Beautifully Cruel

“Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers.” —Allison Brennan

Iowa housewife Tracey Pittman Roberts seemed to have it all: natural beauty, three loving children, and a fairy tale second marriage to a wealthy, handsome businessman. But beneath the happy façade was a woman who used lies, manipulation, sex, ugly allegations, blackmail—and even murder—to serve her own selfish ends.

On December 12, 2001, police rushed to Tracey’s home after a shooting left her vulnerable young neighbor dead. Tracey claimed it was an act of self-defense. Nine gunshot wounds—and a decades-long trail of extortion, fabrication, fraud, and intimidation—said otherwise. Ten years after the crime, Tracey’s case finally went to trial in an explosive courtroom showdown. In a searing exploration of the criminal mind, bestselling investigative journalist M. William Phelps traces the saga of a psychopath who hid in plain sight—until her wicked ways caught up with her.

 “Phelps dares to tread where few others will: into the mind of a killer.” —TV Rage

 “Phelps is the king of true crime.” —Lynda Hirsch, Creators Syndicate columnist

“One of our most engaging crime journalists.” —Dr. Katherine Ramsland
 
“Phelps treads dangerous ground like an Amazon jungle guide—fearless, compassionate, insightful.” —Geoff Fitzpatrick, Executive Producer of Dark Minds

“Anything by Phelps is an eye-opening experience.” —Suspense Magazine

 INCLUDES 16 PAGES OF DRAMATIC PHOTOS

New York Times bestselling investigative journalist and serial crime expert M. William Phelps is the author of over thirty nonfiction books. Winner of the 2013 Excellence in Journalism Award, with over one million books in print, Phelps has appeared on over 100 television shows, including CBS’s Early Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s Today Show, The View, and many others. Phelps also created, produced and starred in the series Dark Minds; and is one of the stars of Deadly Women and Oxygen’s Snapped. Radio America calls him “the nation’s leading authority on the mind of the female murderer.”

Profiled in Writer's Digest, Connecticut Magazine, NY Daily News, NY Post, Newsday, Suspense Magazine, and the Hartford Courant, Phelps also consulted on the first season of the Showtime cable television series Dexter; he has written for Connecticut Magazine, Huffington Post, the Providence Journal, and other major publications. Touched by tragedy himself, due to the unsolved murder of his sister-in-law, Phelps is able to enter the hearts and minds of his subjects like no one else. He lives in a small Connecticut farming community and can be reached at his author website, www.mwilliamphelps.com.