<div>The New York Times&ndash;bestselling author of Bitter Blood weaves &ldquo;a powerful account&rdquo; of greed that led to an unspeakable crime (The New York Times Book Review). As they slept in their North Carolina home, wealthy Lieth Von Stein and his wife Bonnie suffered a vicious assault with a knife and a baseball bat. Bonnie barely survived. Lieth did not. The crime seemed totally baffling until police followed a trail that led to the charming stepson, Chris Pritchard, and his brilliant, drug-using, Dungeons and Dragons&ndash;playing friends at North Carolina State University. &ldquo;Haunting . . . Addictive, chilling and a masterpiece of reportage,&rdquo; Blood Games is the true story of depraved young minds and a son&rsquo;s gruesome greed turned to horrifyingly tragedy (Patricia Cornwell). Jerry Bledsoe masterfully reconstructs the bloody crime and its aftermath as he takes us into the secret twisted hearts of three young murderers. &ldquo;Mr. Bledsoe goes straight to the bigger issues.&rdquo; &mdash;The New York Times Book Review &ldquo;In Mr. Bledsoe&rsquo;s hands, a mega-load of inert facts becomes a human story of hurricane force.&rdquo; &mdash;The News &amp; Observer &ldquo;Devastating . . . A brilliant account.&rdquo; &mdash;Publishers Weekly</div>

Blood Games

<div>New York Times&ndash;bestselling author: &ldquo;In the art of true-crime reportage, Jerry Bledsoe is the best in the country . . . Before He Wakes has the suspense of a novel&rdquo; (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Barbara Stager was known as a devoted mother, loving wife, and dedicated church leader in her Durham, North Carolina, community. When she &ldquo;accidentally&rdquo; shot her husband, popular high school coach, Russ, the police were inclined to believe her&mdash;until they learned that ten years earlier, her first husband had died in a strangely similar way. Sgt. Rick Buchanan&rsquo;s relentless investigation into Stager&rsquo;s life revealed a stunning vortex of compulsive lying, obsessive spending, and sexual promiscuity. With every new discovery, more of Barbara&rsquo;s impeccable image unraveled. But the greatest shock&mdash;a damning piece of evidence Russ Stager left behind&mdash;revealed the nightmare truth about Barbara. With &ldquo;the fine-toothed-comb reporting of [an] ace crime journalist,&rdquo; this book takes us deep into a spellbinding case of double life, lethal lust, and almost perfect murder (Kirkus Reviews). &ldquo;A shocking and well-written portrait of a dangerous woman.&rdquo; &mdash;The New York Times &ldquo;Mesmerizing.&rdquo; &mdash;Ann Rule, New York Times&ndash;bestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me &ldquo;This account of manipulation, compulsive spending, lying, promiscuity, and murder is made even more chilling by the fact that appearances are often deceiving.&rdquo; &mdash;Library Journal &ldquo;A profile of evil . . . Fascinating.&rdquo; &mdash;The Baltimore Sun &ldquo;Jerry Bledsoe is the master of true crime, the conclusion to what Truman Capote began. . . . Another stunning success.&rdquo; &mdash;Patricia Cornwell, New York Times&ndash;bestselling author of Chaos</div>

Before He Wakes

<div>The &ldquo;riveting&rdquo; #1 New York Times bestseller: A true story of three wealthy families and the unbreakable ties of blood (Kirkus Reviews). The first bodies found were those of a feisty millionaire widow and her daughter in their posh Louisville, Kentucky, home. Months later, another wealthy widow and her prominent son and daughter-in-law were found savagely slain in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Mystified police first suspected a professional in the bizarre gangland-style killings that shattered the quiet tranquility of two well-to-do southern communities. But soon a suspicion grew that turned their focus to family. The Sharps. The Newsoms. The Lynches. The only link between the three families was a beautiful, aristocratic young mother named Susie Sharp Newsom Lynch. Could this former child &ldquo;princess&rdquo; and fraternity sweetheart have committed such barbarous crimes? And what about her gun-loving first cousin and lover, Fritz Klenner, son of a nationally renowned doctor? In this tale of three families connected by marriage and murder, of obsessive love and bitter custody battles, Jerry Bledsoe recounts the shocking events that ultimately took nine lives, building to a truly horrifying climax that will leave you stunned. &ldquo;Recreates . . . one of the most shocking crimes of recent years.&rdquo; &mdash;Publishers Weekly &ldquo;Absorbing suspense.&rdquo; &mdash;Chicago Tribune &ldquo;Astonishing . . . Brilliantly chronicled.&rdquo; &mdash;Detroit Free Press &ldquo;An engrossing southern gothic sure to delight fans of the true-crime genre. Bledsoe maintains the suspense with a sure hand.&rdquo; &mdash;The Charlotte Observer</div>

Bitter Blood

<div>In this &ldquo;true story that reads like a novel,&rdquo; the #1 New York Times&ndash;bestselling author reveals the facts behind a notorious Southern murder case (Library Journal). When North Carolina farmer Stuart Taylor died after a sudden illness, his forty-six-year-old fianc&eacute;e, Velma Barfield, was overcome with grief. Taylor&rsquo;s family grieved with her&mdash;until the autopsy revealed traces of arsenic poisoning. Turned over to the authorities by her own son, Velma stunned her family with more revelations. This wasn&rsquo;t the first time she had committed cold-blooded murder, and she would eventually be tried by the &ldquo;world&rsquo;s deadliest prosecutor&rdquo; and sentenced to death. This book probes Velma&rsquo;s stark descent into madness, her prescription drug addiction, and her effort to turn her life around through Christianity. From her harrowing childhood to the crimes that incited a national debate over the death penalty, to the final moments of her execution, Velma Barfield&rsquo;s life of crime and punishment, revenge and redemption, this is crime reporting at its most gripping and profound. &ldquo;A painfully intimate, moving story about the life and death of the only woman executed in the U.S. between 1962&ndash;1998 . . . With graceful writing and thorough reporting, it makes the reader look hard at something dark and sad in the human soul . . . Breathes new life into the true crime genre.&rdquo; &mdash;The News &amp; Observer &ldquo;Undertakes to answer the questions about the justice system and the motives that drive women to kill.&rdquo; &mdash;The Washington Post Book World &ldquo;An extraordinary piece of writing . . . The most chilling description of a legal execution that we are ever likely to get.&rdquo; &mdash;Citizen-Times &ldquo;Taut and engrossing on the nature of justice and the death penalty as well as on guilt and responsibility.&rdquo; &mdash;Booklist</div>

Jerry Bledsoe
Follow this author

Books By Jerry Bledsoe (4 Books)

Blood Games

Before He Wakes

Bitter Blood

Death Sentence

Get weekly updates and deals from Early Bird Books

More from

Corporate

© 2024 OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED MEDIA

Jerry BledsoeFollow this author

Books By Jerry Bledsoe (4 Books)

Blood Games

Before He Wakes

Bitter Blood

Death Sentence

RELATED POSTS ABOUT JERRY BLEDSOE

Get weekly updates and deals from Early Bird Books

More from

Corporate

© 2024 OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED MEDIA

Jerry Bledsoe
Follow this author