Margaret McLean on IT'S A CRIME radio...

HALLIE EPHRON: Margaret Mclean shares her fascination with crime, courtrooms, and law enforcement by hosting radio's "It's a Crime" on KCAA NBC NEWS RADIO 1050 AM. Listeners can stream the show live from her web site Saturdays, 3-5 (ET) -- or listen to programs that have aired.

Margaret interviews attorneys, cops, investigators, forensic experts, and writers on her two hour show. The best part is how much fun she seems to having doing it.

Margaret, you've argued cases in courtrooms and written two terrific legal thrillers (UNDER OATH and UNDER FIRE). How did that prepare you to host your own radio show?

MARGARET MCLEAN:  As an attorney, I became skilled at interviewing witnesses in preparation for trial.  I had to meet with them, listen to their stories, and build trust.  I would explain courtroom procedure and how to best present their version of events on the witness stand. 

The strongest cases are built on the testimony of witnesses.  My novels draw strength from the same skill set.  For example, to build solid characters, I had to interview seasoned investigators, a Senegalese Muslim woman, and parents whose children were killed in the Charlestown code of silence murders.  In order to get them to open up, I had to build trust and make them feel comfortable.  I learned to be a good listener.

Hosting a vibrant radio show boils down to telling a story through an interviewee.  Preparation is key.  I’ll also ask if they’ve collected any evidence throughout their research.  One guest shared his exclusive Ted Bundy murder kit as it was laid out on his dining room table—ice pick and all.

HALLIE: Yikes. Bundy was a truly scary guy.

You've had some fascinating guests talking about some of the most controversial crimes and criminals. Could you share with us something surprising that you learned about...

BLACK DAHLIA

MARGARET: I never knew much about the notorious 1947 Black Dahlia murder until I interviewed former L.A.P.D. Homicide Detective Steve Hodel.   Elizabeth Short’s body had been surgically bisected and displayed at the crime scene and her murder inspired the largest manhunt in Los Angeles history. 

In 1999, Steve’s father, Dr. George Hodel, died.  As Steve sifted through his father’s papers, he discovered old photographs of the Black Dahlia in sensual poses which were taken while she was alive.  Steve was chilled as if the dead Elizabeth Short had reached out to him from beyond the grave. 

He immersed himself in an intense investigation, and uncovered extensive evidence that his father was the Black Dahlia killer.  Steve also discovered that Dr. George Hodel had been a prime suspect for some time.  

In my interview with Steve, he reveals how he felt upon uncovering evidence that his father was a psychopathic killer.  He provided exclusive crime scene and personal photos and compared the artwork of Man Ray (Les Amoureaux and Minotaur) with the way the killer had posed Elizabeth Short at the crime scene.  Dr. George Hodel and Man Ray were close friends.  Steve believes his father had attempted to imitate art through murder.

HALLIE: Fascinating. And it segues nicely to...

ART THEFT AT THE GARDNER

MARGARET:  I hosted Anthony Amore live in my studio to discuss the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum heist and his book, STEALING REMBRANDTS: THE UNTOLD STORIES OF NOTORIOUS ART THEFTS. 

In preparation for the show, Anthony gave me a private tour of the Gardner museum and explained how in 1990, thieves disguised as Boston police officers stole thirteen pieces of art including works by Rembrandt, Degas, Vermeer, and Manet.  When Mrs. Gardner opened the museum in 1903, she donated her priceless collection to the public because Boston needed a great museum. 

The empty frames hanging on the walls haunted me as I walked through Mrs. Gardner’s rooms.  I am now following the most recent developments on the FBI investigation into the Gardner heist and hope they will be returned soon. 

Before the show, I barely knew Anthony and now he has become a great friend.  In fact, Anthony recently introduced me to Jon Leiberman, who is now my co-author for an upcoming book about the trial of Whitey Bulger. 

HALLIE: Whitey certainly is a fascinating character. Can't wait to hear your take on him. On to...

MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS

MARGARET: Another guest, Karen Scioscia, author of KIDNAPPED BY THE CARTEL, shared a personal story about how her close family member, a twenty-two year old American woman, was yanked right out of her car, kidnapped, and held hostage by a cartel for eleven days.  Cartel members drugged the young woman and were about to sell her into the thriving sex trafficking trade when Karen’s family hired private security to conduct a daring rescue with guns.

HALLIE: I see you enjoy covering history and crime.

MARGARET: I often view my show as a personal history book. 

Certain chapters of American history have always fascinated me. The radio show enables me to call on leading experts in various time periods.  It’s like having my own private professor. 

For example, Veteran journalist Don Fulsom, author of NIXON'S DARKEST SECRETS discussed his career covering Richard Nixon. He shared recently declassified documents and recordings revealing an even more troubling side of our 37th President, and how he deceived the American public. 

William Martin (THE LINCOLN LETTER) enlightened listeners about President Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, and civil war Washington. 

Sherry Fiester, a senior crime scene investigator and blood spatter analyst, delved into a forensics analysis of the JFK assassination by providing trajectory diagrams for the website and explaining her theory of the assassination. 

Boston College History Professor and author, Alan Rogers, discussed the historical impact that the Boston Strangler murders had on Boston and Cambridge, the uncoordinated investigative techniques, and theories that Albert DeSalvo may not have been the real killer.

HALLIE: Finally, tell us who you've got coming up as guests in weeks to come on It's a Crime?

MARGARET:  This Saturday, I’ll be joined by Rick Baker, to discuss the McStay family disappearance, and Jenice Malecki, a New York based attorney and Today Show contributor, will inform us about consumer fraud and identity theft. 

On April 6th, Hallie Ephron will talk about her new novel of suspense, THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN, and Scott Raab, writer for Esquire Magazine, will discuss the upcoming HBO documentary on the controversial Phil Spector trial. 

Later in the month, I’ll be featuring a panel discussion on the latest developments in the Amanda Knox case, which will include Paul Ciolino, the leading private investigator for the Knox family, and Dan Hale, attorney and author.  Casey Sherman will be joining me again to discuss his latest book, ANIMAL: THE BLOODY RISE AND FALL OF THE MOB'S MOST FEARED ASSASSIN.

HALLIE: Utterly fascinating. Thanks for joining us, Margaret.

For more information on upcoming shows, check itsacrimeradio.comhttp://itsacrimeradio.com and follow Margaret on twitter @margaretmclean_

Margaret will be checking in today, so if you have any questions about crimes she may have covered on her show, now's your chance to ask!

Welcome Guest Paulette Alden

 LUCY BURDETTE: One of things I love about the writing community is how I keep making new friends. Last winter in Key West, a friend had a little cocktail party and he introduced me to someone who was teaching the memoir writing class he was taking. He knew we'd enjoy each other's company. Paulette Alden was delightful and funny and sweet and I immediately ordered her memoir, CROSSING THE MOON. And happily loved it. So when I learned that she, an accomplished writer and teacher, was self-publishing her new novel, I knew that you would want to meet her too.

PAULETTE ALDEN: Thank you, Lucy, for inviting me to Jungle Red Writers.  

In thinking about what to say to the readers and writers of JRW, it occurred to me that I ought to say upfront that the title of my novel, The Answer to Your Question, is deceptive, suggesting as it does that the book will actually provide answers.  In fact, it raises a lot more questions than it answers.  I think in this way it differs from mystery or crime novels, which satisfy readers in the end by providing such answers as who-done-it and why. 

I can’t say that I started out to deny readers the answers. Rather, the lack of answers resulted from my own take on the world, my own sense of human nature.  This I discovered as I was writing the novel. One fascinating aspect of writing is that you find out things about yourself that you didn’t know until they come out in a story.  I found out I think that some questions are unanswerable.  

The novel started with a question: what would it be like to be the mother of someone like Ted Bundy?  I was living in Tacoma, Washington, when Bundy was first accused of the murder of young women in the area.  No one who knew him could believe that handsome, bright, personable Ted could be a killer.  The unfolding of his story was riveting, involving jail escapes, more murders, legal defense by Ted himself, constant denials by him and his family, and eventually, his execution.


I had heard that Ted’s mother worked as a librarian near where I was living.  I never met her, but I would often think about her, wondering what it would to have this bright, promising son accused out of the blue of murder.  That became one genesis of the novel.  I would create a character whose son was accused of murder.  This despite the fact that not only had I never been the mother of anyone accused of murder, I had never been the mother of anyone.
 

Another character came into my head.  Jean is seventeen, pregnant, Southern, on her own in Tacoma while her husband is serving in Viet Nam.  A simple-wise naïf.  She “imprints” on Inga at the library where they work, drawing her into an unusual friendship.  The plot element is Ben, the son, who abducts Jean during the novel.  

Though Ben started out based on Bundy, at some point I decided I didn’t want to write about a psychopath.  Too boring, too one-dimensional, really.  I thought of my Ben as a more complex person, with factors which we (or at least I) might not be able to fathom.  Here my view of human nature made itself known.  We can’t always know why people-- even ourselves—do the things we do.  This is true of all the characters in the book.  To me the greatest mystery is the human heart, and it can’t be completely understood.  

I read a piece in The New York Times recently by Andrew Solomon, reflecting on Adam Lanza and the New Town tragedy.  He spent hundreds of hours over eight years interviewing the parents of Dylan Klebold, convinced if he dug deeply enough into their character, he would understand why Columbine happened.  He came to view them as not only inculpable, but as “admirable, moral, intelligent and kind people” whom he would gladly have had as parents himself.  Knowing Tom and Sue Klebold only made Columbine “far more bewildering” and forced Solomon to acknowledge that “people are unknowable.”

When I read that, I understood all the better what was behind my novel, even if I hadn’t always known it when I was writing it. We want answers because they make us feel we’re in control, when so often in life we’re not.  

Do you feel that “people are unknowable”?  Are you looking for questions or answers in the novels you read?  Have you had the experience when reading or writing something in which you understand or discover something about yourself that you hadn’t realized before? 

Lucy: thank you for visiting us Paulette. JR readers--Paulette will be stopping in today to chat with us. Her new book THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION can be found here. And visit her blog on writing, books, and the unexpected journey to self-publishing here.