Dark history lives beneath Georgia’s southern charm. In this gripping work of Georgia true crime history, veteran journalist Neely Young investigates the Peach State’s most chilling stories of crime, corruption, racial violence, and injustice. Blending narrative journalism with deep historical research, this book reveals the hidden side of Georgia history―where power, prejudice, and profit often collided with law and conscience.
Travel to July 11, 1964, when U.S. Army reservist Colonel Lemuel Penn became the victim of a shocking Ku Klux Klan murder on the Broad River Bridge, an act of civil rights era racial terror that helped galvanize national outrage. Step back to 1873 and the violent world of Reconstruction-era Georgia, where a young Doc Holliday was linked to deadly clashes long before becoming the legendary gunfighter of Tombstone fame. Through stories of mob vigilantism, political corruption, backroom deals, lawmen, outlaws, and unsolved crimes, Young uncovers the events that shaped the state’s darker legacy.
Perfect for fans of Southern true crime, American crime history, and historical crime nonfiction, this book offers a compelling look at real crimes that influenced culture, justice, and memory. Readers interested in civil rights history, historical murders, and true crime books about the American South will find a powerful blend of investigative storytelling and historical insight.
From hidden archives to notorious crime scenes, these unforgettable accounts show how the echoes of Georgia’s violent past still resonate today.
Neely Young is a native of Cedartown, Georgia, a graduate of the University of Georgia and a proud journalist. In 1968, he joined his family-owned newspaper, The Valdosta Daily Times, worked in the photography department. After leaving Valdosta, he worked in various positions as both editor and publisher, for newspapers in Canton, Dalton, and Clayton County. In 1986, he became CEO of Morris Newspaper Corporation, which owned and ran forty newspapers in six states.
Three years later, he formed Southern Newspaper Company with Tom Cousins, building a chain of thirteen newspapers over nine years. In 1998, Southern Publishing was sold to Community Newspapers Holdings. The following year, Young, along with Cousins bought Georgia Trend Magazine, a publication with a circulation of fifty thousand that has become the states’s go-to source for business, political and development information. Young served as the magazine’s publisher and editor-in-chief for eighteen years until his retirement in 2017.
Young served as a curator for the Georgia Historical Society and wrote often about historical figures in his columns for Georgia Trend Magazine. In 2021, he wrote “Georgia Made” a book containing individual profiles of the most influential Georgians in the 20th Century. For writing the book, he was nominated for the Georgia Author of the Year. This second book about “Notorious Georgia,” is a series of profiles of of evil men, women and institutions and the people who brought them to justice.
