MWSA Review

Every small town has a story worth telling. Intriguing events, colorful characters, and bizarre circumstances all combine to tell those collective stories. Milledgeville, Georgia, has Marion Stembridge, and the story of the murders he committed in 1953 (and these were not Stembridge's only killings!). Susan Lindsley has told this story, and described the cast of characters behind it, in clever detail, drawing on court records, family biographies, and first-person accounts. It has some of the elements of Erik Larson's Devil in the White City by combining a big-picture view of events that whirled around the horrible crimes committed by Stembridge. A good read for anyone interested in true crime and an insight into mid-20th century America.

Review by Frank Biggio (February 2024)
 

Author's Synopsis

His home town of Milledgeville planned celebrations for its 150th birthday, Marion Stembridge planned revenge against those he though had betrayed him. He should have been in state prison, but ole-timey Southern hanky-panky in a nearby courthouse overruled even the U. Supreme Court decisions. On May 2, 1953, he acted and killed his own attorney who defended him in his first murder trial, and also killed the attorney who was representing his wife in her divorce case. Susan Lindsley’s book reveals forgotten details of his life and actions and clarifies the many misconceptions and rumors that have spread through the years. The cover is the only known photograph of Stembridge, taken when he was a student at the local Georgia Military College’s high school; the photograph was discovered shortly before the book was published.

Stories still persist in Milledgeville that his ghost inhabited his last residence and the basement of his store building.

Format(s) for review: Paper and Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 241

Word Count: 84,978