Historian Brooks Blevins examines a brutal 1929 murder and rape in the Arkansas Ozarks and demonstrates how press coverage of the ensuing trial has resulted in unfair generalizations about life in that corner of the Midwest.

A native of the Arkansas Ozarks, Blevins is the Noel Boyd Professor of Ozarks Studies at Missouri State University. His other books include Arkansas/Arkansaw: How Bear Hunters, Hillbillies, and Good Ol’ Boys Defined a State and Hill Folks: A History of Arkansas Ozarkers and Their Image.