New Book Release!
Ship of Blood
An engaging thriller with a surprise ending... Ship of Blood explores racism in a Southern port with a bloody past."
David Zucchino, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author of Wilmington's Lie
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History Book Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians 2019
Gold Medal Award for True Crime from the eLit Book awards 2021
Finalist, International Book Awards, True Crime Category
Ship of Blood
Ship of Blood is a captivating tale of racially-charged mass murder and the difficult quest for true justice. Charles Oldham unspools the complex mystery of guilt or innocence with a deft hand, artfully embedding the events of the crime within the rich history of a reguion fraught with conflict in an era of deadly social upheaval. A terrific read.
Philip Gerard, Author of Cape Fear Rising, and Winner of the North Carolina
Award For Literature
Award For Literature
Ship of Blood opens with a disturbing scene on the decks of the Harry A. Berwind, a wooden commercial wooden vessel that was en route from Mobile, Alabama to Philadelphia, carrying a load of lumber, in October 1905. Another vessel encountered the Berwind one night off the coast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and saw that the ship was moving erratically, as if in distress. The captain of the other vessel sent a boarding party over to the Berwind by boat, and as they made their way on board, they found signs of a homicidal rampage.
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Other books by Charles Oldham
Senator’s Son
On Monday, February 13, 1905, eight-year-old Kenneth Beasley walked to the back of his school's playground and into the melting snow of the woods beyond. He never returned. A massive search was undertaken for the North Carolina state senator's son, and a reward was offered. Despite clues, rumors and even a ransom note, he was never found.
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Event Dates
Book Signing Dates
August 2022
No event found!
Contact Charles
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About Charles
As an Author and Attorney
Charles Oldham is a native of Sanford, North Carolina, and has grown up with a love of everything about Tar Heel history. A graduate of Davidson College and the University of Georgia School of Law, he has been an attorney since 2000 and practiced criminal defense law for more than ten years. Charles now resides in Charlotte.