American Detective

The sole survivor of his family’s gruesome murder years earlier, poor little Ned Lawton has struggled to put the dark events behind him. So, when a brash New York detective darkens his doorway demanding an interview, the wealthy young gentleman immediately shuts him out. But a rash of murders in America are mirroring of the London killings, and Patrick Kelly knows Ned might be the key to stopping the bloodshed.

From the Roaring '20s to the 1970s, detectives reigned supreme in police departments across the country. In this tightly woven slice of true crime reportage, Thomas A. Reppetto offers a behind-the-scenes look into some of the most notable investigations to occur during the golden age of the detective in American criminal justice.

After years of cowboying, Charles A. Siringo settled down in Caldwell, Kansas to run a store—until an acquaintance told him that he was "cut out" for detective work. Thereupon, Siringo joined the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, where he worked for more than twenty years. A Cowboy Detective chronicles Siringo's adventures as an undercover operative in the wilder parts of the West, where he rode with the lawless and escaped violent death more than a few times.