Early ReviewersAlfred Dockery

Uncover the dark secrets of the Blue Ridge Highlands! Dive into gripping tales of moonshine, murder, and manhunts that shaped Appalachian history. Buy your copy today and step into the wild WNC past!

Two authors with deep family roots in Madison and Buncombe Counties, retired Asheville Detective Sergeant R. Scott Lunsford and Editor Alfred Dockery, combined 30 years of law enforcement experience with 20 years of reporting, writing, and editing skills to bring these tales to life with accuracy and intensity.

You'll learn about:

Henry West, whose fate teetered on petitions sent by Asheville's elite and a governor more than a week's ride away.

Nancy Franklin, a Civil War heroine, who survived multiple tragedies, including the Shelton Laurel massacre, and remained defiant.

Lewis Redmond, Moonshine King of the Carolinas, his outlaw career punctuated by hair-breath escapes, shootouts, and audacious defiance of revenue laws made him a legend.

The racially charged Western North Carolina manhunts that ended the lives of Will Harris and Broadus Miller

The audacious Biltmore Estate book thefts discovered during the filming of a comedic mystery movie

Blue Ridge native, history enthusiast, or true crime fan? This book is a must-read that will keep you turning pages from start to finish!

From an innocent man sent to the gallows in 1808 to the execution of a ruthless and random killer in 2004, this book covers moonshine, murder, and mayhem in the Blue Ridge region of the Appalachian Highlands.

Discover the story of Nancy Franklin, a Civil War heroine who, despite multiple tragedies, including the Shelton Laurel massacre, remained defiant. Explore the stories of moonshine outlaws who would rather shoot it out than surrender, including the legendary Lewis Redmond, Moonshine King of the Carolinas. Learn about manhunts filled with racial tensions, murders, and shootouts as we examine the hunt for and killing of Will Harris and Broadus Miller.

Ride along with an interstate band of train robbers whose resourcefulness and daring rivaled or surpassed the outlaws of the old west. Delve into the audacious theft of rare books from the Biltmore Estate, a mystery uncovered while filming a comedic mystery film. All this and a murderous hermit, a murder trial that went off the rails, a fugitive who returned for trial 30 years after the crime, a life in liquor and blood, the last hanging in Madison County, a tale of clandestine railroad travel and brutal murder, a robbery where the money itself gave the bandits away, and the dangerous lure of freighthopping.