45 years ago today, Mark Essex unleashed himself
This was excerpted from Ron Franscell’s DELIVERED FROM EVIL, a book that explores the lives of 10 ordinary people who survived mass killers. One of those monsters was a racist […]
Read More…Tag: true crime
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 […]
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Before Vegas and Orlando, there was Luby’s Cafeteria
The entire restaurant was eerily silent, except for the pop-pop-pop of George Hennard’s guns and his profane ranting. Frightened diners hid the best they could, sometimes protected by nothing more […]
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The flags of our killers
In the last couple football seasons, Americans have exhausted a lot of very personal energy arguing about our flag. What it stands for. Whether it’s bigger than us. What respect […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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Every generation has its bogeyman
Excerpted from The Crime Buff’s Guide to Outlaw Los Angeles (2017, WildBluePress) Every generation has its bogeyman. Before 1969, maybe it was Adolf Hitler. After 2001, Osama bin Laden. […]
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On verge of freedom, suspected serial baby-killer faces new charge
Genene Jones, a Texas nurse who murdered a baby in the 1980s, got 90 years in prison for her cold-blooded crime. Prosecutors and cops suspected strongly she had done […]
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New book trailer for Outlaw Los Angeles
Billy the Kid: Ten perfectly still seconds for eternity, By Ron Franscell
We know almost nothing of him, except he was a gypsy photographer, drifting the dusty roads of the territories. Trooping wearily from one far-flung town to another, he’d likely stop […]
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MORGUE nominated for Edgar!
This morning, the Mystery Writers of America announced that MORGUE: A LIFE IN DEATH, by Dr. Vincent Di Maio and Ron Franscell, is among the nominees for its prestigious Edgar Awards […]
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Whistling in the graveyard
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” —William Faulkner So the would-be mass murderer at Ohio State University this week was apparently inspired by the hateful words of American-born cleric Anwar […]
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A season of slaughter is coming
Where I grew up, you learned the smell of rain coming, and could damn near tell the exact day, maybe the exact moment, the seasons changed. Well, a dark season […]
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There’s pain and love. Then there’s painful love.
Some stories are about love, and some are about pain. But painful love stories like the star-crossed romance between Annie Beatrice McQuiston and Claude “Cowboy” Henry started long before they […]
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A dark night, long ago and far away
Every crime writer has heard this little heckling voice, usually from the cheap seats, but sometimes from inside his own head. It isn’t always loud, but it’s often piercing. Tragically, […]
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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 […]
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Amazon puts MORGUE in Top 10 for May!
A week after Goodreads picked MORGUE: A LIFE IN DEATH among its best May books, Amazon has named it one of the 10 Best Nonfictions hitting the shelf this month! These are marvelous endorsements […]
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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 […]
Read More… MORGUE book trailer
Click here to watch! Then pre-order at Wind City Books, Amazon, and bookstores everywhere!
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Can you spot the killer?
Winston Mosely murdered New York bartender Kitty Genovese in an infamous 1964 knife attack that raised questions about the role of bystanders in crime. When he died in prison this […]
Read More… Outlaw Los Angeles
“Meticulously researched guide book into the baddest of the bad in LaLa Land. Franscell confirms what history has always known: Los Angeles is the ‘Queen of Angels’ and the ‘King […]
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Eyeball tattoos (and other prison brainstorms)
More contributions to the betterment of the world have come from prison than you might imagine … or want to imagine.
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‘Lost’ pieces of ‘The Darkest Night’
Tomorrow, THE DARKEST NIGHT celebrates eight years since it was first published in paperback. Almost immediately it became a bestseller and readers continue to find it in great numbers today. […]
Read More…What would be your last meal?
Your last breath is only a few hours away. The governor isn’t going to call. People are gathering outside to cheer your death. The Death Row chaplain has run out […]
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