Murder, He Wrote

A murderer is lurking in Westwood and Hillsdale, at least in the mind of Walt Brown. Brown, a long-time Hillsdale resident, is the author of three mystery books, including The Elf on a Shelf Murdersand The Mickey Mantle Murder, both of which had Bergen County-inspired settings. His fourth mystery—a work in progress scheduled to be released in July on Amazon.com—is set in and around the fictional towns of Hamlet, Westbrook and Melrose (a.k.a. Hillsdale, Westwood and Montvale, respectively). Full of “twists and turns and lots of surprises,” this latest novel revolves around a scrapbook discovered after the death of the Hamlet chief of police. The scrapbook chronicles his suspicions about his family’s possible hidden criminal history. With him gone, it is now up to Sergeant Chris Decker of the Hamlet Police Department to unravel the crime genealogy of his late chief’s nefarious family.

“I’ve been having a lot of fun writing this,” Brown said. “I write one or two chapters a day. Every night before I go to sleep I think about the plot, and the next morning I go to my computer and type away. It’s writing itself.”

Brown, who holds a PhD in history, has also been working on Frozen Hell, a study of the horrific conflict between German and Russian soldiers on the Russian front during World War II. This 2000-page history book is a four-year labor of love involving extensive research, much of it based on accounts from translated diaries and other first-hand sources by the soldiers who lived—and died—in this nightmare world.

A recognized expert on John F. Kennedy, his assassination and related topics, Brown has authored nine hardcovers and 20 non-fiction e-books. Among his most popular: Master Chronology of the JFK Assassination: Read Me, The People V. Lee Harvey Oswald, Treachery in Dallas and The Warren Omission.

When he's not writing, playing with his dog, Casper, or driving around town in his Laguna Mist blue Corvette, Brown enjoys teaching. A former adjunct professor at Ramapo College and a middle school teacher in the Bergen County school system, he has also lectured and taught at libraries, and civic and senior centers. Most recently, he offered a free, three-week writing workshop at the Hillsdale Free Public Library.

Most of Brown’s books have been published by Kleenan Press, and are available for sale on Amazon.com or directly from the author. For more information, contact Walt Brown at writenroll@aol.com