Thomas Wolf

Patricia L. Bryan

A detailed account of a crime that has haunted one Iowa town for more than a century describes the 1900 ax murder of John Hossack, a cruel and unstable man; the arrest, trial, and conviction of his wife, Margaret; her account of an intruder who broke into the house and killed her husband; and her eventual release on appeal.

A Murder in America's Heartland

Midnight Assassin

On a moonlit night in 1889, Iowa farmer John Elkins and his young wife, Hattie, were brutally murdered in their bed. Eight days later, their son, eleven-year-old Wesley Elkins, was arrested and charged with murder. Accessible and fast-moving, The Plea delivers a complete, complex, and nuanced narrative of this horrific crime, while shedding light on the legal, social, and political environment of Iowa and the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The True Story of Young Wesley Elkins and His Struggle for Redemption

The Plea

Depicts the murder of Iowa farmer John Hossack in 1900 and the subsequent trial of his wife who was accused and found guilty of the crime and sentenced to life in prison before being released.

Patricia L. Bryan

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