn't read much of it and returned it.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn't read too many of these in a row. Shudder. However, this book was interesting. Gruesome, but interesting.

[Donna Humble · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. Each case was presented quick and factual. Living in Indiana, I had heard of several of the cases but, was not aware of all the facts or final outcome of the trials. This was a very interesting book.

[Denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written. Poorly edited. Spencer County story missing replaced by Sullivan County. You can have the pleasure of rereading it in the Sullivan County section.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would love to see another book, with other cases!

[Jamie Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my normal read, but it was pretty interesting

[Pati Wenzel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool idea wish the stories were more current....

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hoosier murders county by county.
An ok book but the Author didn't need to dig so far back into the past when he could have covered the more recent murders in Indiana.