The Wait Is Over—THE JACKLIGHTER Is LIVE on Kickstarter!
It’s happening. 🎉
After months of R&D, THE JACKLIGHTER: Murder, Betrayal, and Justice in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains is finally LIVE on Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform for creatives.
This project, my second true crime book, will remain in pre-launch through February 2026, ahead of the full campaign launch in March.
Right now, supporters and true crime fans can explore the book, learn why I brought it to Kickstarter, and follow the project so they don’t miss what’s coming next. This early “sneak peek” ahead of the full campaign gives visitors a reason to hit Notify me on launch, and be first in line for limited early-bird rewards when backing opens next month.
Read my full recap of this Kickstarter announcement here, and please join me as a follower to become part of this new wave of independent, reader-supported publishing. 🙌
Watch The Jacklighter Video Trailer on Kickstarter
THE JACKLIGHTER : A Stolen Life. A Buried Secret.
June 6, 2026 marks 50 years since Martin Dillon went into the Pennsylvania woods and never came home. This is the book that case has always deserved.
In the shadows of Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains, attorney Martin Dillon went hunting with his best friend—and never came home. The official story seemed straightforward: a tragic accident during an afternoon of trap shooting. But when the only witness was Dr. Stephen Scher, the man having an affair with Dillon’s wife, the victim’s family refused to believe it.
Then Scher did the unthinkable: he married Dillon’s widow and raised her children as his own, living a stolen life for twenty years—until Martin’s body was exhumed. Some secrets never stay buried.
A Hunting Accent or the Perfect Murder?
The Jacklighter follows a decades-long quest for justice that tore apart a small town and a prominent family. From the suspicious “accident” in 1976 to the explosive murder trial twenty years later, to the killer’s release from prison, award-winning author Carla Conti uncovers the dark secrets hidden beneath Montrose, Pennsylvania’s Victorian charm—secrets involving betrayal, forbidden love, and a killing method as cowardly as it was calculated.
With unique access to the hometown victims and key witnesses, Conti reveals how one shotgun blast shattered multiple lives and tested whether justice can survive when everyone in town thinks they know the truth.
“He killed him, didn’t he? Steve killed him.”
These were the first words spoken by the doctor’s wife upon hearing that Marty Dillon died in a hunting accident. She had just awoken in the ICU after a suicide attempt—years before the body was ever exhumed—and she was the first person to accuse her husband of murder.
Read the First Two Chapters Free on Substack
Carla Conti is a journalist and the award-winning author of Chained Birds: A Crimemoir. Her next true crime book, The Jacklighter, is set for release in 2026. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, who supports her true crime habit.