Happy and retired, Tom and Jackie Hawks lived a charmed life in sunny Southern California. They were delighted when former child star Skylar Deleon and his pregnant wife Jennifer offered cash to purchase their 55-ft yacht The Well Deserved. But a trial voyage turned into a nightmare. Out at sea, the Hawkses begged for their lives as they were forced to sign everything over to Skylar. In return, they were tied to the ship's anchor and thrown overboard - alive...Skylar and Jennifer's twisted story became even more shocking when Skylar's unusual sexual motivations were revealed in court. After killing a man while out of jail on work furlough, he hired hits from prison on four witnesses, including his father...For this former child actor, the answer to "where are they now?" is Death Row.
New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother has written or co-authored eight books, including LOST GIRLS, POISONED LOVE, DEAD RECKONING, DEADLY DEVOTION, BODY PARTS, TWISTED TRIANGLE, NAKED ADDICTION and MY LIFE, DELETED.
She is currently working on a book about the murder of multimillionaire entrepreneur Bill McLaughlin in Newport Beach, Calif., by his fiancee, the femme fatale Nanette Johnston Packard McNeal, and her lover, the NFL linebacker Eric Naposki. It is currently titled I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU and is slated for release in late 2013.
Her latest true crime book is the controversial LOST GIRLS, a behind the scenes account of the rape and murder of San Diego area teenagers Chelsea King and Amber Dubois by sexual predator John Gardner (July 2012).
NYT bestseller MY LIFE, DELETED, is an inspirational memoir of former NFL player Scott Bolzan, who is rebuilding his life after suffering a brain injury and losing his entire long-term memory. She co-authored the book with Scott and his wife Joan. (HarperOne, October 2011)
The updated POISONED LOVE (December 2011) adds 20 pages of new developments in the Kristin Rossum case, in which the beautiful San Diego toxicologist was convicted of poisoning her husband with powerful narcotics she stole from her lab at the county Medical Examiner's Office, then staging a suicide scene by sprinkling red rose petals over her husband's body.
In her debut thriller, NAKED ADDICTION, a lethal confluence of sex, drugs and the murder of young beauty school entrepreneurs hits the wealthy beach community of La Jolla. Undercover narcotics detective Ken Goode confronts his own demons during a homicide investigation that brings him into contact with a drug ring and an escort service while he tangles with a seductive witness and worries that his missing sister will be the next murder victim.
Before writing books full-time, Rother worked for nearly 20 years as an investigative reporter for daily newspapers, covering issues ranging from addiction, suicide, mental illness and murder to politics and corruption at City Hall and in Congress. She now writes books full-time, teaches writing and works as an editorial consultant/book doctor.
Most recently a Pulitzer-nominated staff writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune, Rother also has been published in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, and The Daily Beast. Her many media appearances as a crime expert include "Women Who Kill" on E!, the "Snapped" series on the Oxygen Network, five shows on Investigation Discovery, and "On the Record" with Greta Van Susteren on FOX News.
Rother, who earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from University of California Berkeley and her master's in journalism from Northwestern University, teaches narrative non-fiction, creative writing, advanced feature writing and interviewing at UCSD Extension. She does public speaking and works as an editorial and publishing consultant. She also founded San Diego Writing Women and runs its blog. Check out her website at http://caitlinrother.com and the blog at sandiegowritingwomen.blogspot.com.
