One thing stands between fiction and non-fiction. Reality. As a novelist, I’ve written stories about killers and their victims but those characters live only in my imagination. The killers and victims in Warren’s books are real and that raises the stakes considerably. These are not simply characters, but traumatized people whose lives and futures were snuffed out and whose surviving families must live on with that knowledge.
These are people who Warren personally interviews and that impresses me. I know it takes sympathy and understanding to talk with victims affected by crime. Alan Warren jokes that his autism allows him to be poker-faced and unemotional in meetings with killers and the victims’ surviving family and friends, but his altruism and compassion shine through in what he chooses to reveal in his books, what he chooses to omit, and how he approaches each word.
Murder Times Six: the True Story of the Wells Gray Park Murders is a book about “justice.” The question Warren continues to return to is this: should David Shearing, confessed murderer of six, be allowed parole? Shearing has applied for parole before and can do so again in 2021. Warren asks: “Do we want people who commit such violent crimes, like murder and rape, out in free society? Would you want him living next door to you?” This book presents the case against Shearing. Why should he be allowed to live a “normal” life with the wife he married while incarcerated when his victims’ lives were snuffed out for one selfish reason? Shearing wanted two young girls he’d noticed in the bush and become obsessed with. This is a “story of a family trying to live and enjoy their lives.” It’s not a story intended to glamorize David Shearing. You will not find graphic details here. This is a book that honours the victims and survivors.
In August 1982, three generations of a Kelowna family went camping at Wells Gray Provincial Park in British Columbia — Bob and Jackie Johnson and their daughters, thirteen-year-old Janet and eleven-year-old Karen, along with Jackie’s parents George and Edith Bentley. None of them ever returned. Many people know that their charred bodies were discovered later — the remains of four adults piled into the back seat and the two young girls (sisters) in the trunk.
Forty years later, Warren interviewed David Shearing at Bowden Institution, a medium-security prison in Alberta. He also interviewed Shearing’s wife, Heather. One thing I appreciate about Warren’s book is the detailed research he’s done into subjects such as hybristophilia: an intense love and sexual attraction for a man who’s committed heinous crimes. This “potentially lethal disorder” is more common than we think and there are several prison dating sites that enable it. Warren also explains the Canadian prison and parole system and discusses pedophilia and cutting-edge “treatments” as this topic relates to Shearing’s motives for murdering this family.
The book is divided into three parts. First, the story of the family, their excitement about going camping together, their disappearance and gruesome discovery, and finally Shearing. Next, police interviews with Shearing, his changing stories and confession, subsequent trial, and incarceration. And finally, tributes to the family and victim impact statements that will break your heart.
Warren documents a long list of references — everything from parole hearing reports to the genetic predisposition of humans to kill each other — but what makes this book are the personal words and touches along with Warren’s own insights into Shearing and the people he destroyed. The city of Kelowna continues to mourn the loss of this family — three generations gone because one man wanted two young girls who’d not even set foot in high school. He wanted them and he took them.
Alan R. Warren is a host and producer of NBC news talk radio show House of Mystery which reviews True Crime, History, Science, Religion, and Paranormal Mysteries. He is also the best-selling author of several True Crime books and can be found at www.alanrwarren.com
In an age where murder is sensationalized through television drama, the reality of a real cold-blooded “murder times six” by a ruthless and selfish killer, begs to be heard and acknowledged. Warren does important work and I applaud his dedication to sensitively bring justice to the victims of violent crimes.
Interviewers ask so many interesting questions, some that really make you think. Sometimes it takes me days to think about the question and craft a decent, honest answer. I particularly hate anything about “favourites” — what is your favourite . . . ? Who can have just one?
Jean the Book Nerd opened doors into my mind where I had to ramble and reminisce. These were all valid and pertinent questions. Not all interviewers ask such questions.
In “Writing Behind the Scenes” I talk about my creative process and venture into mystical territory that I haven’t revealed before. I hope you enjoy the interview. Please leave a comment or question that doesn’t ask about favourites!
What do you do when your new lover is accused of murder and you’re not really sure of his guilt or innocence? The evidence against ex-convict Mason Burke may be circumstantial but it’s so compelling even Deputy Jess Winslow doubts her lover’s innocence.
In the captivating sequel to Deception Cove, Burke and Winslow barely have time to take a breath before a body washes up on the Pacific shore. The Victim: Bad Boyd. A local celebrity who played pro hockey, Boyd isn’t just bad, he’s wicked. This heinous bully has fought, terrorized, and murdered dogs over the years, and he’s destroyed people. All for his own sadistic pleasure. Still, he’s never been caught. Until now.
The Accused: loveable, dependable Mason Burke. With his fifteen-year-stint in the Chippewa penitentiary for murder barely behind him, Burke is the last person seen with Bad Boyd. And they were fighting. Mason loves his pit bull. Boyd killed pit bulls. The altercation was inevitable.
With their newfound love belching puffs of mistrust and doubt, this high octane thriller tests the limits for both Burke and Winslow. Should he turn himself in or abandon his little family and run for it? And who will find the real killer with Burke in jail? Worse, if he runs, he’ll lose everyone he loves.
Lone Jack Trail sees us traversing more epic West Coast terrain. It’s obvious Laukkanen’s travelled these trails. His 3D sensory descriptions take us there. The small coastal town of Deception Cove is a familiar character but the surrounding wilderness is a dangerous haven for meth cookers and killers.
Laukkanen’s writing is emphatic but precise and controlled, though his feelings fleck the surface like fish for flies. When Burke visits Bad Boyd’s vacated dog-fighting barn, I thought I might have to skip a few pages. There are things I can’t read and don’t want to know. But even something so close to Laukkanen’s heart as animal cruelty is treated delicately and we feel Burke’s pain (and Laukkanen’s) in the spaces between.
What draws me to Laukkanen’s writing besides his engrossing narrative style is his ability to write ordinary heroes doing extraordinary things. Burke’s clever young sidekick, Chris Rengo, is a homeless former meth cooker, but he often comes up with the right information at the right time. Deputy Tyner Gillies, named for a real live police sergeant and author, is fearless — a warrior and one of the good guys in a town known for corrupt cops. And then there’s Jess Winslow and Lucy. Jess is an ex-Marine suffering from PTSD and her service dog, Lucy, is based on Laukkanen’s own rescued pit bull. Lucy is as much a hero as anyone in this cast of eccentric characters.
In the exhilarating climax on Lone Jack Trail, we discover just how much of a team these three really are — Burke, Winslow, and Lucy, the dog. With its satisfying ending, Lone Jack Trail will leave you smiling and wanting more in this series.
Just this week, I read that books with a dog in them are “enchanting” while books where a dog dies are “heart-rending.” Let me assure you that you’ll be safely enchanted with Deception Cove though your heart may swell in the reading.
This story is about a dog, a very particular dog named Lucy, and those determined to destroy her and those bent on saving her. Author Owen Laukkanen knows Lucy well. He adopted her as a six-year-old pit bull who was destined for death in a California kill shelter. She became his muse and found her way onto the page and into our hearts. Like Laukkanen, the two protagonists in this story are bound to Lucy.
Mason Burke has been incarcerated since he was eighteen years old and caught doing the wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Part of his work at the Chippewa State Pen was training dogs to become emotional support for veterans with PTSD. When he’s released, all Burke wants to know is if the dog he trained and fell in love with is surviving. He manages to find his way to Deception Cove, a small Pacific Coast town in Washington. There he meets a recently-widowed US marine named Jess Winslow whose post-war world revolves around Lucy.
Enter the problem. Winslow’s husband was playing with a bad crowd, stole something he shouldn’t and got himself killed for it. Now, the bad boys, who just happen to be lawmen, have stolen Lucy and are threatening to kill her if she doesn’t give them back their package.
There is no melodrama in this book, just deep-hearted soul that binds us to these wounded characters in their plight to stay alive. On the run with Burke and Lucy from the lawmen who murdered her husband, Jess’s story is revealed through vivid flashbacks. Afghanistan is never far away for Jess and her PTSD doesn’t take a day off. It was Lucy who saved Jess from blowing her head off and now she can’t “look at the shotgun without seeing the lead.” Who steals a war veteran’s therapy dog?
Though a thriller, Deception Cove could also be marketed as romantic suspense. The growing relationship between Burke and Winslow simmers on the page as they race to save Lucy, get the package, and avoid getting killed by some very evil men. These three are characters you want to befriend. The good news is you can. Deception Cove is only the first in this series.
Laukkanen’s voice is rich, slow, and easy, though the story never misses a beat in its relentless pacing. A natural storyteller, he holds us in the palm of his hand as he spins out honest dialogue and superbly paced action in a richly detailed marine environment. Once a commercial fisherman, Laukkanen’s knowledge of boats and the Pacific coast is apparent with the expertise and ease he writes.
If you’re looking for a soulful thriller that you can’t put down, this book is for you. I kept getting drawn to the back cover and the photo of Laukkanen and Lucy. His love for her and for writing translates to the page. “It was on walks together through the city that I rediscovered my love for writing, and so I owe this book to the hound, and so much more besides.” Thank you, Lucy and thank you Owen for this gem. Perfect summer reading.
I LOVE this interview in Uncaged Magazine! When I first saw “uncaged” I was sure the magazine was about pets! Wild pets! So, I managed to make my feature about writing AND my dog as she is such an integral part of my writing life. My author feature starts on page 54 but there’s also a pet feature on page 52. What fun! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
Thanks to Debbi Elliott for her wonderful photos of Skaha and me. The photo at the top of Croghan Hill in Ireland was taken by my daughter after we climbed the hill featured in the story To Kill a King! Special thanks to Mickey Mikkelson for getting me this feature. It was the one I asked for the first time we talked.
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