Plot Synopsis

Authors of New York Times bestselling thrillers and whodunits discuss real-life crime capers. Each episode of HARDCOVER MYSTERIES pairs one author with an incredible mystery that inspired one of their stories, mirrors themes in their bestsellers or resonates with their personal life story. These pairings include: David Baldacci, who examines the 1964 murder of Mary Meyer that partially formed the basis for his first best-seller, "Absolute Power"; Sandra Brown, who offers insight about the murder of Nicholas West, inspiring the plot for her best-selling book "The Witness"; Harlan Coben, who discusses Brianna Denison's abduction and the similarities to her bestsellers "Long Lost" and "Caught"; Linda Fairstein, who gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the real-life story of Sante and Kenny Kimes; Sara Paretsky, who looks at the homicide of a faculty wife that made headlines near her childhood hometown of Lawrence, Kansas; Kathy Reichs, who is best known as the author of a series of Temperance Brennan novels and a producer of the Fox TV series BONES; Lisa Scottoline, who probes a bizarre family triangle and the subsequent murder of 15-year-old Sarah Starling; and Joseph Wambaugh, who traces the investigation of Colin Pitchfork -- the first homicide case solved using genetic fingerprinting and the subject of his bestseller "The Blooding."