Sourtoe Cocktail Club Archives

"SOURTOE COCKTAIL CLUB is a world-beater of a tale.” —Ivan Doig, celebrated author of 'This House of Sky' Ivan Doig “THE OBITUARY is a damn near perfect mystery!” —John Lescroart, NYTimes bestselling mystery author John Lescroart “Ron Franscell’s masterful storytelling strikes hard at the heart.” —Denver Post Denver Post “Ron Franscell’s ‘THE DARKEST NIGHT gets everything right …” —C.J. Box, NYTimes bestselling mystery author C.J. Box The San Francisco Chronicle listed ANGEL FIRE among its 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century West San Francisco Chronicle “Ron Franscell takes you there ... completely.” —Ann Rule 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') W.P. Kinsella “Franscell’s themes involve a fresh approach to our rural roots as a font for the elusive American spirit." —USA Today USA Today "SHADOWMAN is a thrill ride ..." —Legendary FBI profiler John Douglas John Douglas “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 Vince DiMaio “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' Vincent Bugliosi “Ron Franscell has always been in the upper echelon of true-crime authors." —Gregg Olsen, #1 NYTimes bestselling true-crime author Gregg Olsen "[SHADOWMAN] has the ghostly unease of a nightmare." —Michael Cannell, author of 'Incendiary: The Psychiatrist, the Mad Bomber and the Invention of Criminal Profiling' Michael Cannell “One of the finest true-crime writers I’ve ever read." —Craig Johnson, NYTimes bestselling author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries Craig Johnson "[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' Jeff Guinn

by Ron Franscell

I’m gonna miss you, Elsie Mae

I never met Elsie Mae but I wish I had. I don’t know too much more than last week’s obituary tells me: She taught grade school for most of her life, led Sunday school, and played the church organ at the First Presbyterian Church in Ottumwa, Iowa. She had 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. She […]

by Ron Franscell

A father, a son, and the longest day

Excerpted from “The Sourtoe Cocktail Club,” by Ron Franscell (Globe Pequot Press, 2011). While Matt sleeps, I watch the subtly changing sky as the sun circles around to the north on the longest day of the year. The clouds are breaking up and patches of blue are oozing through. The day is warming. I smell […]

by Ron Franscell

The day the sun didn’t set for a father and a son

June 21, 2007 Somewhere in the Arctic on a day when the sun never sets While Matt sleeps, I watch the subtly changing sky as the sun circles around to the north. The clouds are breaking up and patches of blue are oozing through. The day is warming. I smell spruce, woodsmoke and musky earth. […]

by Ron Franscell

A message from the past

As I write this, my birthday is still about 13 hours away, but my first birthday well-wish has arrived from the other side of the world. It comes from my friend Shoukry Henain, a Cairo chef I met on the street there just a few weeks after 9/11, and who plays a small but sublime role […]