We've extended the deadline to enter our first free autographed book giveaway.  You now have until February 15, 2012, to enter.

We are giving away an autographed hardcover edition of:  "Chasing Justice:  My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Commit" by Kerry Max Cook. 

This incredible true story has gotten great reviews and is a great read!  For more info about the book and to enter, check out our Giveaway page. 

Crime and legal stories are always some of the best and best-selling books.  Here are some of 2011's best-selling crime and legal books (click on the images to pick up the books you may have missed):

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard:  "In 1991, eleven-year-old Jaycee Dugard was abducted from a school bus stop. For the next eighteen years, she was held captive by Phillip Craig and Nancy Garrido and gave birth to two daughters. A Stolen Life is Jaycee's story, told in her own words. In this stark, compelling narrative, she opens up about what she experienced during nearly two decades of captivity and offers an extraordinary account of courage and resilience."

The Litigatorsby John Grisham:  "Fired by his fancy downtown firm, David Zinc joins the “boutique law firm” of Finley & Figg. His first case: track down patients who have suffered heart attacks while taking the popular cholesterol-reducing drug, Krayoxx, and convince them to join a class action suit against a giant pharmaceutical company. The partners at Finley & Figg smell fame and fortune. It almost seems too good to be true. And it is. A tremendously entertaining romp from America’s favorite storyteller."

The Abbey by Chris Culver:  "Ash Rashid is a former homicide detective who can't stand the thought of handling another death investigation--until his niece's body is found in the guest home of one of his city's most wealthy citizens. The coroner calls it an overdose, but against orders, Ash launches an investigation to find his niece's murderer. The longer he searches, the more entangled he becomes in a case that hits increasingly close to home. If he doesn't solve it fast, his niece won't be the only family member he has to bury."

Killing Lincoln:  The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard:  "In the spring of 1865, the bloody saga of America's Civil War finally comes to an end after a series of increasingly harrowing battles. President Abraham Lincoln's generous terms for Robert E. Lee's surrender are devised to fulfill Lincoln's dream of healing a divided nation, with the former Confederates allowed to reintegrate into American society. But one man and his band of murderous accomplices, perhaps reaching into the highest ranks of the U.S. government, are not appeased." 

11/22/63 A Novel by Stephen king:  "On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force."

Explosive Eighteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich:  "Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum’s life is set to blow sky high when international murder hits dangerously close to home, in this dynamite novel by Janet Evanovich.  Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, and she’s flying back to New Jersey solo. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. And a ragtag collection of thugs and psychos, not to mention the FBI, are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying."

The Affair:  A Reacher Novel by Lee Child:  "Everything starts somewhere. . . .For elite military cop Jack Reacher, that somewhere was Carter Crossing, Mississippi, way back in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A coverup.  A young woman is dead, and solid evidence points to a soldier at a nearby military base. But that soldier has powerful friends in Washington. Reacher is ordered undercover--to find out everything he can, to control the local police, and then to vanish. Reacher is a good soldier. But when he gets to Carter Crossing, he finds layers no one saw coming, and the investigation spins out of control."

V is for Vengeance (Kinsey Millhone Mystery) by Sue Grafton:  "A spiderweb of dangerous relationships lies at the heart of V is for Vengeance, Sue Grafton's daring new Kinsey Millhone novel. A woman with a murky past who kills herself-or was it murder? A spoiled kid awash in gambling debt who thinks he can beat the system. A lovely woman whose life is about to splinter into a thousand fragments. A professional shoplifting ring working for the Mob, racking up millions from stolen goods. A wandering husband, rich and ruthless. A dirty cop so entrenched on the force he is immune to exposure. A sinister gangster, conscienceless and brutal. A lonely widower mourning the death of his lover, desperate for answers, which may be worse than the pain of his loss. A private detective, Kinsey Millhone, whose thirty-eighth-birthday gift is a punch in the face that leaves her with two black eyes and a busted nose. And an elegant and powerful businessman whose dealings are definitely outside the law: the magus at the center of the web."

The Drop (Harry Bosch) by Michael Connelly:  "Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two. DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab's DNA cases currently in court. Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics. Councilman Irvin Irving's son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch's longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation. Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department."

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly:  "Mickey Haller has fallen on tough times. He expands his business into foreclosure defense, only to see one of his clients accused of killing the banker she blames for trying to take away her home. Mickey puts his team into high gear to exonerate Lisa Trammel, even though the evidence and his own suspicions tell him his client is guilty. Soon after he learns that the victim had black market dealings of his own, Haller is assaulted, too--and he's certain he's on the right trail. Despite the danger and uncertainty, Haller mounts the best defense of his career in a trial where the last surprise comes after the verdict is in."

Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson:  "The President's son and daughter are abducted, and Detective Alex Cross is one of the first on the scene. But someone very high-up is using the FBI, Secret Service, and CIA to keep him off the case and in the dark. A deadly contagion in the water supply cripples half of the capital, and Alex discovers that someone may be about to unleash the most devastating attack the United States has ever experienced. As his window for solving both crimes narrows, Alex makes a desperate decision that goes against everything he believes--one that may alter the fate of the entire country."

Happy reading and writing in 2012!

I'm giving away an autographed hardcover copy of Chasing Justice: My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn't Commit" by Kerry Max Cook.

The book has received excellent reviews:

"Chasing Justice is captivating. . . .  It is going to break through political barriers and be a catalyst for reform."  (Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking)

"Chasing Justice is an immensely compelling story that is hard to believe.  If it were fiction, no one would believe it.  But it's not, and Kerry Cook's account of his nightmare is fascinating."  (John Grisham, best-selling author)

"Deserves a wide readership alongside John Grisham's The Innocent Man."  (Publishers Weekly)

"Cook's story is so gripping that only a heart of steel won't break after reading it."  (People Magazine)

Sign up to win Chasing Justice by January 15, 2012!

Or buy the book:

If you have a Kindle, or a smart phone with an Amazon Kindle app, you have to check out their daily deals.  They often feature mysteries, thrillers, and true crime books, both old and new.  At $.99 to $1.99, the prices can't be beat!

Check out their website for new books every day.  Better yet, join their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter, and you'll be notified of the new deal every day!

Happy reading!

Joe Bailey Jr., the director of an award-winning documentary, "Incendiary," told CNN that legal knowledge gave him confidence in the choices they made when making the film. 

Bailey's film, "Incendiary," explores the legal, scientific, and political impact of a Texas arson murder case.  Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in 2004 after being convicted of murder in the house fire deaths of his three young children.  The film questions the scientific accuracy of arson investigations and the legal ramifications of a death sentence.

Bailey describes the film as "equal parts murder mystery, forensic investigation and political drama.  What we found so fascinating about the case and the story was the way that law and science and politics collide in this story in a really kind of life and death struggle."

Bailey had a law degree, which he found helpful in exploring the case.  Despite his law degree, Bailey consulted with his wife, who is an attorney, as well as law professors, to help him understand and portray his subject in depth. 

"I feel that a lot of people who are making films about legal things occasionally get things wrong, and it's really frustrating," Bailey told CNN.  "But more often they'll gloss over the process and the legal meat of a subject because they're afraid of it."

That's the essence of why I consult with writers and filmmakers.  I remove the doubt and fear out of criminal law topics, and help you get it right.  You don't have to be a lawyer to create authentic and knowledgeable crime and legal projects.  But it helps to have a knowledgeable, experienced criminal lawyer in your corner. 

Contact me for a free initial consultation.  Or sign up to receive my FREE Writer's Guide:  Top 7 Mistakes Made by Writers of Crime, Mystery and Legal Drama.

I saw a fascinating and unique case depicted on the ID show "Disappeared."  I'm new to this show, and I'm liking it so far.  If you haven't seen "Disappeared," each episode follows the story of someone who has disappeared.  Their friends and family are interviewed about the disappearance, as are police or other involved officials.

On the episode I saw, a family of four - mother, father and two young boys - disappeared from their home without a trace.  This caught my attention right away because it is extremely rare for an entire family to go missing.  Ususally it's just one person, or maybe two people.

The family had recently bought a home in Southern California.  They were renovating it, and a family friend had been at the home helping to paint over the weekend.  He was scheduled to return the following weekend to do more painting.  However, he never heard from them after a text from the wife on Wednesday. 

Wednesday night, the family van was seen pulling out of the home's driveway with no indication of foulplay.  The van was discovered the following Sunday night parked at a shopping center near the Mexico border.  The van's rear was filled with newly purchased toys.  There was also no evidence of foulplay in the van.

The home was in dissaray from the recent move and ongoing renovations, so police were unable to determine whether anything seemed out of place.  The couple's passports and children's birth certificates were found in the house.  Food was left out and uneaten on the kitchen counter and on the couch.  The family's beloved dogs were left behind without anyone to take care of them.

A surveillance video of the nearby California-Mexico pedestrian border crossing showed four people that could have been the family crossing into Mexico.  The video was taken from the rear and far away, making a positive identification difficult.  There was no indication that anyone was following them or forcing them across.  The family had no luggage.

When the couple's bank records were reviewed, they had not touched any of their $100,000 savings or used any credit cards since they were last heard from.  There was no evidence that the couple had any business dealings or family or friends in Mexico.  There was no evidence that the family was involved in criminal activity, and authorities ruled out the family being part of the witness protection program.

The one piece of evidence that indicated the trip was voluntary was a search on the family's home computer for the requirements for travelling to Mexico. 

All in all, a very strange case with more questions than answers...  To report tips, check out the "Disappeared" show site.