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Murder in the Stacks: Penn State, Betsy Aardsma, and the Killer Who Got Away Spiral-Bound | September 2, 2014

David Dekok

$26.09 - Free Shipping
On Nov. 28, 1969, Betsy Aardsma, a 22-year-old graduate student in English at Penn State, was stabbed to death in the stacks of Pattee Library at the university’s main campus in State College. For more than forty years, her murder went unsolved, though detectives with the Pennsylvania State Police and local citizens worked tirelessly to find her killer. The mystery was eventually solved—after the death of the murderer. This book will reveal the story behind what has been a scary mystery for generations of Penn State students and explain why the Pennsylvania State Police failed to bring her killer to justice. More than a simple true crime story, the book weaves together the events, culture, and attitudes of the late 1960s, memorializing Betsy Aardsma and her time and place in history.
Publisher: National Book Network
Original Binding: Trade Paperback
Pages: 464 pages
ISBN-10: 0762780878
Item Weight: 1.5 lbs
Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.69 x 8.0 inches
This was a book I almost literally couldn't put down. I devoured its 400 pages in just 3 days. Murder in the Stacks: Penn State, Betsy Aardsma, and the Killer Who Got Away, by David DeKok, is a thriller of a tale. It brings to life a 45-year old cold case: the murder of a 22-year-old grad student among the bookshelves at Penn State's Pattee Library. . . .You can find out the possible identity of the killer by Googling the Aardsma murder case. But don't. Wait until you get your hands on a Murder in the Stacks, and be riveted to your chair by this stunning true story. -Pennsylvania State University
David DeKok is a former investigative reporter for The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., where his last big story was a long, two-part series published in December 2008 on the then-unsolved Betsy Aardsma murder.  He grew up in Betsy Aardsma’s hometown, Holland, Michigan, and went to the same high school and distinctly remembers reading the story of her murder in the local newspaper. His Holland ties have enabled him to win the trust of Betsy’s closest friends, as well as given him a unique perspective on the Dutch-American world in which she was raised. He is also the author of Fire Underground and The Epidemic. He lives in Harrisburg, Pa.