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Trudy Irene Scee

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Tragedy in the North Woods: The Murders of James Hicks (True Crime) Kindle Edition

by Trudy Irene Scee (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.9 635 ratings

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A riveting account of one of Maine’s most notorious serial killers—includes a prison interview between the author and the unrepentant murderer.

Jennie Cyr disappeared in 1977. Jerilyn Towers vanished in 1982. Lynn Willette never came home on a night in 1994. Each woman had a relationship with James Hicks, who in 2000 confessed to murdering them, dismembering their bodies and burying the remains alongside rural roads in Aroostook County. This is their story. Trudy Irene Scee follows Hicks from the North Woods to west Texas, detailing three decades of evasion, investigation and prosecution. She interviews police officers and victims’ families—and meets Hicks at the state prison in Thomaston, where he remains remorseless as he lives out his days behind bars. Thoroughly researched and carefully documented, Tragedy in the North Woods is the definitive history of one of Maine's most ruthless killers.

Includes photos!

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About the Author

Trudy Scee is a former Adjunct Professor of History at Husson College, in Bangor. She has taught for the University of Maine System and for Mount Allison University, in Sackville, New Brunswick. She has also worked as a journalist and written four books, including Trudy Scee's Dictionary of Maine Words and Phrases (self-published, 2006), N. H. Bragg & Sons, 150 Years of Service to the Maine Community and Economy (self-published, 2004), The Inmates and the Asylum: The Bangor Children's Home, 1836-2002 (Tilbury House, 2002) and
In the Deeds We Trust: Baxter State Park, 1970-1995 (Tower Publishing, 1999).

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00XRCXSCU
Publisher ‏ : ‎ The History Press (October 6, 2009)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 6, 2009
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 4651 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 131 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #176,429 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #209 in Biographies of Serial Killers
- #256 in Biographies & Memoirs of Criminals
- #307 in History eBooks of Women

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3.9 635 ratings

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Trudy Irene Scee

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Hello.

I am an historian and journalist as well as an educator and a photographer. I have fifteen books in print.

My latest work, "Changing the World Two Kids at a Time; Timothy P. Wilson and the Seeds of Peace," will be available through Amazon books in early October. A labor of love, I spent almost twenty years on the project, interviewing scores of people and photographing Tim and some of his family and the camp and campers, or Seeds, in Maine where Tim has spent much of the last five decades. I also wrote several other books during that time period, however. This will be my first strictly Amazon book, and I hope you will check it out and explore the life of this man who has helped young people across America and in numerous parts of the world through his work with the Seeds of Peace organization, and through his time in the Peace Corps, at Maine's Camp Powhatan, as a teacher and a coach, and as a public servant. Tim has also been a pioneer in race relations, first coming to an almost all white state in the 1960s. His family, and especially his parents, encouraged Tim to "fight the good fight," and like them, he has always done so. Tim is an inspiration to thousands.

I also, just this month, September 2019, had another new book published by Down East Books, an imprint of Roman and Littlefield. Entitled "Garden Cemeteries of New England," the book covers the history of the major garden or rural cemeteries––cemeteries created to be havens of beauty for the living as well as places of final repose for the dead--from Maine through seven states, including upstate and eastern New York. The book is richly illustrated with color photographs.

I anticipate another book being published in May 2020 through The History (or Arcadia) Press, and another one, perhaps with a different publisher, after that in late 2020 or in early 2021. I will let you know the specifics when I can.

Thank you,

I hope you will enjoy one or more of my books in the future!

Trudy Irene Scee

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3.9 out of 5

635 global ratings

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Cynthia Haskell

Very interesting

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2024

But sad!!!

The facts are correct.

Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2021

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In a book like this the facts are definitely correct. I am not concerned about photos of buildings. But what is as important as the horrific crimes which devastated so many families and friends, is finding out WHY James did these crimes? Were there signs that these acts could have been averted? I am a victim survivor myself and there is no closure. You never forget. In reality families want to know why. Also the photo of James wife is a terrible replica of the beautiful woman that she was. I understand the photo was distorted to draw attention to a missing child. Still it hurt me to see it on the book cover. Other than that, the book is factual.

5 people found this helpful

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Leigh Podgorski

Necessity to Catch These People Before They Kill

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2023

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Once again, we read about, most likely, a psychopathic killer whose actions as a child raised red flags but nothing was done. Educators, police, and women need to know the warning signs. Even so, especially heartbreakingly so with women, the signs are loud and clear. Yet they persist. Not everyone can be saved.
Anyone and everyone in law enforcement, however, should be and needs to be on high alert. One of the first indicators of a psychopath is excessive charm.
Anyone and everyone in law enforcement, men as well as women, need to be trained in empathy and victimology. And not dismiss women as "one of those."
Having said all that, I did find the read a bit dry. Lots of facts, names, titles, strung together at times that made my eyes bleary.
This is why Anne Rule remains the Queen. She digs in deep and teases out the psychology, not only of the perpetrator, but of the victim(s) as well.
Ms. Scee provides some of that here, which makes it a very worthy true crime book. However, I would have loved more. For example, this miscreant had six children that we find out about, then a reference that he might have fathered as many as seventeen. For the children we are told about, I craved more information. How are they doing? Several of them were torn from their mothers and forced to live with this monster. Their stories are the guts of true crime. Not endless lists about court actions and who was present when.
Overall, though, a good solid, albeit painful read.
I am often asked why I gravitate towards true crime. It's the psychology. The human behavior.
The more we learn about these extremes of human existence, the more, we hope, we can spot aberrant behavior and do something about it before women and families are devastated.

6 people found this helpful

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B. McKee

Readable true crime

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2023

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I read a lot of true crime, but much of it is not as readable as Tragedy in the North Woods. This author simply tells the whole story without adding extra ingredients. Another author that I appreciate for this reason is Anita Paddock. While the critics may complain, the reader does not.

I had never heard of this Maine case or James Rodney Hicks. When his wife Jennie went missing, the general consensus was that Hicks had murdered her, but her body never turned up. Many years later, another woman disappeared. There was no connection between this woman and Hicks other than they were seen leaving a bar at the same time.

Even more years later, a woman who had previously been living with Hicks disappeared, and he was back on the radar. I won't tell you how the story ends because it's no hardship for you to read the book, but I will tell you that it's an interesting story.

Relevant photos

4

3 people found this helpful

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beth.shuler76

Is justice served?

Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2019

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I found this book to be well written and an easy read! I felt the research could be better, still enjoyed it though. My heart goes out to these families though and also to the detectives. It seemed that unless he was going to get something in return then he was ready to "let people know his truth" or as he sees it! It def takes a very sick person to be able to do this to anyone and he did it to three people he says he "loved"......
I dont think men like him are even capable of love but that's just my opinion......

4 people found this helpful

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Cheryl B.

Ok

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2023

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As far as true crime goes-it was mediocre . I've read hundreds and this one held my interest but wouldn't call it a "page turner" . Over the years I've read several true crime books more than once. This one---no.

2 people found this helpful

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Carole Harmon

G

Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2024

It was good

Reads like a newspaper article...

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2023

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The only mystery in this book is when will they catch the killer. Reads just like a newspaper article and just about as exciting. Not bad but a little tedious.

4 people found this helpful

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helen Byrne

author should not write any more true crime

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 27, 2022

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This story is a great story but so badly written, i am a true crime buff. This was flat, no emotion. Does not deserve even 1star.

3 people found this helpful

Bill Bird

Interesting

Reviewed in Canada on August 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

I found this book was written with a lot of searching for details and I felt that Trudy was along for the ride, like she actually there the whole time

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