Texas Crime Stories: Vol 1 Riding Herd On The Lawless

Riggs, Robert

ISBN 10: 1967033013 / ISBN 13: 9781967033010

Published by True Crime Reporter, 2025

About this Item

The item is very worn but is perfectly usable. Signs of wear can include aesthetic issues such as scratches, dents, worn and creased covers, folded page corners and minor liquid stains. All pages and the cover are intact, but the dust cover may be missing. Pages may include moderate to heavy amount of notes and highlighting, but the text is not obscured or unreadable. Page edges may have foxing age related spots and browning . May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.

Seller Inventory # BVV.1967033013.A

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Texas Crime Stories: Vol 1 Riding Herd On The Lawless
• Publisher: True Crime Reporter
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1967033013
• ISBN 13: 9781967033010
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: acceptable

About this title

Synopsis

This blood-chilling true-crime anthology peels back the curtain on some of Texas’s most disturbing and unforgettable criminal cases. From cold-blooded murder to unspeakable betrayal, each story dives deep into the hearts of both victims and perpetrators, unearthing the truths buried beneath public headlines and official accounts.

The book opens with “The Bible Thumping Dark Angel,” an unsettling account of Baptist minister Matt Baker, a man of God whose charm and community standing masked a sinister capacity for deception and murder. Through relentless investigation and damning testimony, Baker is revealed not as a grieving widower but a calculating killer who drugged and smothered his wife, perhaps even responsible for his own daughter’s death years earlier.

From there, the narrative descends into the grotesque with “The Malevolent Mommy,” the decades-spanning case of Annie Laurie Williams, a seemingly ordinary 1950s mother who committed one of Texas’ most grisly crimes—murdering and dismembering her two young sons. The story follows her through arrest, conviction, prison escape, and eventual capture, weaving in rare interviews and haunting community memories that linger long after her death.

Subsequent chapters continue to unearth the unexpected, such as “Dialing From Death Row,” where a serial killer uses a smuggled cell phone to threaten a powerful Texas senator, exposing shocking lapses in prison security. Each case is told with journalistic precision, blending firsthand accounts, investigative breakthroughs, and psychological insight to reveal not just what happened, but why.

“Texas Crime Stories” by Peabody Award-winning investigative reporter is more than a compilation of murders and violence—it’s a deep dive into the complex intersection of human depravity, law enforcement tenacity, and the fragile line between good and evil. These stories remind us that in Texas, the truth is often stranger—and far darker—than fiction.