Are you a genuine crime buff? Do you know where Lizzie Borden kept her axe? Charles Manson's last address? You can test your crime savvy every Monday and win cool prizes!

CSQ#8: What happened here?

Post your answer at Ron's Author page on Facebook ... first correct answer scores a different prize every week!


ASKED AND ANSWERED! TINA LARSON of Covington WA got it right! This is 408 Division Street in Northfield MN, site of an abortive bank raid by the James-Younger gang on September 7, 1876. Jesse and Frank James joined with Cole, Bob and Jim Younger (and other gang members) to rob Northfield's First National Bank, but when a clerk refused to open the safe, he was shot ... and the town was alerted. In the ensuing gun battle, two townspeople and two robbers were killed, but the James and Younger boys got away ... for a while. Weeks later, the Youngers were captured but the James brothers were never caught. The bank building is now a museum that's been restored to its 1876 appearance. The Northfield Raid is depicted vividly in a 1980 film called "The Long Riders," which starred Stacy and James Keach as the James boys, and the Carradine brothers as the Youngers. (2/20/2012)


A new CSQ image is posted every Monday!
Post your answer at Ron's Facebook Author page. Be first & win big time!
HINT: Images not necessarily where a crime happened, and might be related to a fictional event/person.




This week's CSQ #8 winner TINA LARSON of Covington WA receives an autographed copy of Kevin Sullivan's encyclopedic THE BUNDY MURDERS, which covers every detail of serial killer Ted Bundy's bloody history.

Next week's winner will take home a signed edition of bestselling crime writer Burl Barer's riveting BROKEN DOLL. Every parent's worst nightmare come true!


Chase more ghosts with
Ron's CRIME BUFF'S GUIDE books!


[more reviews and excerpt]

The Crime Buff's Guide to the OUTLAW ROCKIES

Just like the popular CRIME BUFF'S GUIDE TO OUTLAW TEXAS, this quirky and fascinating travel book literally takes you to the scene of Rocky Mountain crimes with photos, maps, histories and GPS coordinates! From the Wild Bunch and Tom Horn to Columbine and Ted Bundy, OUTLAW ROCKIES promises to be a headlong romp through the criminal history in the heart of the Rockies.

"The Crime Buff's Guide to The Outlaw Rockies is a fascinating and macabre tour of crime locations and criminal acts where the body count is as high as the altitude. Readers will be reminded that the Wild West was really wild -- and that it still is. Ron Franscell is a thorough and unflinching guide. This book is hard to put down and voyeurs with GPS units should be both thrilled ... and weirded out at times."

—C.J. BOX
New York Times bestselling author of "Cold Wind"





[more reviews]

The Crime Buff's Guide to OUTLAW WASHINGTON DC

Coming from Globe Pequot Press in September 2012!

America's gleaming white capital has a dark underbelly. Now you can experience the seamy side of history with an expert guide as bestselling crime writer Ron Franscell continues his intriguing exploration of significant places in American crime history by going straight to the epicenter of "capital" crimes -- Washington DC!

"I can imagine legions of true crime fans with Franscell's book in hand standing in these places, contemplating in real life what the characters of history saw and experienced."

—STEVE JACKSON
Bestselling author of "Monster"





[more reviews and excerpt]

The Crime Buff's Guide to OUTLAW TEXAS

Texas rightfully claims a celebrated place in the "wildest" West of both myth and reality, but nobody has ever written a travel guide to the many sites related to the Lone Star State?s renowned outlaw past ... until now! Whether you're a day-tripper, a true-crime buff or a history traveler, OUTLAW TEXAS will be an indispensable guidebook for anybody who likes to stand where history happened! And it'll all be in one place with fabulously researched and well-organized accounts, photos, directions ? even GPS coordinates!

"The research in this book is simply amazing! Ron Franscell has basically re-mapped Texas, specifically pinpointing where all of our most notorious outlaws lived, performed their gruesome deeds, and died. On top of that, he's uncovered riveting stories about outlaws in far away corners of the state that very few us even knew about. For everyone interested in Texas' great outlaw past, this is an indispensable guide."

—SKIP HOLLANDSWORTH
Executive editor of Texas Monthly




Check out Ron's other books!


[Outlaw Texas]   [Delivered from Evil]   [Sourtoe]   [Outlaw Rockies]
   [The Darkest Night]   [Angel Fire]   [The Deadline]   [The Obituary]
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