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SHOCKING TRUE STORY

Gregg Olsen

Kevin Ryan is a writer in the much-maligned genre of true crime who desperately needs a devious, over-the-top story for the subject of his next book. How else can he keep his wife Valerie’s roots dyed and keep himself from handing out taco samples at the local supermarket?
When Kevin isn’t Googling himself or spot checking his books’ stock at stores around the country or online, he’s bringing the hazards (ie, criminals and other crazies) of his job home to wife Val and twin daughters Taylor and Hayley. Kevin is on the hunt for the big one, the story that could break him out of the mid-list and onto the bestseller lists. And then there’s a knock at the door--a story finds him… A distraught 20-year old Jett Carter shows up at the Ryan house because her mother and sister are imprisoned—perhaps if Kevin writes their story and reveals the truth, he might help exonerate them. The Carters’ tale is the perfect white-trash-attempted-murder-love-triangle that Kevin’s editor will love and his fans will devour. He begins to write “Love You to Death.” Then on a beautiful summer day, the wheels of homicide are set in motion and Kevin’s own story begins to eclipse the crime he is chronicling. When his #1 fan is murdered and another body turns up, the Ryans’ life in Port Gamble and all that Kevin holds dear is in jeopardy. Somewhere in “Love You to Death” and within the “bunch of low rent losers” he’s interviewing is the killer. Throughout his career, Gregg Olsen has demonstrated an ability to create a detailed narrative that offers readers fascinating insights into the lives of people caught in extraordinary circumstances. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Olsen has written eight nonfiction books, eight novels, a novella, and contributed a short story to a collection edited by Lee Child. Olsen, a Seattle native, lives in Olalla, Washington with his wife, twin daughters, three chickens, Milo (an obedience school dropout cocker spaniel) and Suri (a mini dachshund so spoiled she wears a sweater).
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Published 2015-05-01 by Crime Rant Classics

Comments

Olsen’s unique voice propels this humorous exploration of some truly quirky lives, deaths and excuses. Gregg’s talent is not only making the reader laugh-out-loud, but hooking us into the story and having us care deeply about the characters as the absurd unfolds.

With his keen eye and ear for how real people live today, Gregg Olsen manages to be simultaneously wickedly funny and good-hearted. SHOCKING TRUE STORY is a very witty, cleverly-constructed novel and absolutely delicious read.

SHOCKING TRUE STORY is a sly, seductive thriller that grips you from the first page and refuses to let go. Gregg Olsen is a natural born storyteller with a flair for dead-on dialogue and laugh-out-loud satire.

A lovingly detailed, hilarious descent into the dark heart of the Real America, Gregg Olsen’s Shocking True Story picks up where the supermarket tabloids and daytime TV leave off. But somehow, his grotesque and driven characters end up beyond laughter: endearing, recognizable, as deadly as a knife in the throat. A funny, frightening, very moving book.

Bestselling crime writer Gregg Olsen's tour-de-force entwines narratives in hypnotic fashion. A uniquely riveting drama, an emotional roller-coaster, SHOCKING TRUE STORY erases all lines between truth and fiction. A spell-binding must-read!