Discover Fleeing Baltimore - the gripping, unflinching story of a city's heartbreaking collapse and one woman's bold escape. After 33 years immersed in Baltimore's raw pulse -- from neighbors striking Mega Millions gold to witnessing overdoses, execution-style killings, and the spectacular downfall of icons like Under Armour -- Jeannette Belliveau did the unthinkable at age 65: she sold her home and fled to rural Idaho. But this isn't just a personal memoir. It's the first in-depth exposé of 44 "Outlier homicides"-the shocking murders of law-abiding, rule-following citizens (cancer researchers, tech founders, a brilliant space economist, students, coaches, bartenders) who played by every societal expectation . yet still became victims of the city's relentless violence.While other cities might see one or two such tragedies, Baltimore suffered dozens. These overlooked losses fueled an exodus of 400,000 residents since 1950, accelerating the city's dramatic population collapse. Belliveau, a former business editor at The Baltimore Sun and graphics editor on The Washington Post's Investigative Team, tracks these cases with meticulous research (drawing on more than 700 sources) and an insider-outsider's eye, treating Baltimore like a foreign land gone wrong.

Blending the gritty realism of The Wire and We Own This City, the sharp comedy of Hairspray (including a hilarious chapter on that neighbor's lottery win), and the richly drawn characters of Laura Lippman and Anne Tyler, Fleeing Baltimore weaves investigative journalism, political indictment, cultural history, and deeply personal loss into an unforgettable narrative.