forensics Archives - Ron Franscell

Digging up Lee Harvey Oswald

Sixty years ago today, JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was gunned down by Jack Ruby in Dallas. Here’s an excerpt from my Edgar-nominated true crime MORGUE: A LIFE IN DEATH, which […]

by Ron Franscell

Beware of fast, easy answers about Uvalde’s tragedy

WHY is a natural and human question. I’m not a psychologist, I’m a journalist who has spent a career exploring what some evil, disturbed humans can do to fellow humans. […]

by Ron Franscell

How many serial killers are out there? You’ll never leave home again

One of the world’s most celebrated forensic psychologists called this morning, just to chat. It was a casual conversation. Richard and I talked about the weather, his latest case, Scotch […]

by Ron Franscell

So you wanna be a crime writer, eh? Forget these myths

You’ve been exposed to so much Hollywood crapola that I’m surprised you aren’t already on Ducky’s slab.

by Ron Franscell

What’s in your DNA? Just a killer grandma? Or gold for exploiters?

At dinner recently with an IT professional, the conversation drifted into our inexorable plunge toward the mass retailing of our privacy—from intimate data collected by smartphones, Alexa, and your own […]

by Ron Franscell

Canadian producer developing TV series on MORGUE

Pixcom, an international production company based in Montreal, has optioned our book MORGUE: A LIFE IN DEATH—co-authored with world-renowned medical examiner Dr. Vincent Di Maio—for a true-crime TV series, the […]

by Ron Franscell

For writers, endings are beginnings

“I hate writing; I love having written.” —Dorothy Parker Once upon a time, early-day typesetters recognized the end of a newspaper story when they saw “XXX” at the bottom of […]

by Ron Franscell

The Black Dahlia dissected again

Today, it’s been 71 years since Elizabeth Short’s grisly parts were discovered in a vacant Los Angeles subdivision, sliced cleanly in half and posed lasciviously. This obscure waitress suddenly became far […]

by Ron Franscell

New earthy, Wyoming true crime by Ron Franscell is in the pipeline

The good news is, I have just signed the contract for a new true crime book with Prometheus Books of New York. It will be published in Spring 2019 and […]

by Ron Franscell

Waxing Brazilian … a new edition

Ponder the enigma of a writer who can’t read the words he’s strung together. No, I’m not having a stroke. I simply cannot speak, read, or write Portuguese. And that’s […]

by Ron Franscell

Listen to Ron’s Inquiry interview on Mass. Public Radio

Mark Lynch hosts the popular Inquiry radio show on WICN Public Radio in Worcester, Mass. This week, he interviewed Ron about MORGUE: A LIFE IN DEATH, co-authored with Dr. Vincent […]

by Ron Franscell

Vincent van Gogh: Suicide or homicide?

Among the historic, infamous, and heartbreaking deaths we explore in the brand-new book MORGUE: A LIFE IN DEATH (St. Martin’s Press) is the presumed suicide of the troubled genius Vincent […]

by Ron Franscell

Goodreads picks MORGUE for May!

Goodreads has recommended MORGUE: A LIFE IN DEATH among its best May books! This is a coveted honor. If you’re among the 39 million (or so) active and engaged readers who […]

by Ron Franscell

Morgue: A Life in Death

2017 EDGAR nominee! Now in US paperback from Picador and and various foreign languages around the world. Forensic science is booming. TV dramas, books and movies have made morgues cool. […]