It began on August 12, 1983, when a disturbed woman’s bizarre accusation ignited hysteria across the small Southern California community of Manhattan Beach.
Driven by over-zealous investigators and a sensational news media, the legend of The McMartin Preschool became the “case of the century”—the longest, most expensive criminal trial in United States history.
Four years later, in the spring of 1988, in the midst of the ongoing frenzy, authors Matthew LeRoy and Deric Haddad, students at San Diego State University, left school to follow the case, a path that led them to Manhattan Beach, an upscale community where a vortex of suspicion left most residents leery of outsiders.
In this instance, however, where the inquisitors were two unassuming college students, many opened their doors . . . and they had so much to say.
Through the summer of 1990, the authors conducted over one hundred interviews, as they bonded with key players on both sides of the conflict. No other journalists or network reporters were able to obtain such a diverse range of sources.
Now, thirty years later, this extraordinary event comes to life.
Written in a creative non-fiction format, They Must Be Monsters is told through the eyes of the “mother who started it all.” Using exclusive content—her volume of lost archives—the depth of her paranoia is unveiled; the portrait of a schizophrenic woman whose dark visions became a microcosm of the community around her. These authentic, never-before-seen documents finally bring an end to the mystery behind her fateful accusations.
The events of Manhattan Beach are true, an untold story, the calamity of an upscale seaside town gripped by fear, where friends turned on neighbors in a frantic campaign of misguided retribution—a devastating crucible that afflicted a generation of innocent people, an event eerily similar to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
It’s a tale of horror, rage, superstition, and faith; a shameful moment in American folklore that’s been erroneously ignored by historians—a great injustice that should’ve never taken place—but,as history tends to repeat itself, most tragically did.

Meet John Costello, Vice President of Business Development and Government Relations for Microsemi Corporation, a $6billion leader in the advanced-semiconductor market. Well known and respected in the industry, John Costello graduated from college in 1983 with a degree in Business Administration. John's social circle includes high-level corporate executives, politicians, military leaders and movie stars. Born into a working-class neighborhood on Chicago's north side and grew up under quite difficult conditions. His father was a talented Italian tenor with mob connections and a proclivity for violence; his mother, the daughter of an Irish street cop, was a straight-laced Catholic girl till she took to the bottle after falling victim to that violence. . Readers who might enjoy this book are those interested in true-crime stories, mob activity, murder and mayhem, as well as anyone seeking a no-holds-barred story that describes the resilience of the human spirit. Spiced with wit and humor and distinguished by the inimitable voice of tough-talking John Costello, his story touches our hearts while keeping us on the edge of our seats.And that is what makes our book "unique" - John Costello's life is unique. It has been a strange blend of two distinct worlds, but with one foot firmly emplaced in each. The fact that he is comfortable meeting with Senator John McCain in the morning to discuss government business, and can then enjoy the company of old friends from the streets of Chicago in the evening, is indicative of his parallel lives and will certainly be something readers find highly intriguing.

"You want to know what happened? Ask Anne."—serial killer William Devin Howell

A monster was on a killing spree. In just nine months, seven people went missing; all of their bodies eventually discovered in a wooded lot behind a suburban strip mall. But the investigation that led law enforcement to their suspect, William Devin Howell, is only part of the story behind HIS GARDEN: Conversations With A Serial Killer.

A practicing attorney, author Anne K. Howard first contacted Howell while he was serving a fifteen-year sentence for the murder of one of his seven victims. He was about to be charged for the remaining six murders. A unique and disturbing friendship between the two began, comprised of written correspondence, face-to-face prison visits and recorded phone calls. Howell, who had been unwilling to speak to any members of the media, came to trust Howard.

In the years that follow, the suspect shared his troubled history with Howard but refused to discuss the charges against him, promising only to tell her everything when the case was over.

That time has come.

HIS GARDEN probes the complicated and conflicted mind of William Devin Howell--Connecticut’s most prolific serial killer. Both sacred and profane in its narrative style, the story on these pages explores the eternal question of human evil and its impact on others, including the woman he chose to hear his horrific confession.

OUT HERE IN THE DARKNESS is a never before told true crime story of unimaginable horror and a killer's 33-year search for redemption.  In 1985, a group of Houston teenagers torture and murder one of their companions; the next month, two more acts of violence occur. Now, over thirty years later, plunge into the shocking details, investigations, and transcripts as you journey through the crimes, the pursuit, and the trials. With a rare in-depth glimpse inside the mind of a teen turned killer, you may find explanations for questions we all ask in the face of such horrors: Why? What becomes of us now?

Thousands of Americans are convicted of crimes they never committed. Many of them end up on death row where inmates have been executed despite their innocence.

The Deprived—Innocent on Death Row tells the dramatic stories of death row inmates and describes the murder cases that led to their wrongful convictions.

The book is based on interviews with 10 Americans who have all been affected by wrongful convictions and the death penalty.

Among them:

Nick Yarris tells what life is like on death row when serial killer Ted Bundy lives in the cell next to you and he describes how he became one of America's most wanted persons as a death row inmate on the run.

Derrick Jamison tells what it feels like to be scheduled to die in 90 minutes despite his innocence and why he today accuses law enforcement officers of killing his mother.

Marietta Jaeger tells how her seven-year-old daughter’s serial killer called to taunt her, but why she still forgave him and fought for him not to be sentenced to death.

Sonia “Sunny” Jacobs tells what it is like to be a woman on death row and how it affected her when her husband, Jesse, was executed and lated found innocent of the crime he was killed for by the state of Florida.

The book also tells what leads to wrongful convictions and who’s most likely in America to be incarcerated for a crime they never committed.

"Evocative, and inspiring ... So much more than a true crime." - Steve Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of NO STONE UNTURNED

After surviving the horrors of the Holocaust – in ghettos, on death marches, and in concentration camps – a young couple seeks refuge in Canada. They settle into a new life, certain that the terrors of their past are behind them. They build themselves a cozy little cottage on a lake in Muskoka, a cottage that becomes emblematic of their victory over the Nazis. The charming retreat is a safe haven, a refuge from haunted memories.

That is, until a single act of unspeakable violence defiles their sanctuary. Poking around the dark crawl space beneath their cottage, they discover a wooden crate, nailed tightly shut and almost hidden from view. Nothing could have prepared them for the horror of the crate’s contents – or how the peace and tranquility of their lives would be shattered.

Now, their daughter, Deborah Vadas Levison, an award-winning journalist, tells the extraordinary account of her parents' ordeals, both in one of the darkest times in world history and their present-day lives. Written in searing, lyrical prose, THE CRATE: A Story Of War, A Murder, And Justice examines man’s seemingly limitless capacity for evil... but also, his capacity for good.

The year was 1965. The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and The Righteous Brothers filled the airwaves. Television shows like "The Adventures of Ozzy and Harriett" and "The Andy Griffith Show" mirrored the innocence of life in the dusty city of Tucson, Az. But the sunbaked desert surrounding Tucson was hiding a sinister secret. A psychopath names Charles Schmid, later nicknamed the "Pied Piper of Tucson" by Life Magazine, would steal that innocence away, along with the lives of three beautiful teenage girls.

In this firsthand account written in 1967, Richard Bruns shares the evolution of his friendship with Schmid, the details of getting involved way in over his head, and how he finally summoned the courage to blow the whistle to end the deadly rampage that shocked the nation and changed the city of Tucson forever.

One of the weapons a police officer fears most is the shotgun – the blast feels like nine people are shooting at you, simultaneously. As he pursued a hijacked truck with a hostage inside, Officer Dana Owen was Shotgunned by desperate gangsters and hit, not once, but twice, in the head. Read this riveting page-turner to find out whether Dana is able to help bring the fugitives to justice, before the clock on the statute of limitations runs out!

When John Z. DeLorean was arrested for trafficking in cocaine, I had no idea that the cocaine they were talking about came out of my car. A dozen armed FBI and DEA agents had arrested me the night before with $28,000,000 worth of cocaine.
Considering that I had recently flown 650 pounds of cocaine from a secret Medellin Cartel Jungle Headquarters, my future was dark. According to an enraged FBI agent, I was facing 144 years in prison without the possibility of parole under the Rico Act for conspiracy to possess and distribute 1,255 pounds of cocaine. The federal prosecutor defined it as the largest known haul of cocaine in U.S. history (in 1982). My trial would become known as “The Drug Trial of the Century.”
It all began with two ounces of marijuana. I was proudly serving my country as a navy bomb disposal frogman in Hawaii. I was a 14 year career veteran with four tours in Vietnam and a short stent in the Philippines going up against Muslim terrorists in 77. I had worked with the CIA, the Secret Service and on top-secret military operations. I was awarded the Naval Commendation Medal for life saving. I was the chief in-charge of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unite One (EODMUONE) team 11. Then I was busted selling a couple of ounces of marijuana to another sailor. I fell from the ranks of heroes like an express elevator in free fall.
I wound up in the San Diego surfer community where I didn’t go looking for crime, it found me in the form of a multimillionaire aviation genius and mentor. I had no idea that Morgan Hetrick had gone over to the dark side. He was a Texas cowboy who didn’t rightly behold to the laws of the United States. He had become the #1 West Coast drug smuggler for Pablo Escobar, who referred to Morgan and Sons as his Cocaine Cowboys. I had unwittily joined that gang, it was “Silver or Lead,” fly the plane or take a bullet in the head.
Pablo was looking for a solution to his biggest problem. Most of his minions had not graduated from middle school. They were motivated by their macho egos which was all about rum, whiskey, guns and knives. Escobar was looking to go high-tech with a sophisticated military commando type of operation to take over the whole USA cocaine market. Thanks to my mentor, Pablo had decided that I would run that operation and was looking to fill my pockets with millions of dollars to make it happen. There was only one problem, no one had told me about my role in Pablo Escobar’s big plans and I was headed for a maximum-security prison with little hope of surviving.
Mine is a journey into darkness? Yet, I had one hope, that prison would become my dojo, a martial arts place of training. I would survive and was committed to rediscovering the American warrior I once was, the man who stood proudly in the ranks of heroes.

During the onslaught of legal actions during the Savings and Loans crisis of the 1980s, John Smith came to realize the extent of his employer's wrongdoing, and that he too had been one of many deceived. He discovered that you don't have to commit a crime to be convicted of one, and after years of turmoil, he discovered the relief when the FBI finally informed him fifteen years after his sentencing that he should never have been prosecuted in the first place.

If it can happen to me, it can happen to you. But also, I have learned a deeper lesson: there is much more to this world than we can see or feel or even comprehend. The Abyss is not something you recognize right away. It's a part of you that you don't come in touch with very often. It's the place where you engage in the ultimate struggle for truth, where you ache for a lasting answer. When you touch the Abyss you gather the breath from deep within you, grasp it, embrace it, and hold on for dear life.