It's the Great Depression, when failed banks and businesses caused some to turn to crime. And though we may know names like John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, and Pretty Boy Floyd, few have heard of John Henry Seadlund, who J. Edgar Hoover termed "the nation's cruelest criminal" and Public Enemy #1. When Minnesota's iron mines shut down, Seadlund can't find work. After a chance encounter with a member of Dillinger's gang, he turns to crime. Several minor thefts escalate into multiple bank robberies in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Then, after a plot to abduct a baseball star at Wrigley Field fails, Seadlund kidnaps a 72-year-old millionaire businessman. Disturbing events soon bring J. Edgar Hoover to northern Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin to investigate Seadlund's most atrocious crimes. Hoover then labels Seadlund as "the most ruthless, cold-blooded killer" he'd ever encountered. This fact-based, historical fiction novel will take you inside Seadlund's mind as he carries out crimes in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois. You'll also share the viewpoint of skilled FBI agents determined to capture him and rescue his victim.

INFAMOUS comes from Bayfield County's award-winning author of historical fiction, James Brakken. Like his earlier true-life crime novel, Alias Ray Olson, it will keep you riveted from its disturbing first chapter right to the inevitable end.

Of James Brakken's other writing, Publisher's Weekly Magazine and Amazon Books said, "Difficult to put down. ... A great read," and "the flow of words is like an old fashioned song."

See all James Brakken's books at BadgerValley.com. Award-winning, north country novels & short story collections. Badger Valley Publishing Cable, Wisconsin 715-798-3163