A Wilderness of Tigers

Book excerpt: With the cessation of the Indian Wars, Silas Magby believed that Western Kentucky would be safe for his wife and children. But then the Harpes came—two mysterious brothers, Micajah and Wiley, with three devoted women followers, leaving a wake of ghoulish and seemingly motiveless murders—men, women, children, infants, bludgeoned, stabbed, shot, or set on fire. Earlier Magby had participated in a fruitless attempt to capture the brothers, but word comes that they are seeking him to enact retaliation. Now Magby must somehow stop the brothers before they can kill his wife and children. Although fiction, A Wilderness of Tigers based upon one of the earliest recorded serial killer rampages. In the 1790’s roughly 35 persons were murdered by the Harpe brothers. Kenneth Tucker has woven a haunting story whose characters linger beyond a final page of history or text."- Katherine C. Kurk, Kentucky Philological Review "Tucker tells a fascinating story of these evil doers... It's an interesting part of our history..."- Jesse Stuart Foundation. "Tucker effectively uses dialogue and and clear, graphic details to bring to light a sad chapter in Kentucky's history." - Steve Flairty, Kentucky Monthly