True Crime in Reno

By: Moreno, Richard

Deadliest Little City in the World

Reno's glittering casinos and welcoming atmosphere hides a multitude of tragic - and murderous - tales

Before the neon lights, the burgeoning city became the site of frontier mob justice when a local vigilante group, unwilling to wait for a verdict, hanged an accused killer from the city's main bridge. In the 1930s, a well-respected banker preparing to testify against the city's most powerful crime lords mysteriously disappeared, becoming a cold case that haunted law enforcement for decades.

Many still remember the tragic shooting death in 1976 of ranked heavyweight boxer Oscar Bonavena at a brothel and the more recent kidnapping and murder of a college coed that shocked the city and spurred the passage of Nevada's "Brianna's Law", which permitted the use of DNA evidence.

With the help of historical newspaper articles and records, journalist Richard Moreno explores the darker side of the self-proclaimed Biggest Little City in the World.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1467171158
• ISBN13: 9781467171151
• Release Date: January 2027
• Publisher: History Press
• Length: 152 Pages