{ "item_title" : "Snake Eyes", "item_author" : [" Bitty Martin "], "item_description" : "By 1966, Hot Springs, Arkansas wasn’t your typical sleepy little Southern town. Once a favorite destination for mobsters Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, illegal activities continued to lure out-of-state gamblers, flim-flam men, and high rollers to its racetrack, clubs, and bordellos. Still, the town was shaken to its core when thirteen-year-old Cathie Ward was found dead after horseback riding at Blacksnake Ranch on the outskirts of town. Frank Davis, the owner, told authorities Cathie’s death was an accident. He claimed her foot caught in a stirrup and she was dragged to death despite his pursuit of the runaway horse. People who knew the forty-two-year-old skilled horseman didn’t believe his story, and soon rumors of her rape and murder began swirling around town. The rumors reached a crescendo after Davis committed a vicious murder in broad daylight outside the Redbird Laundromat on Central Avenue. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, and the authorities reopened an investigation into Cathie Ward’s death.Snake Eyes is the first book to examine this decades-old murder and cover-up, and the only in-depth account of the man who would become the town’s most feared villain. Featuring personal interviews, crime scene records, court documents, and Davis’s own prison files, author and longtime Hot Springs resident Bitty Martin reveals the true story for the first time.REVIEW: Snake Eyes is a gripping true crime tale well-told. The story of a nice young girl lost far too soon and those determined to find the truth and get it out. It happened in the author’s hometown, and mine, and played out against its culture of denial and decency, crassness and caring. There’s a lot of real life here. Read it! (Bill Clinton)REVIEW: Snake Eyes is a nod to Hot Springs’ past with gambling and gangsters. The writing is smooth, bold, and well researched by an author who’s emotionally invested in the place, time, and characters, making Snake Eyes a great read. (Jan Meins, author of Murder in Little Rock)REVIEW: Haunted by the death of one of her classmates in 1966, Bitty Martin takes us on an incredible journey as, decades later, she discovered the shocking secrets behind an “accident-turned murder.” A riveting story of an amateur sleuth seeking truth and justice. (Michael Bishop, author of A Murder in Music City)REVIEW: Quirky, well-drawn characters and an iconic Southern setting . . . Martin’s compelling true story reads like a mystery novel. (Bonnie Hearn Hill, author of The River Below)Bitty Martin earned two college degrees, one in marketing from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and the other in nursing from the University of Arkansas Little Rock. She has worked in research, executive leadership, financial marketing, advertising, media sales and marketing, and healthcare. She is Vice President of the Garland County Historical Society board where she uses her love for Hot Springs historical research, along with her marketing background, to benefit the community organization.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers4.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/1/63/388/776/1633887766_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "25.95", "online_price" : "25.95", "our_price" : "25.95", "club_price" : "25.95", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "25.95" } }

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