Deaf Row Archives - Ron Franscell

Rural Noir: What Raymond Chandler didn’t tell you

We have a mythology about small towns in America, and it goes something like this: people know each other, watch out for each other, leave their doors unlocked at night. […]

by Ron Franscell

Rewriting Reality: Who owns a crime story?

Writers like to pretend stories are found objects—arrowheads in the dust, waiting for the right set of eyes. We talk about stumbling onto them, as if narrative were a vein […]

by Ron Franscell

The Second Coming of Father Bert Clancy

There are two kinds of priests in fiction. The first wears immaculate vestments, speaks in ecclesiastic riddles, and inevitably knows more about the murder than he lets on. The second […]

by Ron Franscell

The small, strange details in DEEP END you might not notice

There’s a small, mischievous part of me that believes every crime novel should come with a magnifying glass and a wink. As I put the finishing touches on DEEP END, […]

by Ron Franscell

Ghosts of Placitas: The Real Crime That Haunts DEEP END

For a true-crime writer, the world is seldom what it seems. Every place hums with a past life; every peaceful landscape casts a longer, darker shadow. When I moved to […]

by Ron Franscell

The Allure of Nowhere: Where the Roads Ends, Mystery Begins

There’s something seductive about the edge of the map. We talk about remote places the way earlier generations spoke of monasteries or islands—as if distance itself confers virtue. Move far […]

by Ron Franscell

Fireside Chat with Anne Hillerman @ Placitas Library

In a fireside chat with friend and fellow mystery author ANNE HILLERMAN, Ron will talk about his new mystery novel DEEP END, which was inspired by a true-life 1970 double […]

by Ron Franscell

True Crime to Crime Fiction: A plot twist I didn’t see coming

Reporting tells us what happened; fiction asks why it matters. Up to 2020, I wrote bestselling true-crime books like THE DARKEST NIGHT and SHADOWMAN. Then COVID-19 shut down my field […]

by Ron Franscell

The Last Honest Place in Town

In every town I’ve ever known—from wind-scoured prairie crossroads to mountain hamlets tucked against a hard horizon—there is a table of old men always holding court over coffee. You know […]

by Ron Franscell

DEEP END launches!

The wait is over! DEEP END, sequel to Ron’s popular thriller DEAF ROW, will be released today! DEEP END is now available in print, ebook, and audiobook wherever you buy […]

by Ron Franscell

DEEP END

COMING MAY 5, 2026! PRE-ORDER NOW! in print, ebook, and audio formats wherever you buy books! When a cannabis billionaire is murdered, retired Denver homicide detective Woodrow “Mountain” Bell […]

by Ron Franscell

Last room on Route 66: What we owe the dead

For the past couple months, I’ve been chasing a ghost. Fifty years ago, a 53-year-old man checked into a cheap roadside motel along Route 66 in the kind of Southwestern […]

by Ron Franscell

You might be surprised who’s reading DEAF ROW!

Hollywood actor, comedian, and impressionist Jim Meskimen—the superb narrator on DEAF ROW’s audiobook—offers some insights on some beloved celebrities who might be reading my new mystery.

by Ron Franscell

Book clubs: 10 Questions about ‘Deaf Row’

Does your book club feature a lot of awkward silences? Is the deepest question, “Did you like it?” Tired of meetings that are more about the furniture than the book? […]

by Ron Franscell

Which is harder to write … true crime or crime fiction?

My true crimes like SHADOWMAN and THE DARKEST NIGHT are the product of old-school research and investigation. I’m an old-fashioned reporter who believes in first-hand, up-close sensory experiences that tell […]

by Ron Franscell

Hollywood veteran Jim Meskimen breathes life into DEAF ROW

When you read a printed book, you might imagine the different characters’ motivation, feelings, and emotions. You might even envision funny little mannerisms. But when you listen to an audiobook, […]

by Ron Franscell

DEAF ROW

Sequel DEEP END coming in 2026! FINALIST in 2024 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in Crime Fiction! Retired to a small Colorado mountain town, ex-Denver homicide detective Woodrow “Mountain” Bell yearns […]

by Ron Franscell

New book trailer for DEAF ROW!

Get a taste of the new thriller that suspense superstars Anne Hillerman, CJ Box, and John Lescroart are raving about! Then go pre-order DEAF ROW at your favorite bookstore and […]

by Ron Franscell

‘Chilling’ new DEAF ROW cover unveiled!

A great book cover elicits an emotional response. And if it’s done well, a reader will feel the same while reading the book. In the case of the new cover […]

by Ron Franscell

Something novel

Unable to go out into the world during Covid, I turned inward. How could I use what I’ve learned in decades of true storytelling and journalism? How can I still write a provocative book without leaving the safety of my home and imagination? The answers changed the arc of my writing.