• Home
  • True Crime
  • Thriller
  • Mystery
  • Sci-Fi/Fantasy
  • Horror
  • Business
  • History
  • Reader Favorites
    • Award Winners
    • Bestsellers
    • Box Sets
    • Coming Soon
    • New Releases

WildBlue Press

Great Reads from Exceptional Authors

Great Reads from
Exceptional Authors

  • Subscribe
  • Interested Authors
  • Blog
    • In the Media
  • About Us
    • Catalog
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
  • Partners
    • ImaginePublicity
    • MacGregor Literary
    • The House Of Mystery with Al Warren
  • Contact Us

A small Iowa sheriff’s office comes up big in Ferak’s new book, DIXIE’S LAST STAND

 Gene Cavenaugh and Mark Hervey

(Seated: Shelby County Sheriff Gene Cavenaugh, with chief deputy Mark Hervey )

Photo Courtesy of The Harlan Newspapers

As I set out to produce this story as an original True-Crime Feature for WildBlue Press, there was no shortage of angles. Questions about self-defense, justification and mandatory sentencing laws. The crime was bizarre given the length of time that Scott Shanahan’s body was left in his bedroom.

A body in the bed. A controversial killing. Domestic violence at the forefront.

National headlines.

And yet none of those aspects was my primary motivation for writing DIXIE’s LAST STAND: Was it Murder or Self-Defense? Rather, there was something about WildBlue Press author Steve Jackson’s recent best-seller BOGEYMAN that drew me back to this case of more than a decade ago involving Dixie Shanahan and a tiny little town called Defiance, Iowa.

In BOGEYMAN, Garland, Texas, police detective Gary Sweet’s sheer grit and determination ultimately led to additional murder charges being brought against child serial killer David Elliot Penton. As a result, BOGEYMAN is a book that largely pays a wonderful tribute to the hard-working men and women who wear the badge. Anybody who works in law enforcement would be proud to read BOGEYMAN.

And that’s kind of what led me to wind up writing my latest book, DIXIE’s LAST STAND.

For all the sensational news media hype that the Dixie Shanahan case got, one key angle seemed to get overlooked by the public and it never got its due in the press: the tenacity and relentlessness of a small, rural Iowa sheriff’s office to unravel this mystery.

Shelby County is in western Iowa off Interstate 80 between Des Moines and Omaha. The entire county has a total population of barely 13,000 people. Most of the communities scattered within the sheriff’s coverage are towns of less than 1,000 people. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has less than 10 full-time sworn deputies,  including the sheriff and the chief deputy. Consequently, the Shelby County Jail can only accommodate up to 14 prisoners: 12 males and 2 females. The sheriff’s office often goes anywhere five to 10 years — or longer — between active homicide investigations.

But back in 2003, within a few short months, this little law enforcement agency aggressively dug into the case. And not only was the mystery of Scott Shanahan resolved in quick order, but a swift arrest was made. The case culminated with a successful prosecution.

In BOGEYMAN, one of author Steve Jackson’s key heroes of the book is detective Gary Sweet. In DIXIE’S LAST STAND, you will get to follow the investigative push by long-time Shelby County Sheriff  Gene Cavenaugh.

Cavenaugh, though now retired from the sheriff’s office, deserves the proper recognition for getting to the bottom of things in the case that is featured in DIXIE’S LAST STAND.

Filed Under: Blog, DIXIE'S LAST STAND Tagged With: Bogeyman, Dixie Shanahan, Dixie's Last Stand, Gene Cavenaugh, John Ferak, Steve Jackson
December 14, 2014 By John Ferak 1 Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Buy Dixie’s Last Stand

You can buy DIXIE'S LAST STAND in paperback, Kindle eBook and audiobook at Audible.com and iTunes now by clicking the buttons below:

Amazon Kindle eBook  eBook
Amazon Mass Market Paperback  Paperback
Audible Audio BookiTunes Audio Book  Audio Book

INTERNATIONAL KINDLE EBOOKS
USA  UK  Canada  Australia  Germany  France  Spain  Japan  Italy  Brazil  India  Mexico

GET A FREE AUDIBLE AUDIO BOOK

Get this Title for FREE at Audible with a free trialGet this Audible Title for FREE with a 30-day free trial

LISTEN TO THE FIRST CHAPTER

Ferak’s WildBlue Press Books

WRECKING CREW Kindle Cover

WRECKING CREW Gives An Inside Look Into Kathleen Zellner’s Efforts To Free Steven Avery

“Ferak chronicles the long and sordid history of the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s department and the reason Sweaty’s license was suspended. Framing Avery was just par for the course." -- Kathleen Zellner In 2016-17, while working for the USA TODAY … [More...]

FAILURE OF JUSTICE: A Brutal Murder, An Obsessed Cop, Six Wrongful Convictions; A True Crime Thriller By John Ferak

'MAKING A MURDERER' TIMES SIX! If the dubious efforts of law enforcement that led to the case behind MAKING A MURDERER made you cringe, your skin will crawl at the injustice portrayed in FAILURE OF JUSTICE: A Brutal Murder, An Obsessed Cop, Six … [More...]

Body of Proof Cover-Final

Discredited CSI Commander At The Heart of John Ferak’s True Crime BODY OF PROOF

Tainted Evidence In The Murder of Jessica O'Grady?   Jessica O’Grady was a tall, starry-eyed co-ed in search of finding her Mr. Right. Christopher Edwards was a 19-year-old deceitful and darkened soul. David Kofoed was a veteran crime lab … [More...]

Dixie's Last Stand Cover

Readers Asked To Decide “Was It Murder Or Self-Defense?” in DIXIE’S LAST STAND

A WildBlue Press True Crime By Award-Winning Journalist John Ferak Buy DIXIE'S LAST STAND now: Kindle      Paperback Audible iTunes Dixie Shanahan had a terribly troubled and abusive marriage in the sleepy little town of Defiance, Iowa. Then one … [More...]

In The News

WildBlue Press 2018 Year in Review

In 2018, WildBlue Press released 29 new titles! Among those titles, twenty-one were under the true crime genre, four were thrillers, two mysteries, and one business book as well as one fantasy book. From winning awards to being featured on … [More...]

True Murder Dan Zupansky Logo

FAILURE OF JUSTICE’s John Ferak on True Murder Radio Show With Host Dan Zupansky

John Ferak, author of WildBlue's hit true crime book FAILURE OF JUSTICE, was recently featured on the True Murder radio show with host Dan Zupansky to discuss his book. FAILURE OF JUSTICE details the case of the Beatrice Six, which is the largest … [More...]

Watch John Ferak’s Interview With Al Warren on The House of Mystery

Watch John Ferak's interview with Al Warren on The House of Mystery Radio Show. John discusses his new true crime book, FAILURE OF JUSTICE, which details the largest wrongful conviction case in U.S. history! Get your copy of FAILURE OF JUSTICE … [More...]

John Ferak Discusses FAILURE OF JUSTICE With Host Alan R. Warren on The House of Mystery Radio Show. Listen Here!

John Ferak is an award-winning investigative journalist and true crime author. His latest true crime book, FAILURE OF JUSTICE, details the largest wrongful conviction case in the United States to date. John was on The House of Mystery Radio Show with … [More...]

Darkness Radio logo

John Ferak Discusses FAILURE OF JUSTICE on Darkness Radio With Host Dave Schrader

John Ferak was on Darkness Radio with host Dave Schrader on Tuesday, May 24th, from 10-11pm Central Time. John will be discussed his new true crime book, FAILURE OF JUSTICE: A Brutal Murder, An Obsessed Cop, Six Wrongful Convictions, as well as his … [More...]

Genres, Types

New Releases
Featured Books
Coming Soon
Award Winners

Business
History
Horror
Mysteries
Romance
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Thrillers
True Crime

eBooks
Paperbacks
Audio Books
Box Sets

Available

Cookbook
• Frank Cullotta's Greatest (Kitchen) Hits
True Crime
• 'the Son Of Sam' And Me
• 'til Death Do Us ...'
• A Clockwork Murder
• A Family Business
• A Murder In My Hometown
• A Special Kind Of Evil
• A Taste For Murder
• Beast Of New Castle
• Betrayal In Blue
• Better Off Dead
• Body Of Proof
• Bogeyman
• Brooklyn's Most Wanted
• Bullied To Death
• Burned
• Daddy's Little Secret
• Dead Reckoning
• Dixie's Last Stand
• Failure Of Justice
• Faith Based Fraud
• First Degree Rage
• From The Mob To The Movies
• Gabacho
• Held Hostage
• His Garden
• How Now, Butterfly?
• Ice And Bone
• Inconvenience Gone
• Kentucky Bloodbath
• Killing Women
• Man Overboard
• Missing ... And Presumed Dead
• Monster
• Mothers And Murderers
• Murder In The Family
• Murderers Row
• My Brother's Keeper
• My Son, The Killer
• No Angels
• No Stone Unturned
• Out Of The Mouths Of Serial Killers
• Outlaw Los Angeles
• Outlaw Southwest
• Pathological
• Playing Dead
• Race To Justice
• Railroaded
• Raw Deal
• Repeat Offender
• Room 1203
• Rough Trade
• Satin Pumps
• Saving Annie
• Saving Annie Book 2
• Serial Killers
• She Is Evil
• Shots In The Dark
• Sidetracked
• Sketchcop
• Smooth Talker
• Summary Execution
• Survival
• Tantamount
• Targeted
• Ted Bundy's Murderous Mysteries
• The 'supreme Gentleman' Killer
• The Beast I Loved
• The Bundy Secrets
• The Case Of The Golden State Killer
• The Case Of The Zodiac Killer
• The Crate
• The Encyclopedia Of The Ted Bundy Murders
• The Enigma Of Ted Bundy
• The Gangster's Cousin
• The Garden State Parkway Murders
• The Killing Game
• The Last Man Standing
• The Politics Of Murder
• The Real Mr. Big
• The Rise And Fall Of A Casino Mobster
• The Shawcross Letters
• The Son Of Seven Mothers
• The Trail Of Ted Bundy
• The World Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers
• The World Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers Volume Three
• The World Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers Volume Two
• To Kill Or Be Killed
• Toxic Rage
• Travesty Of Justice
• True Crime Chronicles Volume One
• True Crime Chronicles Volume Two
• Under A Full Moon
• Underworld
• Unsolved No More
• Vampire
• Wrecking Crew
• Wrong Numbers
• You Have A Very Soft Voice, Susan
Thriller
• 16 Souls
• Bone Thief
• Borderland
• Cain
• Crux
• Dark Visions
• Enemy Of The People
• Four
• Hard Dog To Kill
• Highwayman
• Hunter
• Last Son Of The War God
• Leviathan
• Lockout
• No One Will Hear Your Screams
• Paper Wings
• Pitfall
• Sword Of The Caliphate
• The Reckoning
• The Screaming Room
• The Strait
Mystery
• Beacon Hill
• Created
• Crevice
• Emerald Ridge
• Headlock
• Identity Crisis
• Melia Ridge
• Naked Addiction
• Napa Noir
• Northern Ex
• Raptor's Ridge
• Raven's Ridge
• The Deadline
• The Obituary
Horror
• Acadia Event
• Savage Highway
• The Equinox
• The Pure And The Hated
• The Red Son
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
• Blunt Force Magic
• Destruction Of Justice
• Happenstance
Business
• Bamboo Strong
• Corporate Superpower
• Leaderology
• Productivity Tools For Business
• The Age Of Pluralism
• Wordpress Websites For Business
History
• Killing Rasputin
• Legion Rising
• Saving Sandoval
• Tempest Tost
• The Korean Crisis
Politics
• The (Redacted) Mueller Report
Romance
• When Fall Fades

New Releases

The Son Of Seven Mothers Kindle Cover

Cult Survivor Benjamin Risha Tells Readers His Story In THE SON OF SEVEN MOTHERS

As the adopted son of two cult leaders, Benjamin Risha was raised to someday assume a place of leadership in the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation with the Bible, and his parents’ interpretation of it, as his guide. He believed the prophecies … [More...]

‘THE SON OF SAM’ AND ME

In 1976, a killer who called himself ‘The Son of Sam’ shot and killed a half dozen people and wounded as many more in New York City. During his crime spree, the madman left bizarre letters mocking the police and promising more deaths. After months … [More...]

SERIAL KILLERS: 101 Questions True Crime Fans Ask

Learn the terrifying truth behind the world’s deadliest serial killers… Serial killers haunt our dreams and inspire the terrifying villains of TV shows and horror movies. But how much do you really know about the minds behind the world’s deadliest … [More...]

SATIN PUMPS Gives Inside Look Into Gripping Midcentury Murder

It was the midcentury murder that fascinated a nation and kept it glued for two years to radio, television and newspapers through three trials. Did the handsome, wealthy doctor and his beautiful young paramour plan to kill his glamorous socialite … [More...]

Coming Soon

FAITH-BASED FRAUD: A Clear-Eyed Look At Scandals Within The Church

Transparency and Accountability Will Help Restore the Credibility of the Church We live in a secular, skeptical, and cynical age. Americans have lost faith in its institutions – including the church. Although the vast majority of Christian … [More...]

THE REAL MR. BIG: How A Refugee Became The UK’s Most Notorious Cocaine Kingpin

Born in 1960, Jesus Ruiz Henao grew up poor, but wanted to be rich like the drug dealers he saw growing up in the cocaine-producing region of Colombia’s Valle of the Cauca. To realize his ambition, Ruiz Henao moved to London, United Kingdom, in 1985. … [More...]

Recent Posts

  • Netflix Documentary “The Sons of Sam” to Feature WildBlue Press Author
  • Speculation, Avoid it Like The Plague
  • Jesus Ruiz Henao: What I Learned From My Days In The Drug Trade
  • FAITH-BASED FRAUD: A Clear-Eyed Look At Scandals Within The Church
  • THE REAL MR. BIG: How A Refugee Became The UK’s Most Notorious Cocaine Kingpin
  • The Allure of Human Monsters
  • Author Reading from THE SON OF SEVEN MOTHERS by Benjamin Risha

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

eZine SignupJoin our email list and be the first to get hot deals, new releases and...
* Author updates
* Free eBooks
* Free audio books
* Enlightening and entertaining posts
* Advance notice of book deals, special offers

Follow Us

Blog Tag Cloud

best true crime books Bogeyman Bradley Nickell Brian Whitney Burl Barer Caitlin Rother Cold Case Crime Fiction Crime thriller Detective Detectives Facebook True Crime John Ferak Kevin Sullivan Las Vegas memoir Murder murder book Mysteries Mystery mystery thriller Non-Fiction Ron Franscell Serial Killer serial killer books Serial Killers Steve Jackson Suspense suspense thriller Ted Bundy Thriller Thriller Books Thrillers True-crime truecrime True Crime True Crime Authors true crime book true crime books True Crime Original true crimes true crime stories True Murder WildBlue Press writing

Privacy Policy

As Seen On:

Our Authors Have Been Seen On...

Interested Authors Click Here
See Our Entire Catalog
SSL Secure Connection

Copyright © 2021 WildBlue Press. All rights reserved.
Website design by Denver Local SEO Marketing Company
A small Iowa sheriff’s office comes up big in Ferak’s new book, DIXIE’S LAST STAND