Stolen Away (51 page)

A few other hooks deserve singling out:
Ransom Kidnapping in America, 1874–1974
(1978), Ernest Kahlar Alix;
Facts, Frauds, and Phantasms
(1972), Georgess McHargue;
Twelve Against Crime
(1950), Edward D. Radin;
Courtroom
(1950), Quentin Reynolds; and
The Snatch Racket
(1932), Edward Dean Sullivan.

And fedora tips to: Abdullah Balbed and the information staff of the Indonesian Embassy; Bosler Free Library, the Boyd F. Spahr Library, Dickinson College (especially Sue Norman and Steve Rehrer) and the Cumberland County Historical Society; all of Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Barbara Gill of the Historical Society of Berks County, Reading, Pennsylvania; the
New Jersey Journal,
Elizabeth, New Jersey; Elizabeth, New Jersey, Public Library; the Union County Historical Society, Elizabeth, New Jersey; the Reading, Pennsylvania, Public Library; and the Ezra Lehman Memorial Library, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.

When all the debts have been paid, or at least acknowledged, one remains: this book could not have been written without the love, help and support of my wife, Barbara Collins. And without trying at all, my son Nathan—who was six years old when this book was written—provided poignant inspiration.

Photo Credit: Bamford Studio

Max Allan Collins has earned fifteen Private Eye Writers of America “Shamus” nominations, winning for his Nathan Heller novels,
True Detective
and
Stolen Away
, and receiving the PWA life achievement award, the Eye. His graphic novel,
Road to Perdition
, which is the basis of the Academy Award-winning film starring Tom Hanks, was followed by two novels,
Road to Purgatory
and
Road to Paradise
. His suspense series include Quarry, Nolan, Mallory, and Eliot Ness, and his numerous comics credits include the syndicated
Dick Tracy
and his own
Ms. Tree
. He has written and directed four feature films and two documentaries. His other produced screenplays include “The Expert,” an HBO World Premiere. His coffee-table book
The History of Mystery
received nominations for every major mystery award and
Men’s Adventure Magazines
won the Anthony Award. Collins lives in Muscatine, Iowa, with his wife, writer Barbara Collins. They have collaborated on seven novels and numerous short stories, and are currently writing the “Trash ‘n’ Treasures” mysteries.