Murderers' Row Volume One: A Collection of True Crime Stories

by M. William Phelps

True stories from the files of an award-winning journalist and New York Times–bestselling “One of America’s finest true-crime writers” (Vincent Bugliosi).   Someone tries to pin a gruesome murder on a horse. Infamous serial killer Son of Sam shows us his true evil nature in a series of lost letters this psychopath never wanted you to see. Sesame Street’s Big Bird comes home to find a dead woman on his estate. These shocking stories and several others are collected in one volume for the first time, with added updates from the author.   One story involves a young man who believes he’s figured out the perfect way to commit a murder after binge-watching Forensic Files. In this opening tale, a Massachusetts man is stalked by a hired killer because of the information he holds in the case of insurance scam gone bad, resulting in savage murder. Next up is the story of a restaurant owner and her husband, enjoying a tranquil life in the Berkshires, until a bloody trail inside a barn leads to a gruesome discovery and a family’s deepest, darkest secrets are exposed.   As a bonus, Phelps takes readers behind the scenes of his hit Investigation Discovery series Dark Minds, revealing his investigative secrets with an intimate look at those serial-killer cold cases that still haunt Phelps today—and meets with forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee in a narrative interview that reveals Lee’s ingenious and humorous take on life, his crime-scene philosophy, and the ways in which he deals with the brutality of the work he does.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, True Story

290 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 21, 2020

About the author

Crime, murder and serial killer expert, creator/producer/writer and former host of the Investigation Discovery series DARK MINDS, acclaimed, award-winning investigative journalist M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 30 books and winner of the 2013 Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award and the 2008 New England Book Festival Award. A highly sought-after pundit, Phelps has made over 100 media-related television appearances: Early Show, The Today Show, The View, Fox & Friends, truTV, Discovery Channel, Fox News Channel, Good Morning America, TLC, BIO, History, Oxygen, OWN, on top of over 100 additional media appearances: USA Radio Network, Catholic Radio, Mancow, Wall Street Journal Radio, Zac Daniel, Ave Maria Radio, Catholic Channel, EWTN Radio, ABC News Radio, and many more.

Phelps is also a member of the Multidisciplinary Collaborative on Sexual Crime and Violence (MCSCV), also known as the Atypical Homicide Research Group (AHRG) at Northeastern University, maintained by NU alumni Enzo Yaksic.

Phelps is one of the regular and recurring experts frequently appearing on two long-running series, Deadly Women and Snapped. Radio America calls Phelps “the nation’s leading authority on the mind of the female murderer,” and TV Rage says, “M. William Phelps dares to tread where few others will: into the mind of a killer.” A respected journalist, beyond his book writing Phelps has written for numerous publications—including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Courant—and consulted on the first season of the hit Showtime cable television series Dexter.

Phelps grew up in East Hartford, CT, moved to Vernon, CT, at age 12, where he lived for 25 years. He now lives in a reclusive Connecticut farming community north of Hartford.

Beyond crime, Phelps has also written several history books, including the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling NATHAN HALE: The Life and Death of America’s First Spy, THE DEVIL’S ROOMING HOUSE, THE DEVIL’S RIGHT HAND, MURDER, NEW ENGLAND, and more.

Reviews

[Valerity (Val) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of baddies by M. William Phelps and went through it in good time. Some of it was familiar from reading prior books, well-remembered cases that still deliver shivers after years have passed. A good mix of 6 stories, part remembered and part that were new-to-me crimes to dig into. There was some new information, and I always like hearing more later on about a story I've read. The only bad thing is that it made me want to go back and read his books all over again. That would be great, but my TBR stacks both real and electronic already stretch into my next lifetime.

[Koren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories. Some you may have heard of before this. Phelps' usual fair is long and detailed so if you are just in the mood for something quick, these stories were all interesting.

[Bettye McKee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fresh material for this true crime fan.

This extraordinary book is what it claims to be: a collection of true crime cases. All of it was new ground for me and very enjoyable reading. It kept me returning to Google names and cases, searching for photos of victims and perpetrators and information about final outcomes.

If I had proofread this book, I would have made at least 41 corrections.

[Mkittysamom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight from author!

Also interview with Dr Lee! It was really great to hear the authors opinion and in his own voice since I haven’t watched his shows on tv. All great stories!

[Gia Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

I Want to read another Phelps book. Good choice of cases I hadn't heard before this book. Havent seen the TV show yet

[Darth Jader · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a pretty decent collection of true crime stories by noted author M. William Phelps. I really enjoyed the stories included about the behind the scenes of his show Dark minds, it was really fascinating to get insights into a serial killer's mind through his letters and details about how hard it is to solve multiple murders in a seedy part of Atlantic City known for its crime, gangs, prostitution, and drug use. I also enjoyed the final story about interviewing Dr. Henry Lee one of the most respected forensic and crime scene scientists in the US. I do wish the interview had been a little longer though, as there were only about 15 total pages for the story with most of it being about his background and a couple famous cases he was involved with. To call this an exclusive interview is like calling a short segment on any popular daytime show with someone notable who gives a couple quotes an "exclusive" interview. The rest of the stories were okay and were mostly run of the mill true crime case synopses. The story about finding the lost Son of Sam letters was interesting, but I felt is lacked substance as only excerpts of the letter were included and the story focused just on these letters and not the other evidence that was provided to the author from a really kind family. There are two major reasons why this book gets two stars from me. Number One: You can tell that these are previously published stories that were just thrown together for the purpose of publishing a quick book for money. There are multiple spelling errors, editing errors (including comments from the editor that are just left in the book), and words or phrases missing from a passage or quote which makes it hard on the reader to figure out what is being said. You can tell that the author and publisher did not care about the quality of work put out in this book. The second reason is that the book felt really jumpy from one story to the next and did not really have a flow from story to story or an overall theme. Usually in a true crime collection like this, there is an overall theme or reasons why certain cases are included together, not just random stories thrown together in a quick cash grab.

[Lisa Millett · Rating 5 out of 5]

True crime thriller

Phelps has done it again. He has written another true crime masterpiece. In this book he discusses cases from his television show called Dark Minds. He gives excellent details and behind the scenes information on the filming of his show. I love his books and his show as well as the ID Channel. Highly recommend this book to all true crime readers.

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phelps brings interesting cases

This is a good collection of cases in one book. The most interesting part to me was the last one about Dr. Henry Lee and his forensic science experiences.

[Teresa A. Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non Stop Read!

I am a fan of Mr. Phelps way back to Snapped and Dark Minds. After reading this I can see why he is so passionate about true crime. He's an excellent writer and I can't wait to read his other true crime books!

[Rachel Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

i really enjoyed the personal perspective. will read more Phelps, i am sure. i recommend this to true crime fans.

[Zachary Deojay]

Big bird did not come home to find a body in his shed. Another property worker did. Big birds wasn't in the country at the time. Still a crazy story, especially for that man being my dad

[JJ C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written chapters on little-known or forgotten crimes. Recommend for true-crime buffs.

[Greg Bolton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty trashy, but fun enough. It's like if Dateline was a book.

[Lora Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Previously, I had a long drawn out review, because there were so many issues with this book I felt I had to point them all out individually. But now I's much rather cut to the chase. The first 3 stories were semi-interesting, but nowhere near riveting, as stated in the Amazon synopsis. Some facts were wrong, some were left out, and the number of editing errors was a mess. Several places Phelps - or maybe his editor - made a note for him to go back and fill in the blank, but never went back! Example: "...Troop D, which is what? An impound lot? Please identify for the reader." WOW.

Unfortunately, the rest of the book, which is from 37% on, is tedious as all get out to trudge through. The part about David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz and his barely there prison friendship with serial killer Gary Evans, was dull and could have been left out. The chapter about killer Ned Snelgrove was ridiculous and frustrating; Phelps says his job isn't to solve cases yet he acts as if he's out to prove how capable he would be as an investigator by slinging together real evidence with circumstantial. Exact same for the story on the Eastbound Strangler. It took me about a week to make it to 82% and by then I could take it no more. His hero worship of Dr. Henry Lee combined with poor storytelling and a story I didn't care about to begin with just ended it for me right there.

[Lillian Ochoa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

I really like the stories being written even though I had read some from other authors William just makes them more exciting. But the last being told about some other author like Shaw can't remember the name was hard to get in to. Otherwise I highly recommend this book

[Lori Heston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable

In a way, this my favorite book, so far atleast, of the books by Mr. Phelps that I've read, simply because the chapter on Dr. Henry Lee. He sounds as amazing as imagine him to be. The rest is Phelps usual highly readable, gritty and thorough treatment of examples cases.

[Maria T Donnigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good info

I enjoyed this book, Phelps is interesting. Several cases are reviewed, and I even decided to buy a couple of the books.

[Aimee Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I normally LOVE M. William Phelps' and while this wasn't a horrible read....it didn't capture me like his books normally do.

[Cheryl A. Breidigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was mediocre.

Could have better. Have read most of Mr Phelps books and this was not one of my favorites. Perfect Poison was first one I read and that one was so good I read it twice!