Share
House of Mystery Radio on NBC
Ronald Bowers - Serial Killers of Los Angeles
Why so many Serial Killers all at the same time in one city? Between 1977 and 1987 the metropolis of Los Angeles had at least eight separate Serial Killers operating all at the same time. Many of us remember the so-called Freeway Killer and immediately think of William Bonin who left the bodies of 21 young men strewn along the freeways. However, many people have forgotten that there were two other Freeway Killers all operating in the same area at the same time. Their names were Patrick Kearney and Randy Kraft and they killed over 50 young men and dump their bodies near streets, highways and alleys.
During this time period women in the Los Angeles area may have felt safe from the Freeway Killers, but it wasn’t long after that the Hillside Strangler was littering the hillsides with bodies of young women. Shortly thereafter the Tool Box Killers picked up teenage girls at the beach and scattered their dead bodies in the local mountains where the wild life devoured their corpses. Simultaneously The Sunset Strip Killer was picking up young women walking the streets of Hollywood only to have their dead bodies discarded next to portable toilets.
By 1985, both men and women didn’t feel safe in Los Angeles with so many Serial Killers roaming the community. Then the double whammy occurred when the Nightstalker viciously struck and paralyzed everyone with fear in his murderous crime spree. If that wasn’t enough mayhem, at the same time the Southside Slayers were methodically raping and callously strangling women along the route to LAX.
The author has a unique insight on all these Serial Killer cases since he worked on many of the cases or had personal contact with the prosecutors who tried those cases. In this book he shares information and photos on these vicious murders much of which the public has never heard or seen before. For the first time he collectively reviews each of these distinctive Serial Killers revealing what caused these individuals to continually kill people for so many years.
The author next discusses the unique conditions that existed in the Los Angeles area that turned out to be a breeding ground for all these Serial Killers. The big question becomes what happened to all these Serial Killers that terrorized the City of the Angels. This unbelievable period of ten years left permanent scars on the psychic of every Angelino who endured such trepidation.
Even though the Golden Era of the Serial Killers of Los Angeles has faded into history it still remains vivid in the minds of those who lived through those scary times. Finally this book spells out the blueprint as to what needs to be done to assure that there will never be another Serial Killer of Los Angeles.
More episodes
View all episodes
Danny Cherry Jr. - Pike Boys
36:22It’s 1920 New Orleans and Jesse Pike is slowly ascending the New Orleans upper-class social scene. He’s the owner of the most popular brothel in the entire city, and rubs shoulders with businessmen, corrupt politicians, and stage stars alike. He’s also the leader of a violent street gang that pulls off the biggest heist of liquor since the beginning of prohibition. Jesse sets up a scheme to sell the booze, and use the profits to help him start a legitimate business. However, several obstacles get in his way: Clyde, the mentally disturbed oldest Pike sibling, is released from prison and takes issue with how Jesse runs things; Jesse's aging mentor refuses to let him leave behind crime; and an overzealous young DA decides to reopen an investigation into the liquor heist to increase his chances of being elected mayor. Jesse is forced to make a decision: does he walk away from a life of crime and his family forever? Or will he continue down the road of violence that has begun to erode his psyche, much as it has Clyde's?The Pike Boys, according to a reviewer, is a "compelling story of the Pike family's struggles against poverty, violence, substance abuse, mental illness, and their quest to rise above it all while living in the crime-ridden New Orleans of the gangster era." It has all the thrills, plot twists, and quick pace of conventional gangster fiction, with the heart, depth, and nuance of a literary novel. In between the shootouts, violence, and debauchery, there is the overarching question of "can people actually change?" The reader will see that the answer is not so simple—especially when you live in a place like New Orleans.(Good for fans of Mario Puzo and Dennis Lehane; and lovers of Sopranos, Godfather, and Peaky Blinders!)
John Ferriso - All in a day's work: An officer's accounts 20 years NYPD
40:24When you are a New York City police officer you become a social worker, chauffeur, human relations consultant, and tour guide. You are expected to do all those tasks while stopping crime as it occurs, preventing crime, and keeping the peace in a city that never takes a break. Let’s not forget you get to do all this within a workday, or tour as we called it. These separate tasks come to you at random times, so going to work is like a roll of the dice. One moment you are driving with your partner talking about nonsense and five minutes later you are coming face to face with dangerous people who just committed a criminal act. The weight of these tasks can become overwhelming and mentally drain you if you allow it to happen. Many times, you do not have time to reflect on the day’s events, you just move on to the next crisis. Within days, or a month, NYPD cops will get involved with and witness more toxic events than an average person will see in a lifetime. Active cops will need to navigate around and work with their coworkers, supervisors, the public, and criminals. What people believe cops are doing daily regarding police work is often far from the truth.You will find within my short stories what is really occurring inside those moving police vehicles. What the city was like in the days after September 11, 2001. Take a close in-depth look at the investigating that occurs within the NYPD detective squad room. Within the squad room the pen can influence like a hammer, and a phone call can arrive like a hurricane. If you want the gritty, alarming, and at times comical truth behind police work, you have arrived at your destination.
D. Marshall Craig MD.- Sleight of Hand
25:28The thriller series continues with busy trauma surgeon, Dr. Kyle Chandler, pursuing is side hobby of private investigation. A wealthy client has requested Kyle to attempt to track down two historical items related to a supposed family curse. Despite his initial hesitancy about the investigation, Kyle sets off to France to take on the case. On his journey on to Paris, and then on to Boston, multiple interested parties threaten Kyle, as they desperately want these two items. With the help of his girlfriend, Caroline Martinelli, the growing danger of the situation puts the couple at risk as they inch closer to finding the two lost items. Chance occurrences become the clues to uncover the truth -- and the truth nearly costs them their lives.
Matthew Richer - Kurt Cobain Update: Tom Grant
42:42Matthew Richer, coauthor of the book ' Kurt Cobain Murder or Suicide, You Decide' Talked updates and about all of the untruths of his coauthor Tom Grant
Barry W. Levy - The War Machine
38:39It’s 1988, and secrets that were buried in the jungles of Vietnam twenty years earlier are starting to re-emerge.David “Kick” Tacker is a Canadian-born—but American-made—stone-cold killer, and is barely holding his psyche together; shattered by years of war and violence. He fought in MACV-SOG’s secret war in Vietnam until there was no more war to be made, and then sustained himself with clandestine work around the world.Now living in Vancouver, Kick has one goal holding him together: to finally expose Canada’s covert involvement in the Vietnam War before those dark secrets are hidden forever.With the help a local reporter and his Agency handlers, Kick races to make the story public, all while being pursued by a mysterious assassin and their team.The War Machine takes us from the savage jungles of the Vietnam War to its explosive climax in the seedy back streets of Vancouver, where Kick will either get the story to print, or die in the battle to expose the truth.
Michael Hearns - Choices and Chances
33:53In his debut novel, "Trust No One," Michael Hearns introduced readers to the captivating world of Vice Intelligence and Narcotics detective Cade Taylor. The subsequent books, "Grasping Smoke: A Cade Taylor Novel" and "One More Move: A Cade Taylor Novel," were widely acclaimed solidifying Cade Taylor as a remarkable action-driven character in the literary realm. Now, in "Choices and Chances: A Cade Taylor Novel,"South Florida undercover detective Cade Taylor makes a triumphant return in Hearns' latest addition to the series. Cade finds himself embroiled in a complex homicide case that thrusts him smack dead into the heart of the investigation. Reluctantly, he must collaborate with an old police academy classmate turned homicide investigator, all while evading the intrusive interference of a federal agent that jeopardizes his standing with both the police department and the Drug Enforcement Agency. As the case unfolds, Cade discovers a Caribbean connection that stretches from South Florida to Philadelphia, making it the most intricate case of his career. The danger is palpable, and every twist and turn tests Cade's mettle in dangerous heart-stopping moments keeping him and the reader on the edge of their seats. Staying true to the Dark Tropics literary genre he pioneered, Hearns immerses readers in the vibrant energy of South Florida, revealing that sunshine isn't always the best disinfectant. Sometimes, it's the scouring of cold steel brass shells and lead bullets that reveal the truth.
Margot Douaihy - Blessed Water: A Sister Holiday Mystery
33:46Tattooed from her neck to her toesand sporting a gold tooth as sharp as her wisecracks, Sister Holiday struggles to stay on the righteous path. Never one to make things easy for herself, she’s committed to taking her permanent vows with the Sisters of the Sublime Blood and joining former fire inspector Magnolia Riveaux’s latest venture, Redemption Detective Agency—both in service of satisfying her eternal quest for answers.When Sister Holiday and Riveaux set out to bust a philandering husband, they instead find the body of a priest floating in the swollen Mississippi River, and with it, Redemption’s next case. It’s significantly more gruesome than their original mission, but Sister Holiday feels called on by God to hunt down the murderer and keep her community safe.As a torrential rainstorm drowns New Orleans for three harrowing days over Easter weekend, Sister Holiday and Riveaux follow the clues. With the stakes rising alongside the relentless floodwaters, our favorite punk nun-sleuth throws herself into the deep end yet again.A lacerating and lyrical plunge into obsession, deception, and the questions that hold us captive, Blessed Water is a lights-out mystery that will leave you breathless.
Leslie Karst - Molten Death
41:37The first Orchid Isle cozy mystery, set in tropical Hilo, Hawai'i, introduces a fun and feisty LGBTQ+ couple who swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions!Retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen have come to the Big Island of Hawai'i to treat themselves to a well-earned tropical vacation. After the recent loss of her brother, Valerie is in sore need of a distraction from her troubles and is looking forward to enjoying the delicious food and vibrant culture the state has to offer.Early one morning, the couple and their friend - tattooed local boy, Isaac - set out to see an active lava flow, and Valerie is mesmerized by the shape-shifting mass of orange and red creeping over the field of black rock. Spying a boot in the distance, she strides off alone, pondering how it could have gotten there, only to realize to her horror that the boot is still attached to a leg - a leg which is slowly being engulfed by the hot lava.Valerie's convinced a murder has been committed - but as she's the only witness to the now-vanished corpse, who's going to believe her?Determined to prove what she saw, and get justice for the unknown victim, Valerie launches her own investigation. But, thrown into a Hawaiian culture far from the luaus and tiki bars of glossy tourist magazines, she soon begins to fear she may be the next one to end up entombed in shiny black rock . . .
David Bickford - Katya the Informer
40:34Katya Petrovna, a prodigy of survival from Moscow’s shadowy alleys, faces her greatest challenge yet—cracking the impenetrable armour of the Russian casino mafiya. Once under the casino’s gilded dome, Katya’s mission falters as her cover buckles under scrutiny from the mafiya’s hawk-eyed bosses.As her gambits edge towards checkmate, the line blurs between the hunter and the hunted—with love and life hanging in the balance. Will Katya’s razor-sharp instincts secure hervictory, or will the house claim its due?