On the Pages: Stories Set In and Around the MKY
There’s something about fall that makes familiar places feel a little different. As the days grow shorter and cooler, we’ve put together a list of mystery and true crime books set in Murray and the surrounding county. These stories are rooted in places we recognize, from our own streets and neighborhoods to the wider community we call home.
All of the publications listed below are available to borrow from the Calloway County Public Library.
Murder, Mystery and Mayhem
True Blue Mystery Series, Susan Page Davis
This series is set in Murray, Kentucky, following Campbell McBride as she gets drawn into intriguing cases alongside her father, while the familiar streets, businesses, and small-town atmosphere of Murray become part of the story. Beginning with Blue Plate Special and continuing with Ice Cold Blue, Persian Blue Puzzle, Scream Blue Murder and True Blue Christmas, the books blend murder, family, investigation and plenty of Murray flavor.
About the author: Davis is currently living in western Kentucky with her husband.
Blood River Witch, T.J. Martinson
Set on the Blood River, a Sheriff’s Deputy investigates the death of her ex-fiancé, whose brutal occultist murder strongly resembles a similar murder decades ago, for readers of Tana French, Gillian Flynn, Megan Abbott, and fans of True Detective. Deputy Sheriff Alicia Moore is thrust into the center of a chilling murder investigation when she discovers a victim identifiable only by his hauntingly familiar tattoo, her name inked onto the knuckles of her ex-fiancé, Jake.
Years earlier, Alicia’s father, the then-Sheriff, had arrested a teenage occultist for a nearly identical murder, believed to be driven by the suspect’s worship of demonic entities. Now, with Jake’s murder mirroring that past crime, doubts arise about whether the true culprit was ever caught.
The mystery deepens with the arrival of Lucas Masterson, a Criminology PhD student studying the confluence between religious trauma and occult crime, who is eager to lend his expertise to the investigation. As Lucas delves into the case, his profound knowledge of the town’s grim history and his outsider perspective strain the local social fabric, while Alicia grapples with her suspicion towards his unsettling familiarity with the crimes. Caught between her strained relationship with her father, the community’s watchful eyes on a female deputy, and her own harrowing ties to the case,
Alicia must navigate a maze of potential occultists, convicts, corrupt officials, and clergy to prevent a gruesome history from repeating itself once again.
For what lies at the heart of Blood River – is it an ancient malicious force seeking to harm the town folk, or is there a deeper prejudice in a town that continues to punish women in a way that it does not punish the men?
About the author: Martinson is currently living in Murray and is an Assistant Professor of English & Creative Writing at Murray State University.
The Burgers Brother Series, Clayton Tune
The Burgers Brothers’ Family Funeral Home
The Burgers Brothers' Family Funeral Home is dying and Donnie Burgers wants out. When Donnie expresses his desire to sell the company, he expects the passionate resistance he receives from his younger brother, Frank. What he didn't expect from his brother was the dirt covered, bulky trash bag now hiding on his closet floor. Convincing Frank to close the home won't be as easy as Donnie imagined. When a local, stuttering cop begins asking questions about a recent grave robbery, Donnie realizes his brother's plan to save the family business is disturbing more than just their relationship.
For a competitive price, Donnie and Frank Burgers’ Funeral Home will help bury your loved ones. For the right price, Frank Burgers will dig them back up. This scheme brings in extra money for the home but lands Frank in a morbid mess. Picking up where The Burgers Brothers’ Family Funeral Home left off, Frank discovers an anonymous package left at his front door. Inside is damning evidence of his lucrative grave robbing. The person who left the package blackmails Frank into recovering a bizarre object from a teenager’s coffin, setting off an amateur investigation that will lead Frank and his friends to unearth a disturbing case and an even more menacing secret.
Faced with a witness to his crimes, unexpected expenses for the family business, and the unrelenting curiosity of a small-town police officer, Frank must decide how far he’s willing to go to save the Home, and himself. And if he doesn’t listen to the peculiar warnings of a few locals, digging up too much history may bury him.
About the Author: Tune is a graduate from Murray State University and currently lives in Washington, D.C.
True Crime
A Distant Light: Kentucky’s Journey Toward Racial Justice, Bill Cunningham
Judge Bill Cunningham exposes racial injustices from Kentucky's bloody past. By the example of courageous leaders, Governors A.O. Stanley and Ned Breathitt, the dark days of lynching and murders give way to a brighter future for all Kentuckians, regardless of color. This is a true story of murder in Calloway County and a daring, quick-thinking Governor Stanley, armed only with his eloquence, who confronts an enraged mob. A Distant Light is important because it helps us understand the struggles, injustices, and progress that have shaped our history. Remembering this history allows us to honor those who fought for change and ensures that the lessons of the past are not forgotten.
About the Author: Retired Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Cunningham lives near Lake Barkley, Kentucky and currently spends time traveling to visit his children and grandchildren.
The Embrace: A True Vampire Story, Aphrodite Jones
The infamous story of the “vampire cult” that met in Land Between the Lakes, began escalating in illegal activities, eventually leading to murder is often referred to as local lore, but the facts of this case are terrifying true, as laid out in The Embrace. On November 25, 1996, in their home in the lakeside community of Eustis, Florida, Rick and Ruth Wendorf were savagely beaten to death with a tire iron. The Wendorfs' new Ford Explorer was stolen, but this was no routine robbery gone bad. This was a crime carried out by one Roderick Ferrell, a sixteen-year-old self-avowed Antichrist.
His human sacrifice was a testament to the unique and sinister bond of four brainwashed teens. Heather Wendorf was a straight "A" student, a petite blonde with wide-set brown eyes. Yet she had been heard to wish her parents "off the face of the planet." Heather never dreamed that when she joined her friends for a joyride one fall evening, her wish had already come true.
About the Author: Jones is an award-winning journalist, focused on true crime murders in jarring detail.
This is a selection of locally themed books and is not intended to be an exhaustive or definitive list. We’ve included these books based on the information available to us at the time of publication.
A special thank you to Sandy Linn, at the Calloway County Public Library and Assistant County Attorney David Perlow, for the assistance in research for this blog.
