East County News Service
January 21, 2025 (San Diego) – New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother, an investigative journalist and former San Diego Union-Tribune reporter, will release an updated edition of her true-crime book, Body Parts, on February 25. The book takes a deep psychological look at serial killer Wayne Adam Ford, a trucker who confessed to killing four prostitutes picked up along California roads.
The new edition contains information on the identity of Ford’s first victim, who has finally been identified by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s through forensic genetic genealogy 25 years after her body was found by a boater.
For a year after her murder, detectives had no suspects until one evening in November 1998, when a 36-year-old former Marine walked into the Eureka sheriff’s station with a woman’s breast in his jacket pocket. Initially saying he had “hurt some people,” Wayne Adam Ford turned himself in, describing the gruesome details of repeatedly choking four young women during rough sex until they stopped breathing, reviving them with CPR, then doing it again.
Ford told authorities that after torturing and repeatedly choking and reviving dozens of prostitutes with CPR during sex, four of them didn’t survive, he said, claiming that was an accident. After dismembering two of his victims, he dumped their bodies in the California Aqueduct and other waterways in Humboldt, Kern, San Joaquin, and San Bernardino Counties. Ford's complex death penalty case made national news because he is one of the only serial killers to turn himself in and help authorities identify his victims. He was recently transferred from death row at San Quentin to a state prison in San Luis Obispo.
Originally released in March 2009, this new edition of Body Parts has been updated with 32 pages of developments about the identification of Kerry Anne Cummings, Ford’s first victim, whom he dismembered. The new material takes the reader through the investigative process involved in solving a cold case like this one so many years after the fact. The victim’s family has closure after so many years of not knowing what happened to her, and being prevented from reporting her missing to police because she was using drugs. Rother is the first writer to interview the Cummings family about her troubled life before she went missing in late 1997.
Overall, this book is based on exclusive information Rother uncovered during her extensive research and exclusive interviews with key players, including Ford’s father and brother. She also interviewed, the prosecutor, sheriff's detectives from all four counties, the defense’s sole investigator, and a woman who survived after being raped and tortured by Ford. By obtaining a court order to release sealed court files and digging through boxes of evidence and investigators’ reports, Rother was able to paint comprehensive and compelling portraits of Ford, his family and his victims. Her book shows readers how Ford’s family dynamics, his severe head injury, his bouts of mental illness, and his compulsive sexual perversions led to his tragic killing spree, tearful confessions, and dramatic trial.
Rother has written or co-authored 15 books including Death on Ocean Boulevard, Hunting Charles Manson, Then No One Can Have Her, I’ll Take Care of You, Lost Girls, Poisoned Love, Dead Reckoning, Twisted Triangle, Where Hope Begins/Deadly Devotion, Naked Addiction, and My Life, Deleted
Her next title, Down to the Bone, about the murders of the McStay family of San Diego County, comes out in June 2025. The author of narrative non-fiction crime, thrillers, and memoir, Rother also has the first two books in a new series of crime novels coming out in 2026, starting with Dopamine Fix (Thomas & Mercer). Her most recent title is Death on Ocean Boulevard, which was optioned by Untitled Entertainment. An award-winning investigative newspaper reporter for 19 years,
Rother’s journalism has been published in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The San Diego Union Tribune, The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, and The Daily Beast. Her more than 250 TV, radio and podcast appearances include 20/20, People Magazine Investigates, Crime Watch Daily, Australia's World News, and numerous shows on Netflix, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, HLN and REELZ. For more information, visit her website: https://caitlinrother.com
What critics are saying
“With a seasoned journalist's doggedness and a novelist's ear for drama, Caitlin Rother paints every page with all the violent colors of a malignant sociopath's fever and captures what all too often is hidden right in plain sight,” says NYT bestselling author Ron Franscell. “This kind of frightening and fascinating glimpse into a killer's mind is rare, and an extremely intuitive Rother makes the most of it.”
“Caitlin Rother is the model for serious crime journalism today. She's bold, meticulous, and exhaustive, returning to cases with loose ends to update us on the latest innovations and developments,” says Katherine Ramsland, bestselling author.
“The updated material in this new edition of Body Parts not only brings the story full circle by giving a name, face, and tragic backstory to the mystery that set the nightmare in motion, it adds another layer of depth,” says Simon Read, author of In the Dark. “Caitlin Rother never lets the horrific nature of the crimes overshadow the humanity of the victims… Rother explores Ford's savage career in chilling detail… Her fast-paced narrative and the brutality of Ford's rampage come together in a book crime aficionados will be loathe to put down. A story this shocking can only be true.”
“Rother has produced a superior study of the formation of a serial killer and his lost and lonely victims,” says Carol Anne Davis, author of Sadistic Killers. “You’ll want to lock up your daughters—and raise your sons with respect and compassion – after reading about the depraved acts of Wayne Adam Ford.”
“As with all of her nonfiction, Caitlin Rother delivers page-turning excitement and blood curdling terror once again,” says M. William Phelps, author of Bad Girls. “Using a reporter's edge, a novelist's eye, and a crime-scene investigator's nose for evidence, Rother's latest is all at once riveting, unbelievable, fast-paced, and sure to keep you up at night wondering how evil seems to top itself time and again."
BODY PARTS by Caitlin Rother
On sale date: February 25, 2025
Price: $18.95, a Citadel Press trade paperback
ISBN: 978-0806543918
Novel by Mark O’Bannon
Reviewed by Pennell Paugh
January 19, 2025 (San Diego)—San Diego resident Mark O’Bannon has released a new science fiction romance, Touching Infinity (Imperium Prequels).
In a society where arranged marriages are considered more sensible and enduring, Alastronia DeTroyes, a young planetary scientist, is excited to find herself traveling into a system that she has predicted will explode soon into a supernova.
Over the course of the novel, Alastriona corresponds with her sister, Julia.
Below is an excerpt from the novel:
“’We’ll decide what’s best for you,” Théophile said.
“’The Chinese call these types of marriages, ‘máng hūn.’”
“’Yeah, that translates as, ‘blind marriage,’” said Julie. “Not for me, thanks.”
“Their mother shook her head in exasperation. “No one wants their children making rash decisions to marry someone because of passion or lust. In an arranged marriage, you will stay together forever.”
“’What about love?” asked Julie.
“’Don’t be naive, Julie. There’s no such thing as true love,” said Théophile. “That’s just a silly romantic fantasy.”
Julie stopped arguing and devoted her attention to her food.
“Alastriona tried to get her sister to understand. “There are two kinds of love: The first kind is frivolous, romantic love. That kind of love leads to madness and suffering. The second kind is the stable form of love that is the result of careful planning.”
“Julie found her voice. “But love isn’t supposed to make sense. If you start a fire, you can’t control where it goes. You should follow your passions, sis. Don’t you want to fall wildly in love with someone?”
“Alastriona shook her head. “Of course not. I have no patience for crazy love. It’s pointless and irresponsible.”
“Chantel, chimed in. “Husbands and wives fall in love with each other after the wedding takes place in order to sustain their marriage. You know the divorce rates for provincials are over fifty percent. Arranged marriages rarely result in a divorce. You know the statistics as well as anyone, Julie.”
“’That reminds me,” said Théophile. “I have an announcement to make.” Théophile waved over a slave. The robot came over with a bottle of wine, which he displayed with a slight bow. Théophile nodded.
“The slave opened the bottle and poured him a sample. Théophile breathed in its aroma, tasted it, and smiled. He motioned for the slave to fill everyone’s glass. “Since this is a special occasion, I have brought out a bottle of Burgundian Pinot Noir all the way from Earth.”
“The slave went around pouring. Alastriona watched the robot fill her glass. She picked it up and inhaled the aroma, which reminded her of cherries and strawberries. She took a sip and closed her eyes, tasting mushrooms, pine, and just a hint of anise. It tasted like sunlight shining down on a grove of cherry trees. “What’s the occasion?” asked Julie.
“’Alastriona is getting married,” said Théophile.
“Alastriona nearly choked on the wine. She set the glass down and coughed. “Désolé.”
“Feeling as if she had just been shoved off a high platform without an antigravity belt, Alastriona took a moment to regain her composure.
“Chantel asked, “Aren’t you excited, Alastriona?”
“’Of course,” she said. “It’s just a surprise, that’s all.”
“’We’ve spent months searching for just the right man,” said Chantel. “We found one. He’s a Pure Strain Human from Earth.”
“Théophile huffed. “You’re being redundant, Chantel.”
Pure Strain Humans where those who were born on Earth. They were the highest class of citizens and they enjoyed more benefits than the provincial citizens who were born on colony worlds. Pure Strain Humans were the highest class of elites in the Imperium.
Picking up her glass of wine, Alastriona leaned back in her chair. She looked outside at the storm raining down on the Scylanthians. The star HD 84117 was going down and the horizon was full of colors. Light glittered off wet bodies of the balloon-like people. The French colony world Scylanthia was warmed by a white F8V main sequence star in the constellation of Hydra. At 6,100 degrees Kelvin, it burned hotter and brighter than Sol, the homeworld of humanity. A world that she could never go to because she wasn’t a Pure Strain Human.
As Alastriona strikes out on her expedition into deep space, she wants to lose herself in the analysis of the imminent supernova. She discovers that her fiancé, a Pure Strain Human detective, has joined the expedition on a covert mission to uncover a traitor among them. Alastriona becomes thrown into a nightmare when a traitor on board assists aliens in their invasion of the galaxy.
Will Alastriona prevent the aliens from destroying all life in the galaxy?
Touching Infinity is a prequel novel in the epic science fiction series, Imperium.
I found the book to be a pleasurable read. The world O’Bannon creates is interesting, highly visual, and Alastronia’s days are full of romantic temptations by three men who are on board. Which one will she choose?
Mark O’Bannon is a screenwriter, game designer, and author of three fantasy series: Whiskers, Aia the Barbarian, and Shadows and Dreams. He is the CEO of Shadowstar Games, which publishes the Interactive Storytelling Game (a Pen & Paper Role Playing Game), Fantasy Imperium. He is an advocate of self-publishing and teaches workshops to aspiring authors to publish, market, and promote their works.
By Wanjirũ Warama
Reviewed by Pennell Paugh
January 1, 2025 (La Mesa) -- Wanjiru Warama a resident of La Mesa, provides true stories of how her family and community lived in abject poverty on British colonial farms in Kenya in her novel, The Colonial Farm. Her historic memoir sheds light on the struggles of Kenyan farmworkers and rural populations under the British colonial rule. She then covers how Kenya’s rulership developed after the British retreated from governing.
Below is an excerpt from the novel:
“Before colonization, Kenya had no plantations for children to work in and earn money. People lived in clusters of extended families and worked only on their own lands unless friends did merry-go-rounds at each other’s projects. Without full-time jobs elsewhere, parents did most of the hard work and eased their children into work without burdening them unduly.
“But during my time, in the fifties and sixties, our parents needed us children to help them not only garden and harvest but also earn extra money. “Hard work killed nobody,” they said. Discipline (a euphemism for beating or assaulting a child) and work, the village culture claimed, molded a child into a responsible human being. Or the Christians evoked “Spare the rod, spoil the child” nonsense.
“Later in my adulthood, I heard an occasional misguided adult say, “My parents beat me, and look at me now? I turned out okay.” I bet people make such statements to make light of the assaults and damage they suffered.
“Regarding child labor, one would expect that because Kenya was a British colony, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), also known as child labor laws enacted in England in 1938, would apply. But the law applied to British children, not African children in the colonies like us. Our parents didn’t know of such laws; individual parents set the standards. Major Miller, like the rest, employed children as young as ten.
“My siblings and I complained about the hard work, but the hardest hit were the unlucky children whose fathers couldn’t afford school fees (at twenty-two shillings per pupil per year from 1956) or didn’t see the need for educating potential farmhands. The children worked full-time. They dug, weeded, and picked coffee cherries alongside their parents or other adults eight to nine hours a day, six days a week. Some landowners, like the famous author of Out of Africa, Karen Blixen (pen name Isak Dinesen, 1885-1962), besides plantation jobs, employed small boys as domestic trainees.”
Warama shows the lives of overworked native groups while describing the lives of her family members, including herself. Despite the odds of an African living in 1950s Kenya, where education for a girl was an afterthought, Warama managed to use education to escape a life of drudgery.
The book is astonishingly positive given the abject poverty under which Warama and her siblings suffered. She tells a compelling story. I look forward to reading the author’s personal story—how she continued her education and eventually immigrated to the United States.
Author Wanjiru Warama has written five books and one personal essay. The Colonial Farm is the latest in her The Colonized series. A philanthropist, Warama is a member of The Rotary Club, a lifetime member of the Friends of the San Diego Public Library, and a benefactor of Gitura Secondary and Gitura Primary schools in Kenya.