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"Kathryn Casey has the roots, the guts, and the talent...She takes her place as one of the best." #1 NYTimes bestselling author Ann Rule
ANGEL FALLS is here! Finally!
This book took me twenty years to write. My 19th book but my first historical fiction, it's inspired by the life of a remarkable woman. In 1949, Ruth Robertson led an expedition into one of the densest, darkest jungles on earth to accomplish what everyone before her had failed to do; she measured the world's tallest waterfall.
I loved writing ANGEL FALLS. Ruth was so determined, so remarkable. What's sad, is that when I ran across a short newspaper article about her sometime in the 1990s, I didn't know who she was. At the time, I couldn't have named a single woman explorer. The men, sure: Columbus, Polo, Hillary, Cousteau, and so many others. But women? I assumed there just weren't any women investigating and documenting unknown territories. Or if there were, they hadn't done anything interesting enough to be remembered for. Now I know that's not true. Because I know about Ruth, and I bet there were others, women who conquered mountains and trails, whose heroic efforts have been sadly forgotten.
Yet ANGEL FALLS is fiction, the union of imagination and fact to build an electrifying narrative that not only recounts Ruth's adventures but spins a mystery, a tale of two women coming together to fight a deadly enemy, and in the process bonding and revealing long-hidden secrets.
How did I end up writing Angel Falls? Well, the truth is that historical fiction is a big jump for me.
As an award-winning journalist and the author of eleven true crime books, I've spent thirty years writing about real cases, real people, real murders. It's been an amazing education in law enforcement and the criminal mind.
Why true crime? Because it opens a window into the human mind, the human heart, the very best of humanity and the very worst. In each book, I dig into a sensational case, pulling all the evidence together, doing my best to answer all the questions, not just who, what, how and where, but the most important, why?
My most recent true crime book is IN PLAIN SIGHT.
This is the case that rocked the nation. IN PLAIN SIGHT is an in-depth account of the Kaufman County prosecutor murders, three killings that made headlines across the world. In January 2013, someone gunned down a prosecutor working for the Kaufman DA's office in broad daylight in the middle of town. The FBI, ATF, Homeland Security, Texas Rangers, local police and the sheriff's office investigated. Rumors swirled about the Aryan Brotherhood. Then two months later, the Saturday before Easter, Kaufman's DA and his wife were brutally murdered inside their home. Law enforcement was under fire. Who would be so brazen?
One of the most bizarre cases I've covered, the Kaufman murders tore off a mask of rural tranquility to reveal political infighting, long-held grudges, and finally fatal revenge.
From true crime, I went to fiction, mysteries to be precise. I relied on my crime-fighting knowledge and let my imagination free, introducing the world to Police Chief Clara Jefferies of Alber, Utah, and Texas Ranger Lieutenant Sarah Armstrong.
It all began with SINGULARITY, the first book in my break-out mystery series, a thrilling tale of a Texas Ranger hot on the trail of the strangest killer to ever stalk the Lone Star State. BOOKLIST magazine named SINGULARITY one of the Best Crime Novel Debuts of that year. There are now four in the Sarah Armstrong series, including SINGULARITY, BLOOD LINES, THE KILLING STORM, and THE BURIED.
The heroine of my second mystery series is Police Chief Clara Jefferies. I love Clara. She's wise and spunky, and she doesn't take a lot of guff. She figures out the clues, decides what she has to do, and goes for it. Despite a difficult history in the small polygamous community of Alber, in book one, THE FALLEN GIRLS, Clara returns to search for Delilah, her missing sister. The investigation plunges Clara head-long into a world she fled to save her own life. In this small mountain town, Clara defies old stereotypes, confronts the ghosts of her past and tries to stop a heinous killer. After you read THE FALLEN GIRLS, follow Clara's story through HER FINAL PRAYER and THE BLESSED BONES.
Want a glimpse inside the books? While you're here, click the links on the left and read excerpts from many of them.
That's it for now, but before I go, one more thing: thank you to all of you who read my books and enjoy them, especially those who recommend my work to others. Your kindness is appreciated more than you know.
Thanks for dropping in. Feel free to return, anytime. You're always welcome.