There are many types of true crime books.  Some seek to analyze the psyche of serial killers like Ted Bundy.  Others sensationalize vicious murders, choosing to focus on the depravity and brutality of killers like Jeffrey Dahmer.  All of these books--and there are many good ones--certainly have their place.  I leave it to others to write them.

 

As a divorce lawyer, the slice of the true crime genre that appeals most to me is the one which focuses on romantic relationships that, for one reason or another, skid off the train tracks to the point that murder--rather than divorce--becomes the answer.  In many of these cases, like the two I have written about, the murder seemingly came out of the blue, with no history of prior domestic violence.  In other words, the would-be killers were able to control and keep at bay their feelings toward their spouses until the very end.  When they snapped.  And killed.  That is the type of murder that fascinates me the most.  And the one which I have chosen to write my first two books about.

 

Just as I ask my new domestic clients in an initial consultation to retrace their relationships from their earliest days, it is often fascinating to rewind a murder story to the earliest days of the relationship between the victim and killer(s).  And then to proceed slowly through the couple's lives to learn how the seeds of murder were first planted.  That is particularly true in this case.

​

EVIL AT LAKE SEMINOLE is a story about childhood friends and sweethearts, all of whom attended a small Christian school.  Those who knew them then--and who attended their weddings and baby showers--could never have imagined the unexpected ways in which these relationships would eventually intertwine, unravel, and, ultimately, explode.  That is one of many unique and fascinating aspects to this story I found so compelling.

​

Of course, the search at Lake Seminole, and length of time it took to figure out what actually happened, is another compelling feature of this case.  As is the sheer grit and perseverance of Cheryl Williams, the true heroine of this story.  Usually it is someone from law enforcement whose perseverance holds a true crime story like this together and makes it compelling.  Not so here.  That was nearly exclusively Cheryl Williams' role.

​

But at bottom, why I wrote this book is no different from why I wrote MURDER ON BIRCHLEAF DRIVE and hopefully will write several more.  From my perspective, a true crime book is always foremost about the victim of a heinous crime.  A true crime story can only be as powerful as the victim's own story.  And the more I dug into the life of Mike Williams, the more convinced I became that his was a story that needed to be told.  Of a life very well lived that touched so many others.  A life that should be remembered and glorified far more than the despicable crime that violently snatched it away.

​

Mike Williams led a life worth remembering and emulating.  It was a true labor of love to tell his story.