True Crime in Charlotte
In this episode, author Cathy Pickens, a mystery writer turned true crime aficionado, reads first from her book about ghostly haunts of Charleston, South Carolina and finishes with stories about sensational crimes committed over the years in Charlotte.
Cathy has won numerous awards for her mystery books, and that experience led her to research and write about the criminals in our backyard.
Charlotte Readers Podcast is sponsored by Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.
In this episode, author Cathy Pickens, a mystery writer turned true crime aficionado, reads first from her book about ghostly haunts of Charleston, South Carolina and finishes with stories about sensational crimes committed over the years in Charlotte.
Cathy has won numerous awards for her mystery books, and that experience led her to research and write about the criminals in our backyard.
She reads and discusses stories about murdered bikers, fraudulent evangelists, a serial killer, the infamous Loomis Fargo heist and a woman tried in the 1920s called Razo Girl.
Cathy also discusses crime statistics, the true crime genre and more.
Publishers Weekly called Cathy’s first mystery Southern Fried an “assured debut, a cozy with some sharp edges.” That book won the St. Martin’s Best Traditional Mystery award in 2003. She’s written five books in that series, as well as Charleston Mysteries (History Press), a walking tour of the quirky side of Charleston.
She’s the fact crime columnist for the international Mystery Readers Journal and is currently working on a book on historic Charlotte crime cases.
Cathy served as national president of national Sisters in Crime, national secretary of Mystery Writers of America, and a founding member and president of the Mecklenburg Forensic Medicine Program (an evidence collection/preservation training collaborative).
In her previous lives, she was the Wireman Professor of Business in the McColl School at Queens University, a partner in a plaintiff’s trial firm, a church organist and choir director, and a ballroom and clogging coach.
Currently, she offers workshops on developing the creative process, coaches and teaches new writers through Charlotte Lit, and works with former inmates on starting their own businesses and writing their own stories.