Jeff McArthur grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska where he began writing at a young age. He started making movies when he was 15, and went to New York University for film school. After college he moved to Los Angeles where he worked on a number of films until he circled back around to writing in 2011, releasing the novel The Table of Truth.
McArthur followed this up with a historical book called Pro Bono - The 18-Year Defense of Caril Ann Fugate; which described his grandfather's involvement in the case where 14-year-old Caril Fugate was taken by her ex-boyfriend on a murder spree in the 1950s. His grandfather felt so strongly about Fugate's innocence that he continued to defend her until she was released from prison. The story was the inspiration for Bruce Springsteen's album Nebraska, Terrence Malick's and Peter Jackson's first major movies, and Stephen King's entire career.
More recently, McArthur authored The Great Heist, which details the largest bank robbery in history, which took place in 1930 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Some of the gangsters involved in the robbery also committed the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, and were a part of the Capone organization. Nebraska authorities pressured Capone to get the money back, an effort assisted by Al's long-lost brother, who was a Prohibition officer in Nebraska.
The Great Heist inspired the subject of McArthur's current biography, Two Gun Hart, which follows the life of Vincenzo Capone, an Italian immigrant and eldest brother of Al Capone. Traveling under the assumed name Richard Hart, the eldest Capone brother lived a secret double life. In one he lived a quiet life in tiny Homer, Nebraska where he worked as a Prohibition officer on the nearby Indian reservations. In the other he privately met with members of his estranged family, helping them with a few matters while they helped him. Two Gun Hart is due out in March, and will be available for pre-order beginning on December 24.
McArthur has also released the novels Relic Worlds - Lancaster James and the Search for the Promised World, and The American Game over the past year.
