New York Times Bestseller: The "fascinating" true story of John
Dale Cavaness, a much-admired Illinois doctor--and the cold-blooded
killer of his own son (The Washington Post).
Fusing the narrative power of an award-winning novelist and the detailed
research of an experienced investigator, author Darcy O'Brien unfolds
the story of Dr. John Dale Cavaness, the southern Illinois physician and
surgeon charged with the murder of his son Sean in December 1984.
Outraged by the arrest of the skilled medical practitioner who
selflessly attended to their needs, the people of Little Egypt, as the
natives call their region, rose to his defense.
But during the subsequent trial, a radically different, disquieting
portrait of Dr. Cavaness would emerge. Throughout the three decades that
he enjoyed the admiration and respect of his community, Cavaness was
privately terrorizing his family, abusing his employees, and making
disastrous financial investments. As more and more grisly details of the
Cavaness case come to stark Midwestern light in O'Brien's chilling
account, so too does the hidden gothic underside of rural America and
its heritage of violence and blood.
"A meticulous account . . . An implicit indictment of a culture that
condones and encourages violent behavior in men." --The New York Times
Book Review
"A fascinating story, and Darcy O'Brien does a great job of structuring
it for suspense." --The Washington Post
"Riveting."--Publishers Weekly
"A terrifying story of family violence and the community that honored
the perpetrator." --Kirkus Reviews
"Stunning material . . . Handled with justice and fastidiousness by a
natural storyteller." --Seamus Heaney, winner of the Nobel Prize
