Ungrateful Bastard: The Shocking Journey of a Killer and Escape Artist Hardcover – February 5, 2026

Gordon "Woody" Mower made worldwide news for his foiled attempt to escape a maximum security prison in a getaway coffin. Now, behind the headlines is a story the notorious prisoner tells only to author Susan Ashline. Ungrateful Bastard unravels the making of a killer and escape artist, from a troubled upbringing on a rural farm to a descent into crime, fueled by abuse, addiction—and a thirst for vengeance. A haunting examination of the criminal mind, read some of the killer's tale through his own chilling words.The murderer first rose to infamy in 1996 when, at eighteen years old, he shot his parents dead, forever silencing his mother's moniker for him: "Ungrateful bastard." Mower fled, leading authorities on an international manhunt. When the fugitive was featured on the TV show America's Most Wanted, a tip led to his capture. The judge spared the teenager the death penalty, sending him to prison for life. The killer's relentless pursuit of freedom culminated in a daring scheme to escape prison buried alive under sawdust.A gripping account, Ungrateful Bastard reveals the tragic events that shaped a killer's dark psyche, and the prison climate that allowed him to practice an escape repeatedly, without prison guards ever catching on. Ungrateful Bastard blows the roof off of the Mower case from the cradle to the (escape) coffin. Read more