Notorious 92: The Most Infamous Murders from Each of Indiana's 92 Counties

by Andrew E. Stoner

With almost one murder every day of the year in Indiana, violent crime is no stranger to the Hoosier state and has not escaped the heartland of America. And while Indiana is the nations sixteenth largest state by population, it has often stolen national headlines with astonishing crimes that defy imagination. It seems it always has been so. Notorious 92 looks back to crimes in each of the states 92 counties as old as the nineteenth century to reveal a side of the states history not taught in fourth grade history classes. Notorious 92 also considers the suffering and the resolve of Indiana families and communities in responding to ugly incidents in their midst that are sometimes just too incredible not to talk about. From marital and financial problems to substance abuse and racial hostilities, generations of Hoosiers are linked by not only the lands they inhabit, but by the demons they face. The newest edition of Notorious 92 offers updates about many of the more contemporary crimes, including the incredible story of a Decatur County woman who proved her innocence from behind bars, and has been set free.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History

512 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2007

Reviews

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a remarkably quick read for such a big book -- a whopping 500-page trade paperback. There's a little of everything in here. Officers killed in the line of duty, unsolved sex murders, stalking, domestic violence, killer kids, murder for profit, even a mob hit or so. More than one serial killing. I was entertained by the way the copyediting got worse and worse as the book went along, as if someone's dose of caffeine were wearing off. By far the most egregious error was leaving Spencer County's crime out entirely and putting a duplicate of Sullivan County's crime in its place. Overall, though, this one was well written and well presented, with a bibliography after each chapter. This is not the book for you if you want in-depth analysis of each case, but if you're looking for many fascinating stories in one place, be sure to read this one.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sick & gross, & I loved it! This author is a Franklin College alumnus, & that makes it even better!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book ... i need to own it for myself, as i borrowed it from the library. i want to explore each of these locations ... it makes me wonder if EVERY state has a book like this!

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notorious 92: Indiana's Most Heinous Murders in All 92 Counties was a pretty fascinating read. Although some of these crimes were really hard to read about. The brutal and heartless ways a person(s) can treat another human being is almost unfathomable. The crimes were committed from the 1800's-2000's. It is sad to think about, but more heinous crimes have taken place since this was published. It was a quick sneak peak into true crime in the Hoosier state one county at a time.

[Mary Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book would be more historical crime but was mostly crimes from the 80's & 90's. The cases were sorted by counties which means nothing to me since I am not from Indiana. Also NO PICTURES! That being said it is well written and interesting for what it is, just plain old true crime.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not particularly well-written (it could have used another round or two of editing for blatant errors like indicating that a county was in a town and inexplicably having two chapters for Morgan County, not to mention just some overall flow improvement), it proved to have a balanced mix of historical and contemporary crimes. It serves better as more of an encyclopedia rather than a book to read straight through, and I feel like providing context for each county would have made some of author's choices for which crimes to feature more compelling. After the 3rd or 4th 1930s era robbery-turned murder, you start to wonder if he just finds those interesting or if perhaps there just haven't been any other murders in some of these very rural communities and so it's all that's available to discuss.

As an aside, it's worth noting that Kristi Bunch (Decatur County) has been exonerated since the time of publication. Her story was featured on the Actual Innocence podcast, for those interested in learning more.

[Asilef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Misspellings and bad grammar galore! Which all seemed to get worse as the book went on. I've read a handful of true crime books in the past 2 months & they've all been like that. Why?

The book itself was pretty interesting, and each story was well written (aside from, you know). It was heart wrenching reading about parents brutally killing their children. Probably why I took an entire month to finish.
I was surprised to see what Putnam's most notorious crime was. That happened just a few miles from my house when I was 7. I can still remember huddling in a circle in my aunt's backyard with some other kids, whispering to each other about it. None of the adults would tell us what happened. I guess it's good(? probably not the best descriptor) to finally know the real story.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each of the short (well-sourced) snippets of Indiana murder in this book are entertaining. I would like to know the author's reasoning behind why he chose certain cases. Take for instance Knox County; the case Mr. Stoner chose is rarely, if ever talked about anymore. There are other murders that still run the gossip wheels.
As other reviewers have mentioned, there are grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, tense mistakes, time mistakes and name mistakes. While middling in its current state, the book could have been great with a better editor. Some of the errors cause a need to reread and that can take away from the immersion in an otherwise juicy story.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book!! I could put it down!

[Lindsay Orberson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. Didn't read much of it and returned it.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn't read too many of these in a row. Shudder. However, this book was interesting. Gruesome, but interesting.

[Rachael]

I made it a little over half-way through this one. There were some typos, but it's the research that bothered me the most. Almost all of the research seems to come from newspapers - which are unsourced. Some chapters referenced a single article. While it makes for short, quick-read chapters, it made the stories flat.

[Donna Humble · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. Each case was presented quick and factual. Living in Indiana, I had heard of several of the cases but, was not aware of all the facts or final outcome of the trials. This was a very interesting book.

[Denise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written. Poorly edited. Spencer County story missing replaced by Sullivan County. You can have the pleasure of rereading it in the Sullivan County section.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would love to see another book, with other cases!

[Jamie Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my normal read, but it was pretty interesting

[Pati Wenzel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool idea wish the stories were more current....

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hoosier murders county by county.
An ok book but the Author didn't need to dig so far back into the past when he could have covered the more recent murders in Indiana.