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Kathryn Casey

Mystery and True Crime Author 

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The credit goes to all of you!

July 13, 2010
Tags: David Temple, Belinda Lucas Temple, Shattered, Kathryn Casey, true crime, murder, Texas
This is a thank you letter of sorts. If I knew all your names, I'd personalize one to each and everyone of you. But I don't, so please forgive me for not being able to do that.

As many of you know, my latest true crime book, SHATTERED, debuted on June 29th. You can look it up here on my Web site by clicking on the title in the left hand column. It's on the Houston murder of Belinda Lucas Temple, and it's a fascinating case, an investigation that took eight years and one of the most amazing trials I've covered. I can't overstate the number of twists and turns this case took over nearly a decade.

The reason I'm saying thank you is that the book is doing remarkably well. It was in the top ten on Amazon's bestselling true crime list for more than a month before it came out. Since its release, SHATTERED has consistently had two places on the top ten, one for the paperback and another for the Kindle edition. For its first two weeks and counting, it's been high on Amazon's bestselling nonfiction summer reading list. Truly wonderful.

And who do I have to thank? All of you, the folks who read the books, and especially those who read them and then make a point to recommend my books to others. So again, thank you! Keep up the good work! It's sincerely appreciated.  Read More 
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A great weekend in San Antonio

April 18, 2010
Tags: Texas Library Association Convention, TLA, San Antonio, Kathryn Casey
I just returned home from a wonderful weekend in San Antonio, where I was on a panel at the Texas Library Association Convention. Thank you to Sharon and Victoria who invited me to attend, and to all the great librarians who stopped by to meet me.

Libraries are inspiring places, don't you agree? I told the story of my first encounters with the school library, and how I fell in love with one book in particular: The Reader's Guide to Periodic Literature. Strange choice? True. Very true. Why that book? Because Read More 
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A Book of Note: Susan Murphy Milano's TIME'S UP

April 11, 2010
Tags: Susan Murphy Milano, domestic violence, domestic abuse
Hey All,

Tomorrow is a good day: Susan Murphy Milano's new book, TIME'S UP: A GUIDE ON HOW TO LEAVE AND SURVIVE ABUSIVE AND STALKING RELATIONSHIPS will be out. For anyone out there caught in a dangerous relationship, this book is for you. For anyone who knows someone locked into a destructive relationship, TIME'S UP will help you understand and perhaps help.

Here's what author Diane Fanning had to say about TIME'S UP on Women in Crime Ink:

Susan explains abuse simply and clearly in the beginning of the book so thoroughly it left me shaking and in tears, even decades after my escape from that bad relationship. I was stunned to read so much about my experience and know I was not alone. Then she takes Read More 
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A Holiday Nightmare

March 4, 2010
Tags: Adam Lambert, Terri Sanvincente, Jason Bouchard, Houston murder, Kathryn Casey
by Kathryn Casey

You probably wouldn't have noticed him in the crowd, the bearded, 36-year-old man at Wal-Mart two days before Christmas, scouring the tool aisle. He picked up one item after another, examining each, perhaps testing their weight, considering how they were made, the quality of a hatchet, a machete, and a variety of knives. What Jason Bouchard settled on, what he paid the cashier for and walked out the door with, was a crowbar.

Miles away at her Houston home, Terri Sanvincente, a well-known Adam Lambert fan and an assistant manager at a Walgreen's drug store, worried about Bouchard, a man she'd once loved who'd systematically tormented her life.

Two years earlier, she'd had the ex-army paratrooper formally evicted from their home. The separation, however, had dragged on, with Bouchard seeking custody of their three children, ages eight, six and three. Yet that, too, had recently been settled in Sanvincente's favor; six weeks earlier, after an 18-month battle, jurors granted primary custody to Sanvincente. Perhaps it wasn't surprising. At the hearing, Bouchard, who represented himself, surprisingly well, one expert says, admitted drug use and frequent masturbation. The jury ruled that he'd be allowed only supervised visits with his children.

Forty-year-old Sanvincente, it would later appear, took little comfort in the ruling. She continued to worry that she and her children (one dressed as Lambert on the right) remained in danger from a man who'd pushed her and hurled constant insults. “She was always afraid of what he was going to do next,” said Tabitha Charlton, Sanvincente's first family attorney, who walked away  Read More 
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ARF's, Ann needs your prayers!

February 18, 2010
Tags: Ann Rule, Kathryn Casey, true crime
Hey Everyone,

All of us who read true crime know one name: Ann Rule. Right now, she's fighting a difficult battle. Ann is hospitalized, fighting some strange virus that's attacked her neck. She's flat on her back, unable to move her head. It's a tough one.

So all you ARFs out there (Ann Rule Fans), now's the time to send your best wishes, prayers, good vibes, whatever you can, to Seattle, to Ann. Here's wishing her a speedy recovery. I'll keep you posted!

Best,
K

Update: Ann is turning her head now, and she appears to be improving. Thanks to everyone who wished her well.

2nd Update: Ann's in rehab, busy getting better! Let's continue to send good thoughts and hope that she's at home and well, writing again very, very soon! Read More 
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Where's Cesar Millan when you need him?

February 18, 2010
Tags: Cesar Millan, Ozzie Nelson, Kathryn Casey, dog troubles, puppy woes
Okay, so if any of you know how to reach Cesar Millan, a.k.a. The Dog Whisperer, call him, please. Quickly! Give him my name and ask him to get in touch. I have 11 pounds of fur living in my house and he's driving me crazy.

He looks innocent enough, all white and fluffy tinged with gray and a touch of black with big, big, almond-shaped dark brown eyes. Who could know that he'd turn out to be a tyrant, running the household? I didn't.

We've had Ozzie Nelson, our Havanese puppy, since October. He's funny and cute and he gives great puppy hugs and kisses, but he's dominating my life. I mean: Is this normal?

Okay, let me explain. First housebreaking has been a challenge. He either has to go every twenty minutes, or he's figured out that uttering his I've-gotta-use-the-facilities moan earns him a respite outside to romp in the grass. I guess this is an improvement, since before we were finding little packages left all around the house. That's no longer happening, but he's employing the woeful eye roll and guttural call combo so often, I had him outside 14 times yesterday. That's not a typo: 14 times!

And the bark. Who would have thought that a such a little guy would pack such a powerful  Read More 
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A Weekend with the Pulpwood Queens!

January 23, 2010
Tags: Pulpwood Queens, Kathryn Casey, Kathy L. Patrick, Jefferson, Texas
We all know this. It isn't news, but I'm going to spit it out: There are some pretty special people in the world. Now, you ask, how do I define "special?" Those who are able to spread enthusiasm, to get the rest of us up off our keesters (as my grandma used to say). Those who inspire us to live better lives and to help others.

One of those people is Kathy L. Patrick, founder of the Tiara wearing, book-reading Pulpwood Queens.

Yup, you got it right; I did put Tiara wearing and book reading in the same sentence. So does Kathy. She founded the club in her Jefferson, TX, beauty salon/bookstore ten years ago, and it's going strong. Last time I asked, she had something like 220 chapters and counting. Each month Kathy picks a book and an alternate for the Queens, and they read their pick then get together to discuss it.

It's true that Kathy picked my second novel, BLOOD LINES, as last November's main read, but, honestly, that's not why I'm writing this post. It's because of all Kathy does. In addition to the book clubs, she's active in a long list of other projects and still finds time to volunteer teaching literacy at a shelter. More amazing is how she influences others to become involved in good work. For instance, the Southwest Louisiana PQs raise money and supplies for a South American orphanage, and the Alaska bunch has an outreach program in a women's prison.

In fact, Kathy's so persuasive, she's inspired me to start working on a project. It's not at a point where I can talk about it yet, but when it comes together. I'll tell all of you about it.

So, you women (sorry, guys, but the club is for gals), if you have a group of friends, or if you'd like to make new friends, if you love good books and having fun, start your own Pulpwood Queen chapter. Kathy's link is on the right hand column of every page on my Web site, so it's easy to get in touch. Then get ready to be inspired!

One last note: Make sure you come to Girlfriend Weekend in Jefferson next year. Oh, my goodness, such a party. Authors from all over the country will be there, maybe dressed up like this past January as the Wizard of Oz or a munchkin. It's a blast! Read More 
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Hard to Read, But You Should

January 7, 2010
Tags: Alzheimer's, Still Alice, Kathryn Casey, Dementia
My mom, LaVerne, died of Alzheimer's in June 2006. She'd been ill for nine years, and it was horrific.

My mother was hard-working, loving, articulate and funny. She enjoyed reading, dancing with my father, and she relished a good laugh. Mom was a secretary and one of the few women in our suburban neighborhood who worked outside the house. She never really liked cleaning or cooking, but for us she did both, never complaining. Nothing pleased her more than being with her family. Christmas was her favorite holiday, and for mom the only real roses were red.

Anyone who has lived through watching a loved one battle this devastating disease,  Read More 
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The Scholar and Psychotic DNA

December 17, 2009
Tags: Jim Fallon, psychopathology, criminal behavior, Lizzie Borden, warrior gene, violent genes
Imagine being Dr. Jim Fallon, a Fulbright Scholar and professor emeritus in neuroscience at the University of California - Irvine. He set out to find out if psychopathic killers have certain biological traits that will show up on brain scans. When he finished his testing, he found the signs in a member of his own family.

The article about Fallon that caught my attention ran in the November 27th edition of the Wall Street Journal under the headline: What's on Jim Fallon's Mind? A Family Secret That Has Been Murder to Figure Out. On his bio, Fallon says: "I am interested in the neural circuitry and genetics of creativity, artistic talent, psychopathology, criminal behavior, and levels of consciousness."

Over the years, Fallon has analyzed the brains of more than 70 murderers. His interest in looking into the minds of dangerous criminals comes from an honest curiosity. The 62-year-old scientist started out by trying to assess his relatives' risk of developing Alzheimer's, which killed his father.  Read More 
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Houston's Baby Grace

December 1, 2009
Tags: Baby Grace, Riley Ann Sawyers, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, Child murder
Some news stories touch the heart, staying with us long after they've disappeared from the headlines. The ones that never leave me are those involving children. There's a reason I haven't write about murdered kids. I've considered it off and on, but some crime scene photos I don't want imprinted on my brain, invading my sleep and keeping me awake at four a.m.

Every once in a while, I reconsider my situation, wondering if it's time to make an exception. For instance, when her body was found in July 2007, I thought about writing a book on Houston's Baby Grace case. Something about the original sketch of the two-year-old pulled at me. Those wide set eyes, the baby teeth visible through her smiling lips, the long blond hair that fell in waves. Even after a couple of decades writing about crime, I have a tough time understanding how some murders are possible, why someone would kill a small child.

When Baby Grace was found in Galveston Bay and the drawing of her face proliferated across the nation, I wanted to turn away from the images flashed on television and front-page in the newspapers. It all seemed Read More 
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