Furnace Murder

The vicious murder of a frail, 85-year-old woman catapulted Sturgeon Bay, WI, into the national spotlight in 1948. The small town was unaccustomed to violent crime and unprepared for the media circus that followed. Justice was swift--the killer was captured, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison, all within twenty days. Still, mysteries surrounding the murder persist even today.

Furnace Murder unfolds through the eyes of 14-year-old Harvey Rowe, son of the local sheriff, who lived in the family's quarters in the county jail. Readers will be treated to an insider's view of small-town life, and crime, as only an impressionable adolescent sees it. The book also probes the tragic life of the victim--from her early days as resident of the town's most renown mansion to her brutal end. It is a tale of wealth and prominence, and the curse of death.