Featuring some of America’s most popular writers of thrillers and whodunits, Investigation Discovery’s HARDCOVER MYSTERIES explores the crossover from fact to fiction. In this exciting new eight-part series, New York Times best-selling authors discuss the real-life cases that compelled their fascination and inspired their page-turners.
Authors David Baldacci, Sandra Brown, Harlan Coben, Linda Fairstein, Sara Paretsky, Kathy Reichs, Lisa Scottoline and Joseph Wambaugh offer their unique perspectives on real-life mysteries, honed by their skills as master storytellers and keen observers of human nature. Across their careers as best-selling novelists, the authors featured in HARDCOVER MYSTERIES have combined to sell hundreds of millions of books worldwide.
“HARDCOVER MYSTERIES features eight world-renowned novelists doing what they do best – using their gifts as exceptional storytellers. This new series will enable them to share with our viewers true stories of mysteries that have confounded investigators and captured the attention of communities large and small,” said Henry Schleiff, president and general manager of Investigation Discovery. “As America’s leading investigation network, ID prides itself on working with premier journalists, investigators and experts, and the collection of best-selling authors featured in HARDCOVER MYSTERIES reflects this unwavering commitment to quality.”
Each episode of HARDCOVER MYSTERIES pairs an author with an incredible real-life case close to their heart, whether it inspired one of their own creations, mirrors the themes presented in their bestsellers or resonates with their personal life story.
For example, crime novelist David Baldacci examines the 1964 murder of Mary Meyer, a Washington D.C. socialite and confidante to President John F. Kennedy, which partially the basis for his first best-seller, “Absolute Power.”
Sandra Brown offers insight about the murder of Nicholas West, a landmark hate crime in Texas that inspired the plot for one of her best-selling books, “The Witness.”
Harlan Coben’s two New York Times #1 bestsellers, “Long Lost” and “Caught” both feature girls who disappear, a theme reflected in the true story of Brianna Denison’s abduction and the questions surrounding the main witness’s actions.
Linda Fairstein, who once served as the head of the sex crimes unit for the New York County District Attorney’s office, gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the real-life story of Sante and Kenny Kimes, a bizarre mother and son crime team whose path of terror struck New York City at the turn of the 21st century.
Sara Paretsky, who pens the acclaimed V.I. Warshawski series that transformed the role of women in crime novels, looks at the homicide of a faculty wife that made headlines near her childhood hometown of Lawrence, Kansas.
Lisa Scottoline, whose thrillers are deeply rooted in the exploration of family relationships, probes the murder of 15-year-old Sarah Starling, who seemingly was entangled in a bizarre family triangle involving a plot with her mother to commit murder.
And Joseph Wambaugh traces the investigation of Colin Pitchfork, which was the first homicide case solved using genetic fingerprinting, and was the subject of his bestseller “The Blooding.”
All of these authors expertly weave unique and intricate mysteries that slowly unfold throughout their novels; however, in HARDCOVER MYSTERIES they demonstrate that real-life stories can be as fascinating as their best-selling works of fiction.
HARDCOVER MYSTERIES launches on Monday, October 11 at 9 PM ET on Investigation Discovery.
While this new series features some of the same authors that were in “Murder by the Book” several years ago, I’m glad to see they’re covering different crimes/mysteries than the ones they’d previously talked about.
If this rates well for Discovery, I wonder if we’ll get another season with different authors.