Hell's Half Acre

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A suspense filled tale of murder on the American frontiershedding new light on a family of serial killers in Kansas, whose horrifying crimes gripped the attention of a nation still reeling from war.

'A carefully researched and horribly compelling examination of unimaginable evil intruding upon everyday life'The Observer

In 1873 the people of Labette County, Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried by a trailside cabin beneath an orchard of young apple trees were the remains of countless bodies. Below the cabin itself was a cellar stained with blood. The Benders, the family of four who once resided on the property were nowhere to be found. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for decades, sparking an epic manhunt for the Benders.

The idea that a family of seemingly respectable homesteadersone among the thousands relocating farther west in search of land and opportunity after the Civil Warwere capable of operating "a human slaughter pen" appalled and fascinated the nation. But who the Benders really were, why they committed such a vicious killing spree and whether justice ever caught up to them is a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. Set against the backdrop of postbellum America,Hells Half-Acreexplores the environment capable of allowing such horrors to take place. Drawing on extensive original archival material, Susan Jonusas introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters, many of whom have been previously missing from the story. Among them are the families of the victims, the hapless detectives who lost the trail, and the fugitives that helped the murderers escape.

Hells Half-Acreis a journey into the turbulent heart of nineteenth century America, a place where modernity stalks across the landscape, violently displacing existing populations and building new ones. It is a world where folklore can quickly become fact and an entire family of criminals can slip through a communitys fingers, only to reappear in the most unexpected of places.

Dark and bloody, hard-nosed but lyrical,Hells Half-Acreis a true-crime mass-murder mystery from the Old West. Susan Jonusas has stripped down a notorious story, researched it to hell and back, and rebuilt in prose so immediate and immersive that it feels like she must have been there. Beware the Benders, but all hail Susan Jonusas. This is a stunning debut from a great and powerful new voice in narrative non-fiction.DanJones, Sunday Timesbestselling author ofThe Templars,The Plantagenets and Blood and Thrones

Author Bio

Susan Jonusasattended the University of St Andrews and holds a Masters in Science, Technology and Medicine in History from Kings College London. During her Masters she focused on the intersection between crime and technology in the 19th Century. She was a bookseller, but now spends her free time on the archery range. This is her first book.