THE BOOKS
All of my books are based on real crimes. In my first book, What the Barber Knew, it was The Brinks Robbery, which was unsolved for more than half a decade. In Dead to Rights, it was the suspicious death of a CIA operative in the Drake Hotel in Chicago, which remains an open case. In Pack of Scoundrels, I focused on the unsolved murder of teenager Cricket Coogler. I hope you enjoy the history as much as the mystery. My latest book, The Girl in the Orange Maillot is based on the tragic consequence of a false accusation — the death of a close friend.
The Girl in the Orange Maillot
September 1963: Pastor David Elliott finds himself investigating an execution-style slaying. Eight years ago, the victim falsely accused David’s close friend of sexual abuse of a young girl. Now that friend’s son is charged with the murder. David’s efforts to prove his innocence provokes friction with police investigators, an influential church member, and David’s own life decisions. Meanwhile, two whip-smart women join David in the quest for the truth. The trio’s search propels them along a treacherous path with little to rely on but their sharp wits. To find the crafty killer in time to save their friend, the girl in the orange maillot is the key.
Pack of Scoundrels
Las Cruces, New Mexico. 1954. The suspicious death of a friend and a CONFIDENTIAL memorandum stolen from White Sands Proving Ground, epicenter of America's postwar space program, plunge yound David Elliott and his cousin Judy into a deadly battle with vicious killers and a powerful coalition of "Patriots." They race to uncover the real name of the mysterious Cholla; the key that unlocks the answers to their friend's death, the memo and the unsolved murder of a teenager. Time is running out.
Dead to Rights
David Elliott’s major professor Steven Jeffrey dies unexpectedly. The next day David receives a mysterious coded letter from him. Elliott’s attempts to decipher the message thrust him into a tangle of intrigue, murder and peril, masterminded by a cadre of U.S. government agents. At all costs these operatives must prevent the stunning facts of the professor’s death from being revealed.
As David fights against those who want to kill him, he also struggles with personal attitudes and beliefs which risk the loss of friendship and love.
Judy Elliott, David’s cousin, proves to be a resourceful, intrepid partner, and surprisingly much more. How will these cousins respond to what they grow to realize about themselves and each other? Will they prevail against powerful enemies of individual rights and the rights of a democratic society?
What the Barber Knew
David Elliott, adventurous high school junior, stumbles upon the murdered body of his barber, Benny Angelone. Days later David narrowly escapes death at the hands of an unknown assailant who believes David heard or saw something that will send the barber’s killer to the chair. He tracks young Elliott’s every move, looking for the moment to strike.
But what does Elliott know? What did the barber know which signed his death warrant? In a desperate race against time David must find the answers or be killed. His daring efforts involve him in one of the most famous crimes of the 20th century and bring him - and the reader - to the cliff’s edge with a relentless killer.