Florida, 1949. The sunshine state wasn’t ready for the darkness that arrived one summer morning.
In a sleepy coastal village where doors were left unlocked and neighbors watched each other’s kids, a crime of unspeakable brutality tore the heart out of paradise. Seventy-five-year-old Norman Browne was murdered. His wife left for dead. Their friends—shot, bludgeoned, and nearly killed. And the man responsible? A handsome drifter with a sawed-off shotgun, a stolen car, and a violent past no one dared look too closely at.
His name was John Calvin “Rastus” Russell. And his escape sparked one of the largest, most bizarre manhunts in Florida history.
Charles Manson comes to Mayberry.
What followed was chaos: panicked locals turning into armed vigilantes, a manhunt that stretched across counties, and a chilling media storm that dubbed Russell a madman—perhaps insane, perhaps something even more dangerous. But as the author, M.F. Gross, discovered decades later—just steps from his own front door—this was more than a lurid crime story. It was a ghost buried in the town’s soul, still whispering through the streets.
With first-hand interviews, historical records, and an eerie sense of place, Madman resurrects a long-forgotten case and pulls readers into a true crime saga that feels like it was ripped from today’s headlines: mental health failures, systemic injustice, and the terrifying question of whether monsters are born—or made.
Perfect for fans of Killers of the Flower Moon, Mindhunter, Helter Skelter and In Cold Blood, this isn’t just a story of murder. It’s a tale of how small towns remember—and how they choose to forget.
“Just like the movies,” one headline said. But it wasn’t. It was worse. And it was real.