Murder on Rouse Hill: Based upon the True Story of the 1915 Slaying of Jasper Jacob "Jap" Francis Near the Tiny Ozark Railroad Town of Stoutland, Missouri

I enjoyed reading a book that was so throughly researched and loaded with details.A complex crime that was made easy to understand. And put in story book form that made it a pleasurable read also.

A delightful sense of humor, meticulous research and authentic portrayal of the Ozark people make this book captivating. I was astounded to discover that the man who lived next door was such a good writer! Though from STL , I worked as a cowgirl every summer in the 1950's on a 3000 A. Ranch outside of Newburg on the Frisco RR line up from Stoutland and could relate to the Ozark characters he portrayed from the 1915 era.This devastating drama of a cad brutally murdering a just admirable man and leaving his beloved horse to die has repercussions a century later on Rouse Hill. Try and put it down!

Even if you have never heard of Stoutland, Missouri (a tad northeast of Waynesville) you will enjoy this read. Locals will appreciate the familiar names, landmarks and Ozark Mountain characters. Historians will appreciate the accuracy and painstaking research. Will be a hit with anyone who has even the slightest interest in the colorful history of the Ozarks.

Stoutland is about 20 miles from where I live and that's where the story took place. It was awesome reading about places I am familiar with. The author presented this story in a way that I didn't get bored. I couldn't put the book down. Very well written.

If you're from the Stoutland, Missouri, area or otherwise have an interest in the subject of this book, you'll probably enjoy it. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it. As the author admits in the opening notes, it is not really a novel and yet not completely factual. Consequently, it fails as both fiction and history. It has too much made-up dialogue and other conjecture to be completely factual, and it has too much history thrown in just for its own sake, as though the author felt compelled to include absolutely everything he knew about the subject, for the book to be good fiction. There are even a lot of anachronisms such as references to Stan Musial and Bagnell Dam, which the main characters of the story would have no way of knowing about.