Susan's Posts - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T17:14:19ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susanhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/60989256?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=g4vkl4czt5wv&xn_auth=noArt heists, murder and revengetag:crimespace.ning.com,2014-11-01:537324:BlogPost:3987742014-11-01T23:12:52.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p>Another art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70764666?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70764666?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="200"></img></a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 150%;">In 1990 two robbers stole paintings worth $500 million from the Gardner Museum in Boston. Twenty years later, a ruthless man plans to steal several more. He forces Natalie to help him, but there is no honor among thieves, only treachery. After the…</p>
<p>Another art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70764666?profile=original"><img width="200" class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70764666?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="200"/></a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 150%;">In 1990 two robbers stole paintings worth $500 million from the Gardner Museum in Boston. Twenty years later, a ruthless man plans to steal several more. He forces Natalie to help him, but there is no honor among thieves, only treachery. After the heist, the thief intends to kill her. Not only that, NOPD Detective Frank Renzi is hot on her trail.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 150%;"></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 150%;">Will Natalie escape? Don't miss the explosive showdown between Frank and Natalie.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 150%;">Book 5 in the Frank Renzi crime thriller series. Available now!</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 150%;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OSAXLNQ" target="_blank">Natalie's Art</a></p>
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</table>The Butchers of Kansastag:crimespace.ning.com,2013-12-16:537324:BlogPost:3841742013-12-16T00:42:21.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">In 1870, much of the American "Wild West” remained unsettled. Seeking a better life, pioneers traveled west in horse-drawn wagons, but they faced many hardships. <br></br><br></br>Some were ambushed and killed by robbers or Indians. Towns were few and far between. The treeless windswept Kansas prairie was particularly harsh: extreme summer heat, frigid winters, disease and grasshopper…</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">In 1870, much of the American "Wild West” remained unsettled. Seeking a better life, pioneers traveled west in horse-drawn wagons, but they faced many hardships. <br/><br/>Some were ambushed and killed by robbers or Indians. Towns were few and far between. The treeless windswept Kansas prairie was particularly harsh: extreme summer heat, frigid winters, disease and grasshopper plagues.<br/><br/></span></span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><img alt="" title="" src="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/innovaeditor/assets/BloodyBenders-KateBender.jpg" align="left" border="0px" height="175"/></span><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">Imagine their relief when they came to the Bender Inn. Seated outside was <span style="font-weight: bold;">Kate Bender</span>, 23, a slender fair-haired beauty. Flashing her winsome smile, she urged them to stay overnight. <br/><br/>The travelers, most of them male, believed it would be safe to eat a hot meal and stay the night. Instead of a safe haven, many fell victim to <span style="font-weight: bold;">America's first serial killers</span>. In all, the Bloody Benders may have killed 21 people.</span></span> <span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/blog_1.php?entry_id=1381011586&title=the-butchers-of-kansas" target="_blank">Read more here</a></span></p>Free Beach read!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-06-19:537324:BlogPost:3464862012-06-19T13:34:49.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p>Just in time for the Beach! My award-winning New Orleans crime thriller, ABSOLUTION, will be free for two days on Wednesday, June 20 and Thursday, June 21. A serial killer preys on young women in New Orleans, where everyone has something to hide ...</p>
<p>Best Mystery-Suspense-Thriller of 2009 -- The Premier Book Awards</p>
<p>"Relentless tempo ... sharp writing." -- Kirkus Discoveries</p>
<p>"A killer thriller!" -- Jan Herman, Arts Journal</p>
<p>"Creole-flavored suspense!" -- <i>The Sun…</i></p>
<p>Just in time for the Beach! My award-winning New Orleans crime thriller, ABSOLUTION, will be free for two days on Wednesday, June 20 and Thursday, June 21. A serial killer preys on young women in New Orleans, where everyone has something to hide ...</p>
<p>Best Mystery-Suspense-Thriller of 2009 -- The Premier Book Awards</p>
<p>"Relentless tempo ... sharp writing." -- Kirkus Discoveries</p>
<p>"A killer thriller!" -- Jan Herman, Arts Journal</p>
<p>"Creole-flavored suspense!" -- <i>The Sun Chronicle</i></p>
<p>Get your free copy at these Amazon sites</p>
<p> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-US">http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-US</a></p>
<p> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-UK">http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-UK</a></p>
<p> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-Germany">http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-Germany</a></p>
<p> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-France">http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-France</a></p>
<p> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-Spain">http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-Spain</a></p>
<p> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-Italy">http://tinyurl.com/Absolution-Italy</a></p>Dimwit Criminalstag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-05-20:537324:BlogPost:3432952012-05-20T22:21:42.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p>Okay, folks, my last Renzi Rant was pretty ugly, and I don't want you to think I don't have a sense of humor, so for this one I decided to lighten up. This may come as a big shock, but a lot of criminals do really stupid things. You've heard of stupid pet tricks? Criminals are worse. Hey, if they were smart they'd be making big bucks on Wall Street. For a couple of samples, read on.</p>
<p align="center"> Take my baby, please</p>
<p> Tanya wanted a gun. Why? Who knows, but I'm guessing it…</p>
<p>Okay, folks, my last Renzi Rant was pretty ugly, and I don't want you to think I don't have a sense of humor, so for this one I decided to lighten up. This may come as a big shock, but a lot of criminals do really stupid things. You've heard of stupid pet tricks? Criminals are worse. Hey, if they were smart they'd be making big bucks on Wall Street. For a couple of samples, read on.</p>
<p align="center"> Take my baby, please</p>
<p> Tanya wanted a gun. Why? Who knows, but I'm guessing it wasn't to shoot varmints in her backyard out in Mesa, Arizona. Arizona gun laws are relatively loose, but convicted felons can't buy guns, and Tanya, 33, couldn't buy a gun. But she had a 2-year old daughter. So she came up with a great plan.</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/blog/renzirants.php" target="_blank">Read more</a></p>
<p> </p>The Perfect Family?tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-05-12:537324:BlogPost:3424362012-05-12T17:02:06.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p>Karen and Richard Sharpe lived in an upscale area of Gloucester, a seaside town in Massachusetts. To the neighbors, they seemed like the perfect couple. They had been married for 27 years and had three children. A dermatologist, Richard taught at Harvard Medical School and his medical practice and other businesses earned him millions of dollars.</p>
<p>But behind the happy facade, bizarre behavior haunted the Sharpe household. For years, Richard had led a secret life. He was a cross-dresser…</p>
<p>Karen and Richard Sharpe lived in an upscale area of Gloucester, a seaside town in Massachusetts. To the neighbors, they seemed like the perfect couple. They had been married for 27 years and had three children. A dermatologist, Richard taught at Harvard Medical School and his medical practice and other businesses earned him millions of dollars.</p>
<p>But behind the happy facade, bizarre behavior haunted the Sharpe household. For years, Richard had led a secret life. He was a cross-dresser who loved wearing slinky dresses, fishnet stockings and makeup. He took female hormones and stole his wife's birth control pills to make his breasts larger.</p>
<p></p>
<p>In 1999 when Karen told him she wanted a divorce, Richard became enraged and stabbed her in the face with a fork. Fearing for her life, Karen, age 44, fled with their two youngest children and obtained a restraining order against him. It did her no good. <a href="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/blog_1.php?entry_id=1336602114&title=the-perfect-family%3F" target="_blank">What happened ?</a></p>Pretty Womantag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-04-17:537324:BlogPost:3412462012-04-17T23:28:18.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p><span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">F</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">a</span>khra Younus was an attractive young woman. That's <img align="right" alt="" border="0px" height="240" src="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/innovaeditor/assets/NewBEfore.jpg" title=""></img></span> <span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">her in the picture. Take a good look at her face.</span></span></span> <span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I don't want you to forget it.…</span></span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">F</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">a</span>khra Younus was an attractive young woman. That's <img alt="" title="" src="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/innovaeditor/assets/NewBEfore.jpg" align="right" height="240" border="0px"/></span> <span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">her in the picture. Take a good look at her face.</span></span></span> <span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I don't want you to forget it.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">If she'd been lucky, she might have become a model. But she grew up in poverty in Pakistan, a conservative country run by powerful men.</span></span></span> <span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">Her mother was a heroin addict.As a young teenager, Fakhra went to work as a dancing girl in a Karachi red-light district.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">In Pakistan, dancing girl is a euphemism for prostitute. She did this to support her family. </span></p>
<p><span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Tahoma;">T</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">hen, at the age of 18, Fakhra followed the script of</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Pretty Woman</span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;">. In 1997, she married a rich client, Bilal Khar. That was a big mistake.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;"><br/></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/blog/renzirants.php?entry_id=1333841564&title=pretty-woman" target="_blank">Pretty Woman</a></span></span></span></p>But I Loved him ...tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-03-10:537324:BlogPost:3339452012-03-10T18:08:47.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p>Dawnette Knight was obsessed with Michael Douglas. She claims to have met the actor in 2002 at a party in Florida. She knew he was married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, and she didn't like it. Zeta-Jones, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2003 for her role in "Chicago," became her hated enemy.</p>
<p>Between January 2003 and May 2004, Knight sent 19 threatening letters to Zeta-Jones, describing what would happen to her. One said she would be chopped into pieces "like Sharon…</p>
<p>Dawnette Knight was obsessed with Michael Douglas. She claims to have met the actor in 2002 at a party in Florida. She knew he was married to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, and she didn't like it. Zeta-Jones, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2003 for her role in "Chicago," became her hated enemy.</p>
<p>Between January 2003 and May 2004, Knight sent 19 threatening letters to Zeta-Jones, describing what would happen to her. One said she would be chopped into pieces "like Sharon Tate was."</p>
<p>Another said: "We are going to slice her up like meat on a bone and feed her to the dogs."</p>
<p>Read more ... <a href="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/blog_1.php?entry_id=1331155554&title=but-i-loved-him-..." target="_blank">But I Loved Him ...</a></p>Greatest Mob Hits, a post by NOPD detective Frank Renzitag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-02-18:537324:BlogPost:3316762012-02-18T01:34:46.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p>When I say greatest hits, I'm not talking Frank Sinatra singing My Way. A new museum opened recently in Las Vegas. The Mob Museum. It cost $42 million, and it opened on the 83rd anniversary of the St. Valentine's Massacre in 1929.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I didn't want to spoil your Valentine's Day chocolate with anything bloody or gruesome so I waited a day to put up the post. The museum features a thrilling lineup of mobsters, past and present, and their bloody exploits. Take a trip down memory…</p>
<p>When I say greatest hits, I'm not talking Frank Sinatra singing My Way. A new museum opened recently in Las Vegas. The Mob Museum. It cost $42 million, and it opened on the 83rd anniversary of the St. Valentine's Massacre in 1929.</p>
<p></p>
<p>I didn't want to spoil your Valentine's Day chocolate with anything bloody or gruesome so I waited a day to put up the post. The museum features a thrilling lineup of mobsters, past and present, and their bloody exploits. Take a trip down memory lane.</p>
<p></p>
<p>If you've never heard of The St. Valentine's Massacre, here's a recap.</p>
<p><a href="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/blog/renzirants.php" target="_blank">Greatest Mob Hits</a></p>
<p></p>She didn't have an enemy in the world ...tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-11-22:537324:BlogPost:3227112011-11-22T15:06:48.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p><span class="rvts16">In 1989 Rebecca Schaeffer, co-star of the TV sitcom</span> <span class="rvts16"><i>My Sister Sam</i></span><span class="rvts16">, was a twenty-one year old actress on her way up, having recently finished a film directed by Dyan Cannon.</span></p>
<p><span class="rvts16">On July 18, 1989, her doorbell rang. Because the apartment complex intercom wasn't working, she went downstairs to see who it was and saw a young man in a yellow shirt outside the door. She didn't know…</span></p>
<p><span class="rvts16">In 1989 Rebecca Schaeffer, co-star of the TV sitcom</span> <span class="rvts16"><i>My Sister Sam</i></span><span class="rvts16">, was a twenty-one year old actress on her way up, having recently finished a film directed by Dyan Cannon.</span></p>
<p><span class="rvts16">On July 18, 1989, her doorbell rang. Because the apartment complex intercom wasn't working, she went downstairs to see who it was and saw a young man in a yellow shirt outside the door. She didn't know him and returned to her apartment.</span></p>
<p><span class="rvts16">An hour later, her bell rang again. She went down to the door and saw the same man. This time she opened the door and told him he was wasting her time. </span> <span class="rvts16"><b>That was a mistake</b></span><span class="rvts16">.</span></p>
<p><span class="rvts16"> <a href="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/blog_1.php" target="_blank">Read more</a><br/></span></p>A Grand-Slam Obsessiontag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-10-23:537324:BlogPost:3200972011-10-23T21:45:49.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p><span class="rvts16">The first time Ruth Ann Steinhagen laid eyes on Eddie Waitkus she fell in love with him. In 1946, Eddie was the Chicago Cubs first-baseman. Sixteen-year-old Ruth Ann began going to Cubs games with friends. After collecting hundreds of newspaper pictures and articles, she built a shrine to him in her bedroom and often set an extra place at the dinner table for him.</span></p>
<br></br>
<p><span class="rvts16">When Eddie was traded to the Phillies in 1948, Ruth Ann cried and…</span></p>
<p><span class="rvts16">The first time Ruth Ann Steinhagen laid eyes on Eddie Waitkus she fell in love with him. In 1946, Eddie was the Chicago Cubs first-baseman. Sixteen-year-old Ruth Ann began going to Cubs games with friends. After collecting hundreds of newspaper pictures and articles, she built a shrine to him in her bedroom and often set an extra place at the dinner table for him.</span></p>
<br/>
<p><span class="rvts16">When Eddie was traded to the Phillies in 1948, Ruth Ann cried and said she didn't want to live. Annoyed that her parents sent her to a psychiatrist, the 19-year-old got her own apartment. Knowing the Phillies would play the Cubs in Chicago in June 1949, she decided it was time to meet Eddie. She reserved a room under the name Ruth Ann Burns at the hotel where the Phillies would be staying.</span></p>
<br/>
<p><span class="rvts16">She also bought a .22 caliber rifle at a pawnshop. </span></p>
<p><span class="rvts24"><a href="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/blog_1.php" target="_blank">A Grand-Slam Obsession</a><br/></span></p>Re: First woman put to death in electric chair ... Ruthless Ruthtag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-09-22:537324:BlogPost:3156672011-09-22T21:51:02.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758210?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758210?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="150"></img></a></p>
<p>Born into poverty in 1895, Ruth Brown had big dreams. As a teenager in New York, she longed for the fancy clothes she saw in department stores, but her job as a telephone operator barely paid the rent. Determined to get ahead, she took shorthand classes and dreamed of marrying Prince Charming.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And soon did. She landed a job at Boating Magazine as…</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758210?profile=original"><img width="150" class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758210?profile=RESIZE_180x180" width="150"/></a></p>
<p>Born into poverty in 1895, Ruth Brown had big dreams. As a teenager in New York, she longed for the fancy clothes she saw in department stores, but her job as a telephone operator barely paid the rent. Determined to get ahead, she took shorthand classes and dreamed of marrying Prince Charming.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And soon did. She landed a job at Boating Magazine as secretary to the editor, Albert Snyder, a wealthy older man. They married in 1915, but trouble arose immediately. Ruth had a rival.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Read more on my DARK DEEDS blog:</p>
<p><a href="http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/blog_1.php?entry_id=1316639310&title=ruthless-ruth">http://darkdeeds.susanfleet.com/blog_1.php?entry_id=1316639310&title=ruthless-ruth</a></p>RE: Gustav evacuationtag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-09-09:537324:BlogPost:1592102008-09-09T00:39:19.000ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
I gotta tell ya folks, DO NOT believe the people on national TV (Michael Chertoff et al) saying the evacuation from New Orleans was smooth and swell. It was not. I know. I was there. I left at 4 am Sunday 8/31 and spent 22 hours in my car. The great governor of Mississippi decided to close the border to keep out fleeing Louisianans. Bam. No I-10 East. Closed. Bye-bye.<br />
<br />
Which meant everyone trying to get to Florida or Georgia (like me, had a room booked south of Atlanta, the closest one I could…
I gotta tell ya folks, DO NOT believe the people on national TV (Michael Chertoff et al) saying the evacuation from New Orleans was smooth and swell. It was not. I know. I was there. I left at 4 am Sunday 8/31 and spent 22 hours in my car. The great governor of Mississippi decided to close the border to keep out fleeing Louisianans. Bam. No I-10 East. Closed. Bye-bye.<br />
<br />
Which meant everyone trying to get to Florida or Georgia (like me, had a room booked south of Atlanta, the closest one I could find), were forced to drive north on I-59. 2 lanes 2 ways, but because of contraflow, 4 lanes all north. Still not enough. Gridlock. Exits blocked by Miss. State Troupers. No facilities. People pissing on or beside roadway. Cars breaking down. Running out of gas. Flat tires.<br />
<br />
When I returned, via normal route, on Saturday, 9/6, it took me only 8 hours, and I stopped several times for gas and/or food.<br />
<br />
They say Ike is coming. Well, lemme tell ya, I'm not leaving N.O. No way, no how.<br />
<br />
Sorry for the rant, but I had to blow off steam. The good news: while in my very comfortable hotel for 6 days, I figured out how my latest book is going to end (3/4 way through the rough draft) and it adds an nice unexpected twist. (no no no, NOT a hurricane!)<br />
<br />
Ciao for now<br />
Susan