• Subscribe
  • Submit Your Book Proposal
    • Romance Submissions
  • Blog
  • About WBP
  • Contact Us
  • Award Winners
  • Featured Books

WildBlue Press True Crime Website

Great Reads from Exceptional Authors

Great Reads from
Exceptional Authors

  • Romance
  • True Crime
  • Thrillers
  • Science Fiction
  • Mystery
  • Horror
  • Fantasy
  • History
  • Business

THE DEAD SOUL: A Thriller from New York Times Bestselling Author M. William Phelps

Get THE DEAD SOUL
--
eBook
Amazon Kindle eBook
Paperback
Amazon Trade Paperback
Hard Cover
Amazon Hard CoverAmazon Hard Cover

[THE DEAD SOUL] grabs you by the lapels and doesn’t let go."

—JOHN LUTZ, New York Times bestselling author 

From the desk of one of the most acclaimed and prolific true crime authors comes a mystery thriller certain to captivate his fans.

M. William Phelps’s THE DEAD SOUL takes you on a suspenseful journey through Boston's illicit past, where Detective Jake "Sundance" Cooper fights to redeem his crumbling career. At the same time, a sadistic serial killer known as "the Optimist"—a character based on the author’s 20 years of research and writing about real serial killers—terrorizes young female victims along the city's Freedom Trail.

Cooper's investigation exposes a corrupt Boston PD. It puts him at the center of a choice between blue blood loyalty and the pursuit of truth as his mentor, Detective Mo Blackhall, faces an indictment for his involvement in a scandal.  

Originally published in 2014, this gritty thriller provides a fascinating look into the reality of Boston's mean streets. Driven by a cast of characters reminiscent of Dennis Lehane's finest fiction, THE DEAD SOUL offers a thrill ride of suspense, mystery, and police procedural drama. 

About the Author

Author M. William Phelps

Author M. William Phelps

M. WILLIAM PHELPS is an acclaimed author, creator, and executive producer of the #1 Apple podcast hit franchise PAPER GHOSTS. With 42 nonfiction best-selling books and an Excellence in Journalism Award, he's an authority in true crime. Phelps has written for renowned publications, consulted on TV series like "Dexter," and produced over 350 hours of true crime television. Don't miss his weekly podcast "Crossing the Line with M. William Phelps." Learn more at www.mwilliamphelps.com. 

Filed Under: Crime Fiction, Crime Fiction Books, M. William Phelps, New Releases, THE DEAD SOUL, Thriller Books Tagged With: Boston, corruption, Detective, moral dilemma, Mystery, police procedural drama, Serial Killer, Suspense, suspenseful journey, Thriller
November 14, 2023 By M. William Phelps

THE DEAD SOUL

Amazon Kindle eBook  eBook
Amazon Trade Paperback  Paperback
Amazon Hard CoverAmazon Hard Cover  Hard Cover

INTERNATIONAL KINDLE EBOOKS
USA  UK  Canada  Australia  Germany  France  Spain  Japan  Italy  Brazil  India  Mexico

More from M. William Phelps

newspaper background with "author blog post" written

M. William Phelps Explains: A Serial Killer’s Fictional Counterpart

'And all of it is about him [Happy Face Killer]. His insecurities. His fantasies. His anger. His narcissism. His inadequacy. His incompetence. His … [Read More...]

feature image for author blog post

🎃THIS HALLOWEEN🎃 Get THE DEAD SOUL, M. William Phelps’s Crime Thriller📖The Author Discusses “The ‘Dead Souls’ that Inspire Me”👻

M. William Phelps is the New York Times best-selling author of 45 books and winner of the Excellence in (Investigative) Journalism Award from the … [Read More...]

author photo

Meet Award-winning Investigative Journalist and Author M. William Phelps

William Phelps is the creator, host, writer, and executive producer of the #1 Apple podcast hit franchise PAPER GHOSTS and the New York … [Read More...]

Stranger Than Fiction: 10 Unbelievable True Crime Stories

Big Bird finding a dead woman in his house; a cannibal police officer; a horse suspected of murder; a mysterious crate with horrifying contents; a … [Read More...]

Targeted Kindle Cover

Bestselling Author M. William Phelps Provides Another True Crime Hit With TARGETED

In Colbert, Georgia, on June 5, 2000, local amateur bodybuilder, 38-year-old Doug Benton, disappears. Two weeks later, Benton is found shot and … [Read More...]

XXPhoto16

M. William Phelps: In An Age of True Crime Excess

MY NEW BOOK, TARGETED, IS ABOUT A former Oglethorpe County Georgia sheriff’s deputy who claims to have been framed for a particularly brutal—for a … [Read More...]

Bestselling True Crime Author M. William Phelps: There Are Always More Bodies

I am convinced that part of the “high” a serial killer gets from his murderous path of violence after he is arrested and facing the iron fist of … [Read More...]

M. William Phelps: ON MURDERERS’ ROW SITS A PATHETIC, DESPERATE LIAR

There’s a certain familiarity with the sociopath one encounters after writing 30-plus books about one-off murderers and serial killers. Interviewing … [Read More...]

Read More Thrillers from WildBlue Press

LAST HUNT Thriller by James Byron Huggins

Last Hunt – Final Book in the Hunter Thriller Trilogy

A Ruthless Mind. A Savage Army. A Hunter's Final Reckoning. International bestselling author James Byron Huggins delivers Last Hunt, the third and … [Read More...]

Hunter's Moon by James Byron Huggins

Hunter’s Moon. Bestselling Hunter Sequel!

A Prehistoric Terror Walks Again-and It's Evolving. Buried For 10,000 Years. Awakened To Kill Again. Only One Man Can Hunt The Monster He Once … [Read More...]

front cover

GASPING FOR AIR: Book Two In The ‘Big Dogs Series’ by S.L. Ditmars

SL Ditmars writes another fast-paced, page-turning police procedural... I love the characters and the dogs, Ares and Addy, who make the story even … [Read More...]

book cover

T.J. Champitto’s International Thriller, THE SHADOWMAKER, Wins Literary Titan Gold Award

A mythical diamond has been discovered. Loyalties will be tested. Lives will be lost. January 2023 | The Literary Titan Book Awards are awarded to … [Read More...]

Book Cover

BIG DOGS: Book One In The ‘Big Dogs Series’ by S.L. Ditmars

An Award-winning Crime Saga Begins Rule One When Hunting Serial Killers: Don't Become the Next Victim There is a serial killer up there! Lieutenant … [Read More...]

Book cover with award

Deborah Levison’s Acclaimed Courtroom Thriller A NEST OF SNAKES Wins Connecticut Press Club Award!

In her fiction debut, Deborah Levison, author of the acclaimed, multi-award-winning true crime book THE CRATE, weaves a tale snatched from the … [Read More...]

audiobook cover

LOCKOUT by New York Times Bestselling author John Nance

"A wild ride through the night sky" -Capt. Sully Sullenberger, author of #1 New York Times bestseller "SULLY" Over the Atlantic in the dark of … [Read More...]

Blood Red Ivory Kindle Cover

John Stamp Takes Readers On An Action-Packed Fight For Survival In New Thriller BLOOD RED IVORY

Some Cases You Solve. Some Cases You Survive. Naval Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent, Tyrone Benhoff is in purgatory. That’s … [Read More...]

More Posts from this Category

Bookshelf

New Releases
Featured Books
Coming Soon
Award Winners

True Crime
Romance
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Mysteries
History
Horror
Thrillers
Business
Biography
• John Hinckley Jr.
• Presiding Over Shadows
• Dances With Donkeys
• Secrets Of A Hollywood Private Eye
• Escape From Mariupol
• The Last Jewish Gangster, The Middle Years
• The Last Jewish Gangster, The Early Years
• The Last Jewish Gangster, The Final Years
True Crime
• Model Detective
• The Tylenol Murders
• In Public Record
• Where Murder Lies
• Where Murder Lies
• Murder In The Graveyard
• Empire City Under Siege
• The Forgotten Girls
• The Las Vegas Massacre Connections
• Every Killer Leaves A Trace
• Cruel And Unusual Punishment
• The Serial Killer Travel Guide Across America
• Greg Scarpa, Legendary Evil
• Speaking Truth To Evil
• Chasson's Run
• Depraved Obsession
• Storm Of Suspicion
• The Crack City Strangler
• The Dumond Affair
• A Murder On Campus
• Obsessed
• The Delphi Murders
• Chained Birds
• The Last Story
• The Baby Doll Serial Killer
• Lethal Doses
• The Lewiston Shootings
• Beyond The Headlines
• Baker, Liar, Con Man, Thief
• Of Mobsters And Movie Stars
• I Will Ruin You
• The Gabardine Gang
• Becoming Clark Rockefeller
• Wrecking Crew (New Edition)
• Monsters On The Loose
• Murderers' Row, Volume Four
• Grim Paradise
• Bad Henry
• Stealing Manhattan
• Precious Few Clues
• Death By Talons
• Lou And Jonbenet
• Hidden Demons
• Love Me To Death
• By The Side Of The Road
• Going Under
• I Don't Like Mondays
• The Tuskegee Strangler
• The Decision To Kill
• All Along The Watchtower
• Ted Bundy
• Carmine And The 13Th Avenue Boys
• The Curse Of The Turtle
• Jane Doe 9
• Watch Me Die
• Mystery At The Blue Sea Cottage
• The Wheels Of Justice
• Terror Town, Usa
• Raging On
• The 'Peyton Place' Murder
• The World Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers Volume Four
• The World Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers
• First Degree Rage
• The Garden State Parkway Murders
• Mothers And Murderers
• Playing Dead
• Gabacho
• You Have A Very Soft Voice, Susan
• Wrecking Crew
• My Son, The Killer
• The Killing Game
• Shots In The Dark
• His Garden
• Burned
• The Case Of The Zodiac Killer
• The Beast I Loved
• Sidetracked
• Targeted
• Held Hostage
• Room 1203
• A Special Kind Of Evil
• Brooklyn's Most Wanted
• Betrayal In Blue
• Murderers Row
• Murder In The Family
• Smooth Talker
• A Taste For Murder
• Man Overboard
• Bogeyman
• The Life And Crimes Of Mike From Morrow
• The Moneymaker
• Coal Country Killing
Thriller
• Last Hunt
• The Dead Soul
• Gasping For Air
• Big Dogs
• The Shadowmaker
• A Nest Of Snakes
• Lockout
Mystery
• Deaf Row
• Murder At Mardi Gras
• Raptor's Ridge
• Headlock
• The Obituary
• The Deadline
Science Fiction
• Gremmie's Reef
• Rubicon
• Timberwolf
• Dark Visions
• Hunter
Fantasy
• Dawn Of Legacy
• Destruction Of Justice
History
• Above The Ground
• Fields Of Fortune
• Legion Rising
• The Korean Crisis
• Tempest Tost
• Saving Sandoval
• Killing Rasputin
• Lucky Lady
Romance
• To Bloom Again
• All My Favorite People
• Raven
• My Best And Last
• Crevice
• Created
• When Fall Fades
Business
• Business Brilliance
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
• Hunter's Moon

New Releases

In Public Record: A Journey To The Truth Of A Murder And Trial

Acquitted in court. Convicted in public opinion. September 1990. In Shaker Heights, Ohio, teenage honors student Lisa Lee Pruett vanishes into the night. A boy calls 911 when she does not arrive for a secret late-night meet-up. Police soon find her … [More...]

WHERE MURDER LIES: Death And Deception In West Hollywood by Burl Barer and Frank C. Girardot Jr.

WHERE MURDER LIES: Death And Deception In West Hollywood

Justice is, in this day, bewailing its plight… The murder of a retired Los Angeles school teacher in 2004 never made the evening news, yet within hours arrests were made, charges filed, and a speedy conviction sent to prison Jimmy Kitlas, an … [More...]

Murder In The Graveyard: A Family Cult Tragedy by Frank Stanfield

Murder In The Graveyard: A Family Cult Tragedy

The 911 Call That Opened Hell's Door. One Confession. A Lifetime of Terror. The 911 call was harrowing. "I accidentally killed someone. Please!" the man said, his voice rising. "Who?" "My stepmom. My name is Ian Anselmo. Sue-Ellen Anselmo, she's in … [More...]

John Hinckley Jr.: Who I Really Am

John Hinckley Jr.: Who I Really Am – The Long-Awaited Memoir

John Hinckley Jr. breaks his silence after four decades. He changed history with six shots. Now he's rewriting his own. As shots rang out on March 30, 1981, outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., President Ronald Reagan and three others lay … [More...]

Coming Soon

THE TYLENOL MURDERS: A Father's Confession to His Son, True Crime by Joseph Cibelli

THE TYLENOL MURDERS: A Father’s Confession to His Son

When the Tylenol murders follow you home. The son who dared to expose the truth. Chicago, 1982. Seven people swallowed Tylenol capsules meant to heal, then they died within minutes. America changed overnight, then the killer vanished into darkness, … [More...]

Model Detective: A True Story of Heels, Handcuffs and Homicides by Michele Wood

Model Detective – Inside the Mind of a Female Homicide Boss

Leading Murder Investigations in a Man's World, She Broke the Glass Ceiling-With Handcuffs. MODEL DETECTIVE: A True Story of Heels, Handcuffs and Homicides takes readers where true crime has never gone before-inside the heart, mind, and soul of a … [More...]

Recent Posts

  • THE TYLENOL MURDERS: A Father’s Confession to His Son
  • Model Detective – Inside the Mind of a Female Homicide Boss
  • In Public Record: A Journey To The Truth Of A Murder And Trial
  • WHERE MURDER LIES: Death And Deception In West Hollywood
  • The Story Behind the Story: EMPIRE CITY UNDER SIEGE and Finding Heroes
  • Murder In The Graveyard: A Family Cult Tragedy
  • John Hinckley Jr.: Who I Really Am – The Long-Awaited Memoir

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

eZine SignupJoin our email list and be the first to get hot deals, new releases and...
* Author updates
* Free eBooks
* Free audio books
* Enlightening and entertaining posts
* Advance notice of book deals, special offers

Follow Us

Blog Tag Cloud

best true crime books Bogeyman Bradley Nickell Burl Barer Cold Case crime Crime Fiction Crime thriller Detective Detectives Facebook True Crime historical true crime history Investigation John Ferak Kevin Sullivan Las Vegas memoir Murder murder book murder mystery Mysteries Mystery mystery thriller Non-Fiction Serial Killer serial killer books Serial Killers Steve Jackson Suspense suspense thriller Ted Bundy Thriller Thriller Books True-crime True Crime truecrime True Crime Authors true crime book true crime books true crimes true crime stories True Murder WildBlue Press writing

Privacy Policy

As Seen On:

Our Authors Have Been Seen On...

Interested Authors Click Here
See Our Entire Catalog
SSL Secure Connection

Copyright © 2026 WildBlue Press. All rights reserved.
Website design by Denver Local SEO Marketing Company
THE DEAD SOUL: A Thriller from New York Times Bestselling Author M. William Phelps

Join our newsletter for awesome content, free offers and launch notifications!

By joining our list you will be entered into a contest for a free eBook, audio book or paperback of your choice! We select them regularly, so sign up NOW!

Loading