A bumbling revenge plot turns sour
Monday, Jul. 28 2008 @ 4:41PM
Tireless true crime scribe M. William Phelps has let me know that he's got a new book in the works, and if you're into historic true crime like I am, you might want to mark your calendar now.
Phelps's new book is tentatively titled, Thunder of Heaven: The True Story of Money, Murder, & Disaster in the Progressive Era. It tells the story of Amy Archer-Gilligan, a serial killer at large between 1906 and 1913. Matt Phelps will explore Archer's efforts to establish the first elder home health care business, her killing spree, trials, and how a legendary heat wave played a major role in Archer's one-woman crime wave.
Phelps says that even if they know about Amy Archer's crimes, most people don't know that "at the peak of Amy Archer’s serial killing, between July 1 and July 11, 1911, a heatwave moves into New England and begins killing people at an unprecedented rate—some 2,000 lives." As a result, says Phelps, "you have two silent killers working simultaneously, side-by-side. The heat wave makes for a compelling canvass to tell Amy’s more complete story, not to mention the innovation and turmoil surrounding the Progressive Era itself."
Thunder of Heaven is slated to hit bookstores in the Spring of 2010.
On the Web: CrimeRant.com -- funny and topical true crime blog run by Phelps and author Gregg Olsen. Crime Rant is no longer being updated by the authors, but a good read if you trawl through the archives. See also -- M. William Phelps's books on Amazon.com.
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