Footprints in the Dew: Damon “Chub” Anderson and the Unsolved Mullendore Murder

Lewis, a columnist for Oklahoma daily newspaper Bartleville Examiner-Enterprise, chronicles the life of career criminal Chub Anderson, who was long suspected of the 1970 murder of millionaire rancher E.C. Mullendore, heir to a lucrative family ranching operation in Osage County, Okla., and possessor of one of the largest life insurance policies in the U.S. at the time. Anderson was finally arrested in 2006 after years on the run for jumping bond on a unrelated charge. Lewis first met Anderson shortly after his arrest and spent three subsequent years in contact with Anderson, who agreed to speak openly to Lewis for this book. The focus on Anderson’s own life, rather than a detailed exploration of the crime and the investigation, will disappoint some readers, and Lewis doesn’t succeed in making his subject interesting or sympathetic, even if he himself found that he liked Anderson “despite all the negative things I learned about his past.” (BookLife)