Customer Reviews

A Force for Evil: Assassination in a Small Town

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Former detective William Krueger withheld the truth and misinformed the public about the most important facts and evidence gathered in the Ruth Martin case. He further misled the public when he stated in his book that no direct evidence connected to Martin's disappearance was found and no suspects were developed. I am in the position to inform people that what Krueger printed in his book is not true because I've been investigating and writing about these murders for many years; I'm very familiar with the evidence gathered in these cases as well as the courthouse and police records pertaining to these 1976 murder investigations. In addition, I'm the daughter of Roger W. Thompson, the Logan County State's Attorney who convicted Russell Smrekar of the Fry double homicide. The chain of custody pertaining to the evidence in the Martin case reveals that Krueger and his former partner, detective Tom Mauer, came into direct contact with monumental evidence, which provided these two former detectives with an excellent lead to a possible suspect/accomplice in Ruth Martin's disappearance/murder. However, I have found no record that this possible suspect/accomplice was ever questioned by law enforcement in regard to Martin's mysterious demise. Krueger also presented false information about the BC Rich guitar that was stolen in the Lincoln College dorm room burglary. Krueger claimed that his former partner, Mauer, searched "Smrekar's car, a white and blue Buick Skylark", and found the BC Rich guitar in the trunk. That is a complete falsehood. The BC Rich guitar was discovered at an apartment in upstate Joliet, IL - Joliet Police Officer M G. Taylor shipped it to Tom Mauer at the Lincoln PD. Smrekar didn't even own the Buick Skylark in 1975. It's my strong opinion that both former detectives Krueger and Mauer need to be interrogated about some particular "True Facts & Findings" concerning the Martin case.

This book is full of inaccuracies and discrepancies. On page 39 this 'detective' states he will not reveal the name of the killer's girlfriend, by page 119 he has ratted her out in black & white. One chapter says 2 young boys saw a dark car, another chapter states they saw a blue & white car. Which is it? The real kicker is page 82 where the 'detective' refers to another major murder that happened in that area a couple of months prior to the Fry murders. By time he wrote this book, it was a well know fact which girl was tied up and should have known how to spell the girl's name correctly that escaped. It was also a well-known fact by the time of the writing that this killer did not drive himself to the hospital. It is hard to believe that a detective living in Lincoln IL at that time could not have gotten his facts straight on this prior major murder case. Perhaps he would have been better off leaving that part of it out all together. I went to that trial, I know. If the writing of this book is anywhere similar to the work of a major detective in this case, then my opinion is that he must have done some sloppy detective work. As for the chapter about the psychics, I have not lived in Illinois for over 25 years now and the part about water with a capital K? A detective living there could not figure it out? Hello?? Has anyone in Lincoln, Illinois never heard of Kickapoo Creek? I have ordered another book about this same case and cannot wait to receive it to see if that author has anything straight. I lived in the area at the time of both murders. I remember them both....well. Things like that stay with you. They just don't go away.

This book should be listed as fiction since it is so full of errors, misrepresentation of the facts, and elimination of much of the real evidence. Krueger is either a deliberate liar and in some way connected with the murders or prefers fiction to fact.

As a family member of the Fry family who was born 14 months after the murder of my aunt and uncle, I found the book to be very well written, and extremely interesting. It answered a lot of questions that I have always had, but was 'afraid to ask'.

This is an excellent book showing how small town police use their acquired knowledge to track and convict a murderer. It also tells of the towns people and their anxieties during this time. It is a well written, fast moving book (about 4 hours).

As a Sister to Jay Fry, Bill has told the compelling story of the Murder's of of My Loved One's as it unfolded. He has told in great depth the life of such a terrible human and how someone so cruel could be brought to justice and put away as he so justly deserved.
Bill deliver's the story in a very interesting way as keep your attention and your thought process going. The Detective work that was involved is amazing. Hat's off to you Bill! Once again you have come through for my family. Another job Well Done! William Krueger will alway's be in our heart's. A Very Well Written Story.