Murder in Little Egypt (48 page)

My account of the 1937 Ohio River flood derives from newspapers and from
Rudy’s Life in Shawneetown, 1928
–
1980
(Shawneetown, Illinois, 1980), by Rudy Phillips, King of the Hoboes, a vivid portrayal of Shawneetown life.

An amusing account of the modern history of McLeansboro appears in H. Allen Smith’s
Lo, the Former Egyptian
(New York, 1952).

For the flavor of daily life in Egypt from the 1950s to the present, see Gary DeNeal’s frequent essays in
Springhouse
and
Illinois
magazines.

Praise for Darcy O’Brien’s

Murder in Little Egypt

“
Murder in Little Egypt
, a meticulous account of Cavaness’s life and crimes, is an implicit indictment of a culture that condones and encourages violent behavior in men. Mr. O’Brien reconstructs this awful story for popular consumption without sensationalizing it and places Cavaness firmly in his environment. What’s most disturbing about Cavaness’s behavior is that virtually nothing was done to stop it.”

–The New York Tmes Book Review

“Stunning material handled with justice and fastidiousness by a natural storyteller. This book is scaresome in its re-creation of the astonishing ways that evil manifests itself.”

–Seamus Heaney

“Like every good writer about murder–and there are very few of them–Darcy O’Brien tells us not only about our murderers, but also, through the tellings, he shows us our culture, our moment in the history of our nation, and, even, a bit about ourselves.”

–Thomas Flanagan, author of
The Year
of the French
and
The End of the Hunt

“Cavaness was worshipped in Little Egypt. But the doctor was also a Mr. Hyde. O’Brien, who last wrote about the Los Angeles ‘Hillside Stranglers’ in
Two of a Kind
, has fashioned a chilling account of the psychopath as physician.”

–Library Journal

Books by Darcy O’Brien

Two of a Kind
(1985)

The Silver Spooner
(1981)

A Way of Life, Like Any Other
(1978)

Patrick Kavanagh
(1975)

W. R. Rodgers
(1970)

The Conscience of James Joyce
(1968)

MURDER IN LITTLE EGYPT

Copyright © 1989 by Darcy O’Brian

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher, except by reviewers who may quote brief excerpts in connection with a review in a newspaper, magazine, or electronic publication; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other, without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-1-938582-22-6

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