Showing results by author "Diane Fanning" in All Categories

Jocelyn Branham Earnest was found dead on the floor of her living room in Forest, Virginia. By her side was a gun and a suicide note-typed, lacking a signature, and with one fingerprint on it. A fingerprint apparently belonging to Jocelyn's estranged husband.Wesley Earnest was a respected high school administrator, poised to restart his life in a new community. Parents entrusted their children to his care and believed he was above reproach.

On July 13, 2011, Laura Jean Ackerson of Kinston, North Carolina, went to pick up her two toddler sons. It would be the last time she was seen alive. Laura's ex, Grant Hayes - the father of her two sons - and his wife, Amanda, the mother of his newborn daughter, both pointed the finger at each other as the one guilty of murdering Laura, cutting up her body, and then transporting and disposing of the remains on the shores of Oyster Creek, Texas.

Ten-year-old Krystal Surles watched as her best friend was murdered before the intruder slashed her throat with a 12-inch boning knife. Despite the odds, she survived and led authorities to 35-year-old Tommy Lynn Sells, a former truck driver, carnival worker, and drifter. Through the Window includes his confession to the murder of 10-year-old Joel Kirkpatrick, playing a pivotal role in obtaining justice for wrongfully convicted Julie Rea.

Susan McFarland watched, powerless, as her husband, Rick McFarland, went into a downhill spiral of get-rich-quick schemes, quirky shopping trips, and prescription-drug abuse. Susan, a rising star at a major corporation, finally had enough. When she decided to call it quits, Rick ended her life, leaving three young boys - ages 5, 8, and 11 - without a mother. A two-month long search by law enforcement and volunteers found no trace of the missing woman....

Life’s been tough for Lieutenant Lucinda Pierce. She lost an eye and disfigured her face responding to a domestic violence call. She accidentally killed a small child in the middle of a shoot-out with his father. Now, she’s up against a serial killer and her main suspect is a highly respected doctor known for his international relief work. It’s a good thing she doesn’t mind bending the rules.

Lisa Montgomery presented her husband, Kevin, with their newborn baby girl, while a state way, police were investigating the brutal murder of 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett. She'd been found lying in a pool of blood, and investigators soon realized that someone had strangled Bobbie Jo to death, then cut the fetus from her womb. When they found Bobbie Jo's baby in Lisa's arms, they knew who was responsible for this grisly murder.

The nation wept when news broke of nearly three-year-old Caylee Anthony's disappearance from her home in Florida in July 2007. The search for Caylee made front-page headlines. But Casey Anthony continued to lie to law enforcement about her daughter's whereabouts, complicating their search for the truth.

Police found the body of 16-year-old Calyx on her bed under a white blanket. They found her 13-year-old brother Beau in the family car covered up the same way. Both had two gunshots to the head. Both had been dead for hours. The only other person who had been in the home was their mother, Julie Schenecker. She told law enforcement that she could no longer tolerate her kids talking back to her. Was this a case of premeditated murder? Or a horrible tragedy fueled by a mental illness that had spun out of control?

The nice guy next door was hiding a dark secret - a homicidal obsession with young girls. It didn't end until his final victim, still bound in handcuffs, escaped while he slept. She recounted the details of a night of horror spent with an elusive serial killer. Neither family nor friends saw Richard Marc Evonitz's dark side - he saved that for his victims - until his double life came undone by a courageous, resourceful 15-year-old. The authorities had questions about many unsolved cold cases, but Evonitz had one more shocking surprise in store for everyone. Into the Water is a cautionary tale about the vulnerability of our children.

It seemed like the perfect romantic afternoon: a kayaking trip for two on the Hudson River. But it ended in tragedy when beautiful, blonde Angelika Graswald called 911 to report that her fiance, the handsome and athletic Vincent Viafore, had fallen into the choppy frigid waters. Authorities assumed it was an accident. But when the bereft bride-to-be posted videos of herself doing cartwheels on social media - shortly before Vincent's body was found - suspicions of murder rose to the surface.

In the third book in the Lucinda Pierce mystery series, the detective unravels a labyrinth of evidence to track down a double murderer while exploring the depth of childhood scars and the price of irresponsible parenting. When the victim's son is kidnapped, Pierce's FBI friend Jake Lovett joins in the investigation, helping Pierce cope with two deaths in her own dysfunctional family and a case involving mysticism, warped genetics and an unusual motive for murder. Does everyone hide a dark secret?

Michael Severance survived five tours of duty with the Air Force in the war torn Middle East. But he could not survive five months of marriage to Wendi Davidson. Wendi, a young veterinarian in the isolated city of San Angelo, Texas, decided the solution to her problem was to give her husband a lethal injection.

Who is killing the leaders of non-profit agencies up and down the East Coast? Lucinda investigates the death of charity worker Sharon Fleming, who was brutally murdered. A note found by her mutilated body bears the words, "I was left behind". Is this a motive for murder? When a series of notes are also left on Lucinda's car windshield, she knows it's personal. Punish the Deed, because no good deed goes unpunished.

One woman, Raynella Dossett Leath; two husbands, prosecutor Ed Dossett and barber Dave Leath: A startling piece of evidence brought the whole sordid tale to light. A cattle stampede, an attempted murder, a three-shot suicide, a pedophile, two medical examiners threatening to shoot law enforcement officials, a secret city, and a love child - this story has it all, proving the old aphorism that truth is stranger than fiction.

Two cases from the past return to haunt Lieutenant Lucinda Pierce.... She helped an investigator to put Martha Sherman behind bars for the murder of her stepdaughter, Emily. Now, Emily's body has been found in the basement of a home filled with the victims of serial killer Mack Rogers. Dismayed, Lucinda reviews the original investigation to uncover where she took the wrong turn to cause a wrongful conviction. While she delves into that case, FBI Special Agent Jake Lovett is tasked with looking into the coming prison release of politician Chris Phillips who just won a victory in appeals court.

In the fifth book in the series, Lieutenant Lucinda Pierce encounters a death that at first appears to be suicide. In another city, Special Agent Jake Lovett pays little attention to a man who seems to be a conspiracy nut-until he's found dead. As they pursue their separate investigations, the two cases merge into one bigger crime. Together, they will need to strip away the veneer of false appearances to find the truth buried behind the façade.

A missing elderly man shows up dead on his son's front porch, his pockets full of acorns. Pierce isn't certain if she's investigating a murder or one of the strangest natural deaths she's ever encountered. The investigation brings her into contact with the adult children of people with dementia and leads her to a strange remote wonderland. When the missing are found, often questions remain.

One quiet Sunday morning, homicide investigator Lucinda Pierce is called to the scene after a bomb blast rocks a high school, killing a janitor and an unidentified student. But, much to her annoyance, Lucinda is pulled off the case and the FBI and Homeland Security take over. While they seem determined to prove it was an act of terrorism, Lucinda is convinced otherwise and pursues her own investigation—along with FBI agent Jake Lovett, who believes she may be right.

Beneath a veneer of respectability and religion, Mary Winkler's soul festered as she struggled to be obedient and loving to her husband and her God. Her suppressed anguish exploded in a shotgun blast that took the life of her husband, preacher Matthew Winkler. Mary packed up her three young daughters and fled to the beach, leaving an endless trail of questions in her wake. Would anyone ever make sense of the tragedy in Selmer, Tennessee?

Beauty business entrepreneur Dean Faiello's "life of the party" attitude was constantly leading him to disaster. When his thriving business wasn't enough for him, he jumped into the world of plastic surgery, without any medical degree or experience.