We’re now digging into a real Texas story. We’re talking about a brazen jewel thief in the 1960s who burgled some of the wealthiest homes in Dallas. But he was an odd thief. Sometimes he took just one diamond earring, probably because he knew it would ruin the set. He would put down a towel so he wouldn’t sully an expensive chair by stepping on it. Who was this jewel thief? Author Rena Pederson unfurls the story in her book, The King of Diamonds: The Search for the Elusive Texas Jewel Thief. 

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This next story needs a trigger warning: it’s about the grooming and the sexual assault of children. But it was an important case in Australia and author Hedley Thomas tells it well. He details the murder case of Chris Dawson in his book The Teacher’s Pet. It was based on Henley’s record-breaking podcast that eventually attracted the attention of the Australian government.   

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In the summer of 1967, a family of nine was murdered in their home by a stranger in rural Canada. It was one of the worse random mass murders in the country’s history. There’s a podcast that covers the whole story called “The Shell Lake Massacre.” The host, Brittany Caffet, grew up not far from Shell Lake. And she has a very personal connection to the story…she’s close to one of the survivors.  

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A murder conspiracy in China is at the center of a fascinating true crime story involving politics, greed and deception. There are no heroes in this book, but boy, what a drama. Author Wenguang Huang tells me about his fantastic book, A Death in the Lucky Holiday Hotel: Murder, Money, and an Epic Power Struggle in China. 

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I had never heard of the tragic case of former Vaudeville star Vivian Gordon in 1930s New York. She had threatened some of the city’s most powerful men and at least one of them wanted her dead. Her murder in 1931 caused the downfall of the mayor of New York City. Author Michael Wolraich wrote a book about Gordon and her death called: The Bishop and the Butterfly Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age. 

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I’ve listened to many versions of the story of the Murdaugh dynasty and I’m always interested in hearing new, fresh details. Well, author and podcast host Mandy Matney didn’t disappoint with her book, Blood on Their Hands: Murder, Corruption, and the Fall of the Murdaugh Dynasty. She told me details that I’ve never heard before after she talked with countless locals in the low country of South Carolina. 

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One of the most interesting aspects of true crime is how we’re able to explore cultures and societies that are unfamiliar to us. That was the case for me when I talked with author Gregg Olsen about his book, The Amish Wife. It’s about a killer in the Amish community in Pennsylvania. There are many twists and turns in this story, I promise.  

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Several years ago, Patricia Cornwell wrote a book about Jack the Ripper called, Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper, Case Closed.  This book presents Patricia’s opinion on his identity based on her extensive research. She believes that Jack the Ripper was a German-British artist named Walter Sickert. A controversial opinion, according to some Ripperologists. In this episode with the author, you’ll hear why. 

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Kate Winkler Dawson's true crime talk show Wicked Words is back! On each new episode of Wicked Words, Kate interviews journalists, podcasters and authors about their fascinating behind-the-scenes stories from their investigations into the world of true crime. 

On Wicked Words, Kate talks to prolific true crime author Patricia Cornwell, award-winning journalist and podcast host Mandy Matney and many more. These are the stories behind the stories. 

New episodes are available every Monday.  

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Lizzie Borden is acquitted but that section of Fall River isn’t free from its murderous past. Less than a century later, the nearby Catholic church is the focus of a mystery and a murder as Satanic Panic grips the United States. How will this end? 

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