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AuthorJennifer Byers Chambers gives a talk that uncovers the grim and deadly secrets of our local area, based on her true crime book "Murder & Mayhem in the Willamette Valley."

Publicity for the book shares that "Beneath the bucolic scenery of Oregon's Willamette Valley lies a dark and sinister past. The 150-mile swath of vineyards, farmland and idyllic towns has hosted its fair share of murderers, bootleggers, and even a serial killer. Moonshiners like the Sutherland family used the wooded hills to hide their operations, skirting the law until it cost one cop his life. A chain of restaurants served as the public face of The Children of the Valley of Life, a cult with members who hid in hand-dug caves to escape the authorities. The Molalla Forest Killer, who committed multiple gruesome murders, stalked the byways."

Chambers is part owner of Groundwaters Publishing and a podcaster on the Resilient Podcast Network, Hodgepodge and Writer's Radio. A traumatic brain injury at fifteen forced her to relearn everything from walking and talking to tying her shoes. She was the founder of TEDxVenetaWomen and attended the Iowa Summer Writing Program. In her free time, she knits, plays ukulele and records for radio station KOCF.