Nellie Snyder Yost (1905–1992)

This is the incredible true story of the most evil woman I have ever encountered, in truth or fiction - and unfortunately, she was all too real. At a time when North Platte, Nebraska was known as "Little Chicago" for its corruption, Annie Cook had a crooked dirty finger in every pie. She ran the county poor farm as her own private slavery and money trough. She beat and starved her own sister and niece into years of submission. She pimped her own daughter out when she became too old to sell herself on the market, and eventually murdered her.

All in all, this is a powerful fascinating book that traces Annie's career from its beginning to its sordid end. I never drive past the county courthouse in North Platte without remembering the story. (Annie and her cohorts skimmed so much money out of the building fund that the county had to pass two bond issues, and the building took years to complete.) Annie's evil influence still rattles people who knew her to this day. This book is riveting.… (mere)