M. William Phelps

M. William Phelps
Born	Matthew William Phelps 1968
Occupation	Crime writer
Nationality	United States
Period	2000-present
Genre	Crime fiction
Subject	True crime
Website
www.mwilliamphelps.com

M. William Phelps is an American crime writer and investigative journalist.

Biography

Career

Phelps is the author of 23 true crime books and four books on history, including co-authoring Failures of the Presidents with Thomas J. Craughwell.^[1] Phelps has written for the Providence Journal, Hartford Courant and New London Day, and consulted on the first season of the Showtime cable television series Dexter.^[2]

After his book Murder in the Heartland was released, Phelps went on Good Morning America to talk about the 2004 murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett covered in his book about convicted killer Lisa M. Montgomery.^[3]

Beginning in January 2012, he produced and hosted with criminal profiler John Kelly the Discovery Network series Dark Minds, which airs on the Investigation Discovery channel.^[4]^[5]^[6] The series features unsolved serial murders.^[7] When Phelps' book The Killing Kind was released in June 2014, Publishers Weekly wrote, "Fans of the author's Discovery TV series, "Dark Minds," will be rewarded."^[8]

He was featured in Writers Digest with his debut true-crime book Perfect Poison in 2003 and again with the release of his eighth book I'll be Watching You in 2009.^[9]

The New York Post in a February 2012 review called Phelps' book Never See Them Again, about Texas serial killer Christine Paolilla, a "riveting new book" that "examines one of the most horrific murders in recent American history."^[10] Kirkus Reviews called it a "thorough account of a quadruple murder in a Houston suburb in 2003."^[11]

Phelps' book Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy was listed as number 14 on the The New York Times bestseller list in e-book nonfiction the week of May 11, 2014.^[12] "Twilight" actor Peter Facinelli in June 2014 acquired movie rights for his Nathan Hale book.^[13]

Personal life

Phelps, whose sister-in-law was murdered by a serial killer in 1996,^[2] lives in Vernon, Connecticut.^[14]^[15]

Published works

True crime

Perfect Poison: A Female Serial Killer's Deadly Medicine (2003)
Lethal Guardian (2004)
Every Move You Make (2005)
Murder in the Heartland (2006)^[16]^[17]
Because You Loved Me (2007)
If Looks Could Kill (2008)
I'll Be Watching You (2008)
Sleep in Heavenly Peace (2008)
Cruel Death (2009)
Deadly Secrets (2009)
Death Trap (2010)
Kill For Me (2010)
The Devil's Rooming House (2010)^[18]^[19]
Love Her To Death (2011)
Sleep In Heavenly Peace (2011)
Too Young to Kill (2011)
Jane Doe No More: My 15-Year Fight to Reclaim My Identity--A True Story of Survival, Hope, and Redemption (2012) With Donna Palomba
Murder, New England (2012)
Never See Them Again (2012)
Bad Girls (2013)
Kiss of the She-Devil (2013)
Obsessed (2014)
The Dead Soul (2014)

History

Failures of the Presidents: From the Whiskey Rebellion and War of 1812 to the Bay of Pigs and War in Iraq (2008) With Thomas J. Caughwell
Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy (2008) ^[20]^[21]^[22]
The Devil's Right Hand: The Tragic Story of the Colt Family Curse (2011)
Crimes of the Presidents (2013)

Awards

2014: Society of Professional Journalists' Connecticut chapter, 2nd place, Investigative Reporting^[23]
2008: New England Book Festival Award for I'll Be Watching You^[24]

References

↑ "History News Network - Failures of the Presidents: JFK's Bay of Pigs Disaster". historynewsnetwork.org.
↑ 2.0 2.1 "'Silence of the Lambs' for Real: 'Dark Minds' Uses a Serial Killer to Catch Serial Killers". Reuters.
↑ Good Morning America. "Cut from the Womb: Family of Defendant in Gruesome Slaying Speaks Out". ABC News.
↑ "Connecticut True-Crime Author M. William Phelps To Star In Reality Show". tribunedigital-thecourant.
↑ Levine, Stuart (28 July 2011). "Cabler delves into ‘Dark Minds’". Variety. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
↑ Lowry, Brian (20 January 2012). "Investigation Discovery Finds Its Hannibal Lecter". Variety. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
↑ ""Dark Minds" to profile four Aurora murder cases". denverpost.com.
↑ "Nonfiction Book Review: The Killing Kind by M. William Phelps. Kensington, $25 (416p) ISBN 978-1-61773-445-8". PublishersWeekly.com.
↑ Jessica Strawser. "M. William Phelps Expanded Interview". WritersDigest.com.
↑ "‘Psycho’ 17-year-old shot, beat classmates to death - New York Post". New York Post.
↑ M. William Phelps. "NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN". Kirkus Reviews.
↑ "Best Sellers - EBook Nonfiction". NYTimes.com.
↑ Dave McNary. "Peter Facinelli to Adapt Nathan Hale Movie - Variety". Variety.
↑ "Kensington Publishing Co. - M. William Phelps". Kensingtonbooks.com. Retrieved 2015-04-11.
↑ "The Day - Book Beat: ‘Generation Dead' hits the big-time, and more - News from southeastern Connecticut". The Day.
↑ "Excerpt: 'Murder in the Heartland'". ABC. 7 June 2006. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
↑ Summers, Chris (27 October 2007). "The women who kill for babies". BBC. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
↑ Leavenworth, Jessica (21 March 2010). "'Devil's Rooming House' Examines 'Arsenic And Old Lace' Killings (Interview)". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
↑ Yamato, Jen (19 November 2013). "Peter Facinelli’s A7SLE Films Options Female Serial Killer Tome ‘The Devil’s Rooming House’". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
↑ "Bestsellers (E-Book, nonfiction)". New York Times. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
↑ McClintock, Pamela (22 March 2007). "Warner spy tale a Hale bio film". Variety. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
↑ McNary, Dave (30 June 2014). "‘Twilight’ Actor Peter Facinelli Working on Nathan Hale Movie". Variety. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
↑ "Connecticut Magazine Wins 23 Awards from the CT Society of Professional Journalists". connecticutmag.com.
↑ "New England Book Festival". newenglandbookfestival.com.