Posts on Criminal Justice and Prison Reform

Wow. The Jacklighter is on shelves now, and its launch-week reception has been overwhelming, in the best way possible. 🥹 From signing well over 50 copies at the Barnes & Noble in Vestal, NY, to three local bookstore events where I met readers with deeply personal connections to the Martin Dillon case … it’s been an incredible ...

📺 This week I sat down with brothers Cameron and Brian Santana on Santana True Crime for nearly 90 minutes to talk about The Jacklighter, my new true crime book about a 1976 “hunting accident” in Pennsylvania that became a murder case nearly 20 years later. It was my third appearance on the show, and ...

In this age of digital press, I’m absolutely delighted to share this week’s “above-the-fold” newspaper feature in the Susquehanna County Independent about my new book The Jacklighter and the Halloween signing in Vestal, NY. (My paper copies of the article are on order 🎉) The Independent’s editor, Lauren Royce, stopped by Vestal’s Barnes & Noble last ...

About a week after its October 27 launch, THE JACKLIGHTER has its first award news: it’s been short-listed for the Nellie Bly Awards in Journalistic Non-Fiction by the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs)! 🎉 Anyone who has followed me knows that this one hits home. As an investigative journalist-turned-true-crime author, Nellie Bly is the patron saint ...

✨ The Jacklighter is out today. Thank you to everyone who preordered, shared, reviewed, and cheered me on. 🙏 🥹  Order links are here. Today’s post isn’t mine. I’m turning the blog over to renowned thriller author J.D. Barker. And since this is where I have room to tell the whole story, I want to explain ...

7 Days to Launch: What Critics Are Saying About The Jacklighter With one week to go until The Jacklighter launches on Oct. 27, I’ve gathered this whole season of reviews in one place, because it’s been a lot to take in, in the best way 🥹 Six professional reviewers have now read the book. Each brought a ...

IndieReader has a special place in my heart. It’s where Chained Birds won the True Crime category in the 2025 IndieReader Discovery Awards, so when I entered The Jacklighter in its contest, I held my breath for IR’s first take on the book. The short IndieReader “Verdict” arrived soon after, and I’ve been quoting one line ...

“A gripping account of a murder between friends”—I couldn’t ask for a better highlight from Foreword Clarion Reviews, which gave The Jacklighter 4 out of 5 stars this week 🎉 Likewise, I couldn’t have scripted the reviewer’s opening line any better either: “A thorough and compassionate book, The Jacklighter covers a troubling murder trial at the ...