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“THE OBITUARY is a damn near perfect mystery!”
—John Lescroart, NYTimes bestselling mystery author

“Franscell’s themes involve a fresh approach to our rural roots as a font for the elusive American spirit."
—USA Today

"SOURTOE COCKTAIL CLUB is a world-beater of a tale.”
—Ivan Doig, celebrated author of
'This House of Sky'

“One of the finest true-crime writers
I’ve ever read."
—Craig Johnson, NYTimes bestselling author
of the Walt Longmire Mysteries

"[SHADOWMAN] has the ghostly unease of a nightmare—
as atmospheric and unnerving a story as you’ll ever read."
—Michael Cannell, author of 'Incendiary: The Psychiatrist,
the Mad Bomber and the Invention of Criminal Profiling'

“Ron Franscell takes you there ... completely.”
—Ann Rule

“Ron Franscell spins one masterful tale after another…”
—W.P. Kinsella, author of 'Shoeless Joe'
(adapted as the Kevin Costner movie 'Field of Dreams')

"[Ron Franscell] reminds the rest of us who write
in this genre how it ought to be done.”
—Jeff Guinn, #1 NYTimes bestselling author of
'Manson' and 'The Road to Jonestown'

“If any modern crime writer should bear the mantel of the
late, great Jack Olsen it is Ron Franscell
... nobody does it better."
—Dr. Vincent DiMaio, renowned medical examiner

“Ron Franscell’s ‘THE DARKEST NIGHT gets everything right …”
—C.J. Box, NYTimes bestselling mystery author

The San Francisco Chronicle listed ANGEL FIRE among
its 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century West

“Ron Franscell has always been
in the upper echelon of true-crime authors."
—Gregg Olsen, #1 NYTimes bestselling true-crime author

“In my view, Ron Franscell is one of the very finest and most exciting true-crime writers in America."
—Vincent Bugliosi, Manson prosecutor and author of 'Helter Skelter'

"SHADOWMAN is a thrill ride ..."
—Legendary FBI profiler John Douglas

“Ron Franscell’s masterful storytelling strikes
hard at the heart.”
—Denver Post

by Ron Franscell

5 Yuletide Crimes: Death doesn’t take a holiday

The song says it’s the most wonderful time of the year—but it has historically been a lot less wonderful for some. Crime doesn’t take a holiday. In fact, evil celebrates those the days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, too. You already know that burglars, muggers, identity thieves, and carjackers run rampant during the holidays,…

by Ron Franscell

In defense of Ebenezer Scrooge

I originally wrote this essay as a newspaper column in 1995. It appears here today with a few minor but festive updates because, well, Scrooge is timeless. No businessman in the history of literature has been as misunderstood as Ebenezer Scrooge. His very name is now a synonym for pinch-fisted churlishness and humbuggery. Why? Certainly…

by Ron Franscell

We’ll always have mass murder

This essay was originally written just two days after the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in 2012. This weekend’s tragic shooting in Colorado Springs CO and yesterday’s workplace violence in Chesapeake VA make me want to re-run it, as I have several times when such senseless events happen. It appears anew here now, with only minor…