You gotta love Matt…if you read TC, that is. No other author is as prolific and as good when it comes to giving readers juicy and insightful reads, one right after another. An amazing feat, really! He’s got another winner out today that would make a perfect companion for the beach this summer.

And the raves are pouring in!

Forensic psychologist Dr. Katherine Ramsland, author most recently of THE HUMAN PREDATOR, calls Matt’s latest book, I’LL BE WATCHING YOU a “tale [that] skillfully balances a victim’s story against that of an arrogant killer as it reveals a deviant mind intent on topping the world’s most dangerous criminals. Phelps has an unrelenting sense for detail that affirms his place, book by book, as one of our most engaging crime journalists.”

Here’s the synopsis from his press package:

In September 2001, Carmen Rodriguez, a beautiful 32-year-old Hartford mother of four, went missing. At first police were stymied…until a killer’s crucial mistake led investigators down a long, dark road of cold, calculated murder…

In 1987, single mother Mary Ellen Renard was strangled, repeatedly stabbed, and left for dead in her New Jersey apartment. Her vicious assailant had already killed once…and would kill again. But unlike the fiend’s other victims, Mary Ellen lived to tell her horrifying tale…

Clean-cut, popular and on the fast track at a multinational computer firm, Rutgers grad Edwin “Ned” Snelgrove shocked friends and colleagues with a plea bargain for Renard’s brutal attack—and the heinous 1984 murder of college girlfriend Karen Osmun. Vowing never to be caught again, Ned spent his time in prison obsessively studying the violent career of his idol Ted Bundy…then was released ten years early for good behavior…

In this creepy tour-de-force, Matt takes readers on an exclusive jaunt into the twisted mind of an all-American serial killer. At one point in the book, Matt becomes part of the story himself as his interviews with Snelgrove turn from scary to chillingly bizarre and even threatening.

“Ned Snelgrove,” Matt told me yesterday, “is one of the most dangerous serial killers in recent memory. Here’s a guy who spent ten years behind bars studying Ted Bundy’s every move so he could be ‘Better than Bundy’ when he got out of prison. The letters he sent me, which I dissect in detail, we some of the most disturbing missives I’ve ever read.”

More disturbing than some of the posts on Crime Rant? Jeesh. That’s saying a lot!

Matt was featured in the Westerly Sun newspaper yesterday (a very influential paper, he tells me!).

Congrats, Matt. I hope everyone in the CR Nation buys the book TODAY.

We love it when the creep is caught. We’ve been following the story of Nicholas Sheley, 28, and we’re glad to report he’s been captured in the St. Louis area.

Here’s a snip from the AP:

GRANITE CITY, Ill. (AP) — An exhaustive, two-state manhunt for an ex-convict suspected in eight grisly slayings has ended with the man quietly arrested outside a bar known as a police hangout.

Nicholas T. Sheley’s capture was only a matter of time because of the intense publicity surrounding the case, said Tim Lewis, police chief in the St. Louis suburb of Festus, Mo. Police knew from a number of witness reports that Sheley was in the area, he said.

“He was desperate and he gave up without a fight,” Lewis said Tuesday night. “He looks rough. He’s had a rough two days.”

Interesting, that he gave up without a fight. This is a guy who likely killed a 93-year-old and a toddler, among six others. Tough guy.

Here’s more, again from the AP:

The FBI on Tuesday launched a manhunt for Sheley, who they warned was considered armed and dangerous. He is suspected of killing, among others, a 93-year-old man, a toddler and a couple whose blood-soaked dogs were found roaming a motel parking lot.

Sheley has only been charged in the death of one of the eight. He faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery and vehicular hijacking in the death of Ronald Randall, whose body was found Monday behind a grocery store in Galesburg, in northwestern Illinois, police said. An autopsy showed the 65-year-old died from blunt force trauma to the head, likely on Saturday.

Investigators said the other victims all appeared to have died in the same manner and that evidence linked to Sheley was recovered at each scene.

Authorities said the killings began with the beating death of 93-year-old Russell Reed, a Sterling man whose body was found stuffed in the trunk of a car Thursday. Sheley also is from Sterling, a town of 15,000 about 100 miles west of Chicago.

On Monday, police discovered the bodies of two men, a woman and a child in an apartment in nearby Rock Falls. Investigators believe they likely died late Saturday or early Sunday.

Sheley was acquainted with the male victims, Brock Branson and Kenneth Ulvey, both in their 20s, said Illinois State Police Region Two Commander Mark Maton. The Whiteside County coroner identified the remaining victims as 20-year-old Kilynna Blake, 20, and Dayan Blake, 2, both of Cedar City, Utah.

More than 250 miles away, the bodies of Tom and Jill Estes of Sherwood, Ark., were found Monday behind a gas station in Festus, said Lt. Bill Baker of the St. Louis Area Major Case Squad.

Get this snip about Sheley’s uncle, Joe Sheley, 47, who says Sheley recently struggled with drugs and his rap sheet includes arrests for home invasion.

“He’s been in trouble many times over the years, but something like this, yeah, it’s out of character,” Joe Sheley said. “He’s got a temper like anybody else. Just doesn’t want to be messed with. Won’t back down. But to go looking for a fight, looking for trouble, no.”

Jeesh! Temper? This guy’s a maniac.

Folks in St. Louis can rest easier tonight. And we can all wonder what made Nick tick.

Lanie, a new poster here at Crime Rant, gets the honors for Letter of the Week by posting her calm and insightful missive in the firestorm of posts about Drew Peterson, Joel Brotsky and our own M. William Phelps (Movie title: Dumb, Dumber and Da Bomb).

Here’s what Lanie wrote:

Since Joe Hosey is writing a book about Peterson and constantly reports even the smallest tidbit about him whenever he can. (I mean, seriously… was that story about Drew picking up a girl that works at a tanning salon– in the wee hours of the night– because her friend got arrested for a DUI… really necessary?).

I think it’s obvious that Brodsky and Peterson are trying to exploit the deaths of these two women anyway he can. I believe Matt 100%… Hosey writing the book and writing such positive articles about Peterson tells me this story is true.

I know that Matt is a professional and doesn’t want to get drawn more into this vile mess, but I think a lot of people would appreciate it if he released the tapes. I understand if he decides not to — it would be a tough spot to be in. If Brodsky keeps yapping his trap. Maybe Matt will feel compelled to release them.

I don’t think I have ever seen a lawyer like Brodsky before. He allows his client to go on numerous talk shows and comment about TWO cases — where he is the prime suspect.

They keep burying Drew deeper and deeper. If I were his lawyer, I would tell Drew to zip it. and I would DEFINITELY not be involved in brokering any type of book or news interviews.

That’s the bottomline, for sure.

Guest blog by Doug Sacrison, Crime Rant intern

So you just sat down to watch an episode of  COPS. And why shouldn’t you? You’ve earned it. Today we’re following some officers in Flint, Michigan. Two grizzled cops with mustahces are riding around slowly.

Officer Pestronelli speaks: “So, uh, today we’re out on sag patrol. Means we’re looking for perps whose pants are too low.”

His partner, Officer O’Hoolihan pipes in, “If I can see briefs, we take ‘em to the chief,” or something in that vein.

That’s right, folks. Cops in Flint, Michigan are now out on the prowl for saggers. Don’t give them lip about freedom of speech. If someone is complaining they can see your drawers, you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The book will be thrown at you, and you won’t be able to catch it, because you’ll be holding your pants up.

I’m curious as to how this issue was first addressed. A theory (from earlier in the theoretical episode of COPS): A group of gruff beat cops (most mustachioed) wander into the station on Monday morning, pour themselves a cup of strong black coffee, light some cigarettes, everyone grabs a donut out of the big pink box being balanced precariously by the rook. Suddenly the chief slams the door of his office, letting the wooden shades bang loudly on the glass. The rook drops the pink box, amid some snickers from the vets.

“Listen up, everyone,” yells the chief, slamming down a folder on one of the metal tables. “We’re going to start doing things differently around here. Flint, Michigan has for too long been a cesspool of visible underwear.”

And of course the episode ends with Pestronelli and O’Hoolihan pushing a perp with visible boxers decorated with hearts into the back of a squad car. As the picture fades to black, O’Hoolihan mutters, “It just makes me sick.”

Does sagging your pants lead to crime? I don’t know. Ask someone who has done research on the subject, then giggle at that person for researching the way people wear their pants. Personally, I think the Flint cops should mabye go nab some people for committing a crime against humanity, not fashion.

And besides, the police should be happy if these supposed soon-to-be criminals are wearing their pants below their derrieres. Because when they commit a real crime, they won’t be able to run too well. Hooray!