This image is the cover for the book Wicked Boise, Wicked

Wicked Boise, Wicked

Corruption, scandal, and injustice take center stage inWicked Boise


Known today for its beauty, safety and livability, Idaho's capital city does harbor a few skeletons in its closet. Vigilantes lynched Ada County's first sheriff. A wealthy brothel owner was viciously murdered and found secretly living in squalor. The sensational Prohibition-era trial of a moonshine ring that included the sheriff, police chief and a prominent doctor extended a morality crusade by law enforcement. Mike Kirby was arrested and condemned to three years hard labor for sending a "most disgustingly worded letter", while others were sentenced for violating the state's infamous "crime against nature" law.


Author Janelle M. Scheffelmaier explores motive, morality, and the uncomfortable gray space between right and wrong as she unearths some of Boise's darkest moments.

Janelle M. Scheffelmaier

Janelle M. Scheffelmaier is an independent historian, researcher and writer. Janelle holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Montana and a Master of Arts degree in history from Norwich University. Janelle was born and raised in the Idaho Panhandle and lives in Boise. Currently, she has two novels in draft form and is usually trying to read at least three books at one time. She is the author of Butte and the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.

The History Press