Brothers in Blood: The True Story of Ed and Alonzo Maxwell by Les Kruger

by Les Kruger
(Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada)

Synopsis: In July, 1881, Ed and Alonzo Maxwell, alias the Williams Brothers, a pair of petty burglars and horse thieves, murdered two law officers, the Coleman brothers, in a gunfight in Durand, Wisconsin.

The shooting of the Colemans led to the state's largest manhunt for the killers along with the highest bounties offered.

Three months later the Maxwells murdered Sheriff John Lammy and wounded two deputies in a shoot-out in Illinois. In November Ed Maxwell was captured after a gunfight in Nebraska and returned to Wisconsin to face trial. Following his preliminary hearing, Ed was rushed by a crowd of Durand citizens, and hanged on the front lawn of the court house.

Wide Appeal: This is non-fiction at its best. Finally, after 127 years, this story has been published to fully reveal the truth about the Maxwell saga. The book will appeal not only to Illinois and Wisconsin history buffs, but to anyone who loves a rip snortin western-style American adventure. It will be enjoyed by grandparents or grandkids. The language is refreshingly clean.

Great Style: Written in a fast-paced style, the book is an easy read. Without lengthy, boring descriptions, it keeps the reader moving along through each episode of the Maxwell adventure. The book is not only a recollection of their criminal activities. It is a depiction of the social and cultural milieu of the 1880's of the mid-west. Every effort was made to bring to life the peripheral characters.

A highlight is the side-bar stories that permeate the book revealing vignettes of the minor characters and the places where they lived. Don't miss the last chapter in the book appropriately titled "Their Final Chapters."

Author: Les Kruger, a retired teacher from Thunder Bay, Ontario, spent three years researching and writing this chronicle. He made several journeys into more than eight states gathering archival photos, verifying details and collecting pictures for this richly illustrated work.