ANNE PERRY AND THE MURDER OF THE CENTURY: Recommended Read

Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham is a fascinating read.  I’ll admit that initially I thought the title was a bit over the top—there are a lot of homicides that could challenge that claim.  However, when I realized the book was written by a New Zealand author, I realized that in the context of that country, it did live up to its billing.

This well-written, captivating book plunges you into the disturbed lives of two teenage girls, Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, who felt justified in killing Pauline’s mother, Honorah Parker, in 1954.  Graham explores the vagaries of the adolescent mind as well as the now-antiquated notions of the psychiatric profession of the time and the dynamics of two families in different social strata whose mingling ended in violence and death.

Graham conquered the many challenges inherent in crafting an historical true crime book, creating a portrayal of this unique homicide set in an amazing idyllic locale and happening in a far more innocent era.  It’s no wonder that this case remains a frequent topic of conversation in New Zealand and a cause célèbre of the lesbian community there. 

Beyond the telling of the crime itself, Graham escorts you through the trial, the incarceration and to the discovery of the two women who adopted new names and had built new lives halfway around the world.  The story is captivating without the added notoriety gained by the identity of one the girls—the woman we now know as the highly successful and admired author Anne Perry. 

It is obvious that Perry has overcome the darkness of her past but Graham points out the psychological contortions she had to do to achieve that victory: mentally and emotionally distancing herself from her role in the murder and denying the complexity of the relationship between Juliet and Pauline.  I highly recommend Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century.  If you’re like me, you won’t be able to put this one down. 

Murder by the Book   Amazon   Barnes&Noble   Powells Books

Sleep My Darlings: The True Story of a Mother Who Murdered Her Children in Cold Blood

This weekend, the driving bass of boisterous music echoed across the canyon and into my house.  It made me think of Calyx Schenecker because the reason for the noise was the Relay for Life at New Braunfels High School, a fundraiser benefiting the American Cancer Society.

Calyx was an ardent supporter of this event at C. Leon King High School.  She lead a team of Harry Potter enthusiasts in 2011 but was not able to participate herself, because on January 27, 2011,two months before the special day,  Calyx lost her life.

She and her brother Beau were shot dead at point blank range by the one person who should have been intent on preserving their lives--their mother Julie Schenecker.  It is clear that Julie premeditated this crime, purchasing a hand gun, waiting through the three days until she could take possession of it and then executing her children.

Her actions were cold and heartless.  But did Julie see that clearly?  Or was she driven by the insane thoughts generated by serious mental illness?

Today, St. Martin's Press releases SLEEP MY DARLINGS, an exploration of the dark mind of a middle-aged, upper middle-class woman who, on the surface, seemed to have it all.

Pick up a copy at your favorite book store or find paperback and eBook versions at all the regular places on line.

And if you are anywhere in my general area, please come see me.  I'll be glad to autograph your books and answer your questions.  This coming weekend, I'll be at Barnes and Noble Round Rock on Saturday at 2 pm; and at the Twig in San Antonio from 1-3.  See other scheduled book signings on my calendar

SLEEP MY DARLINGS will make you question your notions about motherhood and your understanding of mental illness.  Researching this story shook me to my core and filled me with gratitude for my mother, my children and my sanity.

Free Books for the Celebration of 2013

The winning continues during the Celebration of 2013, the year of my 20th book.  So far this year, I've given away three of my books: Wrong Turn, Mistaken Identity and Bite the Moon along with Angel Sometimes by Helen Ginger and Gone the Next by Ben Rehder.

Tomorrow (Tuesday, March 19), you get a chance to win And Then She Killed Him, a true crime book about Miriam Giles, a seductive, charismatic widow with a dark side, by Robert Scott.  For your chance to win "like" my True Crime Books page on Facebook, pick a number from 1-300 and leave your lucky guess.  Only one entry per day--contest starts tomorrow morning and ends 48 hours later on Thursday morning, March 21.

And that does not end the giveaways this month.  The following week, I'll be giving you a chance to receive a copy of any one of my titles that I have in stock.  That contest will run simultaneously on all three of my Facebook pages: Diane Fanning, Lucinda Pierce and True Crime Books.

In April, you'll get another chance to win your choice of my most recent true crime, Her Deadly Web, or the latest Lieutenant Lucinda Pierce novel, Wrong Turn.  In addition, that month, you could score a copy of new book from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig: The Ashford Affair, a page-turning novel about two women in different eras and on different continents who are connected by one deeply buried secret.  

Then St. Martin's Press releases my 20th book, Sleep My Darlings, on April 30, and I'll give away one copy every week in May.

But the winning won't end then--it continues all year--and includes a special contest for eBook readers, If You Were Here by Alafair Burke, the April release from Iris Johansen, and much more.  At least two book giveaways every month until the end of this fabulous year.

Join me on Facebook where the winning is only beginning.

Missing Person: Shattered Lives

Eight years ago today, Mike Severance disappeared.  That weekend, he was supposed to fly from Texas with his wife, child and stepson to visit his family in Maine.  He never arrived.

Twenty-four-year-old Air Force Staff Sergeant Mike Severance survived five missions in the middle east, landing in Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Uzbekistan.  As a C-130 crew chief, he participated in 515 sorties and 232 peacekeeping missions, accumulating 922 flying hours with a 99 percent departure reliability rating.  By all accounts, he was an outstanding airman.

Mike was much more than that.  He was a doting dad to his son, a loving father-figure to his 4-year-old stepson, a devoted son and brother and an unflappable friend.  He was generous, kind, responsible and fun-loving.  Each person I talked to about Mike Severance had a funny story to tell about him. Everyone could easily cite one or more reasons why Mike was a special part of their life.

For seven weeks--fifty interminable days--family and friends did not know Mike's whereabouts, did not know if he was alive or dead, did not know if they'd ever see him again.  It was an agonizing time for the Severance family.

To take another person's life is an abhorrent act.  It is even worse when the perpetrator conceals the body and, by doing so, magnifies the pain of everyone who cares about the deceased with the slow torture of not knowing.

Once Mike's discarded body was found, investigators arrested Wendi Davidson and charged her with his murder.  The family could now grieve and lay their Mike to rest.  They were devastated by their loss but, at least, they no longer were lost in the wilderness raging a battle between hope and dread.

I encourage you all to find a missing persons organization that you can support by volunteering time, spreading the word about the missing or sending a contribution to help them in their work.  When I attended a CUE Center for Missing Persons conference last year, I talked to a lot of families living in the limbo of not knowing what happened to one of their own.  Across the nation, many people depend on the organizations who are dedicated to helping locate the missing  and they depend on you. Let them know you appreciate their efforts and lend your support whenever you can.

I wrote about Mike Severance and his murder in my book, A Poisoned Passion.

Enter to Win a copy of Wrong Turn

I am giving away a copy of the sixth book in my Lt. Lucinda Pierce fiction series, Wrong Turn. Lucinda Pierce struggles with the possibility of wrongful conviction in two cases that refuse to remain closed.

It's easy to enter.  Just like my Lucinda Pierce page and pick a number from 1 to 300 and leave your  guess as a comment on that page.  You have 72 hours to post your answer--one entry per person.  Whoever gets the number or gets closest, wins an autographed copy of Wrong Turn.

Start playing now.

Looking for a Big Thrill?

I know exactly where you can find the Big Thrill you need.

The Big Thrill is the free, monthly webzine featuring thriller writers from all over the globe.  It is a publication of the International Thriller Writers and is chock full of fun and informative features that lovers of thriller novels and crime fiction and non-fiction will love.

The Never-Ending Book Giveaway gives you the opportunity to win free books from your favorite writers every month of the year.  You'll find the latest releases in books and eBooks, interviews with authors, essays from writers and a whole panoply of articles and activities designed with the reader in mind.

If you do not subscribe to The Big Thrill, fix that problem right now by visiting their site and signing up.
And while you're there, be sure to read my piece about the real life experience that inspired WRONG TURN, my latest Lt. Lucinda Pierce novel.

2013: The Year of my 20th Book.  Start reading and celebrate with me!

A Haunted Interview in the Old South

Last weekend, I experienced my most unusual interview location ever--a haunted house, Magnolia Manor Bed and Breakfast in Bolivar, Tennessee.  One of the spirits that haunts place is Priscilla McNeal who died at the age of 18.  When I entered the room where her portrait hangs, the air grew very chilled--much colder than the rest of the house.  I was immediately taken by her eyes that follow you with a cold glare as you walk around the room.  It is said that her ghost rips off the sheets of people who sleep in her room.  Viewing her visage hanging upon the fireplace was a spooky experience.

Priscilla McNeal

For the past 25 years, paranormal investigators have been scrutinizing this classic, two-story Georgian Colonial built in 1849.  Guests and owner Elaine Cox have reported footsteps in empty hallways, strange lights, antique dolls moving, and doors opening and closing when no one is there.  The house has been featured on more than a few television shows including "If Walls Could Talk" on HGTV.

Do I believe in Ghosts?  I'm not sure but I certainly did feel very uneasy in Priscilla's room.  Shelaney, a member of the production team, spent one night in the house but was so unsettled by the experience, she had no desire to stay there again.

Magnolia Manor was dripping with gothic southern charm, including period antique furnishings, stained glass, and portraits of Confederate generals.  Ironically, the house was occupied by the Union army during the war, hosting a number of Yankee generals including Grant and Sherman, as they planned the Battle of Shiloh.  In this house, dripping with history, I sank into that Gone with the Wind ambiance, in no time.

I was there for a new Investigation Discovery program tentatively titled "Southern Fried Homicide."  The crime I discussed was the Mary Winkler case, subject of my book, The Pastor's Wife.  Mary shot Matthew, her preacher husband, in the back while he was sleeping in nearby Selmer, Tennessee.

Book on the Mary Winkler case

Visiting this haunted bed and breakfast was a lot of fun but the highlight of the trip was meeting the production crew from Sirens Media who gathered together in Tennessee from far-flung locations .  Shelaney was from Maryland, my birth state.  Linda hailed from Chattanooga, but her mother lives near my mother's neighbor in Florida.  Martin, the cameraman, lives just outside of Houston but is a German citizen, and, in the oddest coincidence, Parker, the sound guy, resides just a couple of blocks away from my daughter in Austin--and I've actually been in the building where he lives.

It was a wonderful and exhausting weekend with a great bunch of people.  And now I can add to my list of accomplishments an interview in a Haunted House--kind of appropriate for a crime writer, isn't it?