A few years ago, author Joe McGinniss, whose Fatal Vision is among a handful of acknowledged classics in true crime, pronounced the genre deader than Marley: “The last three books I’ve written have been about soccer, which nobody in America cares about; horse racing, which nobody in America cares about; and true crime, a genre that expired sometime last century . . .” If the genre is dead, it died fairly young. It hasn’t even been 50 years … [Read more...]
BOGEYMAN-Channeling In Cold Blood
Veteran true crime author Steve Jackson channels the well-established In Cold Blood tradition of absenting himself from the plot, like a journalist, while constructing a narrative, driven by action and dialog, influenced by novel-writing technique. Jackson’s gradually unfolding story feels familiar to anybody accustomed to reading police procedurals and crime thrillers. The horrifying aspects of Jackson’s narrative, of the very killer every … [Read more...]
BOGEYMAN-Steve Jackson-LATalkRadio
Steve discusses BOGEYMAN and his other books, as well as writing in general, with LATalkRadio hosts John Johnson and Dr. Estella Sneider. … [Read more...]
Debut Mystery Novel NAKED ADDICTION By Caitlin Rother Set In Sunny San Diego
Tired of working undercover narcotics, police detective Ken Goode wants a transfer to homicide. After the Camus-reading surfer finds the body of a beautiful woman in an alley, he is assigned to head a team of relief detectives with the hopes of proving he is homicide-worthy. As Goode explores the underbelly of the affluent coastal enclave of La Jolla, California, and its hipster neighbor, Pacific Beach, he clashes with the patrons and employees … [Read more...]
BOGEYMAN-Steve on True Crime Discussions
New York Times bestselling author Steve Jackson looks forward to joining the members of the True Crime Discussions group on Facebook to talk about BOGEYMAN. Mark your calendars for December 12 @ 7pm est. Read the book and come join us! … [Read more...]
MAN OVERBOARD-Praised by newspaper as “darkly funny”
"Barer pulls no punches in his telling of the story," writes Frank Girodot, the senior editor of the San Gabriel Valley News Group, "which begins humorously enough: “Phil Champagne died Aug. 31, 1982, in a tragic boating accident off Lopez Island, Washington. He was 52. Champagne was survived by his wife of 28 years, four grown children, an octogenarian mother and two despondent brothers. Phil didn’t know he was dead until he read it in the … [Read more...]
True Crime Author Kevin Sullivan
Greetings fellow readers! My journey with the written word began very early in life. The first book I read (devoured actually) was Charles Franklin's, The World's Worst Murderers, published in 1965. Since I was only ten, it wasn't the kind of book that should have interested me, but it did. And despite having to stop occasionally to ask my mother the meaning of a particular word or two, within two weeks I closed the book with a distinct … [Read more...]
Burl Barer Hosts True Crime Uncensored
Date: Saturdays, 2 p.m. (Pacific Time) Author and Outlaw Radio host Burl Barer interviews crime writers, experts, journalists and even criminals on True Crime Uncensored. Click here for upcoming shows. … [Read more...]
BOGEYMAN-‘He stands on the edge of a foul dark pond …”
"He stands on the edge of a foul dark pond as the cold winds of hell howl around him. In his cruel hands, he holds a collection of shiny pebbles that represent every child he took, subjected to unspeakable horrors and pain, and then remorselessly killed in the most terrifying manner imaginable. With each murder, the monster, this bogeyman, this nightmare, tosses a pebble into the bottomless waters causing ripples of misery and devastation to … [Read more...]
Bogeyman – Throwaway Kids
Editor’s Note: Katlyn Sweet is the daughter of Detective Gary Sweet, one of the main investigators whose quest to catch serial child-killer David Penton is the subject of BOGEYMAN: He Was Every Parent’s Nightmare. She wrote this blog about her father's investigation and its impression on her then and now. A small child is abducted, scared, murdered and tossed onto the earth like she means nothing to this world. In fact, the small child is … [Read more...]