Serial Killers – JULIA MCDERMOTT

The official book launch of my new thriller The Barbie Killer will be on its release date, Tuesday March 31, 2026, at Story & Song Bookstore and Center for Arts and Culture in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Please join me there that day at 4 pm for a discussion about the novel and to pick up a signed copy. The event is complimentary, and wine and snacks will be served.

When Dolly Garner’s husband is transferred to the small town of Huntington, Kansas, she hates the thought of uprooting their young family and starting over a thousand miles away. But after a year of living on savings and credit cards after Tim’s previous lay-off, refusing to move is out of the question. So they sell their home, pack their bags, and focus on the positives: wholesome Midwestern values, a lower cost of living, and less crime.

But Dolly’s first impressions are not good. The people seem standoffish, unfriendly, and tight-lipped. The women she meets are materialistic and obsessed with status. More unsettling, Dolly learns that years ago, a brutal murder took place on the property where her family’s home now stands, and the case was never solved.

When a violent crime shocks the community, the town secret is out: A serial killer is on the loose and preying on the women of Huntington. As paranoia surges and the line between neighbor and predator blurs, Dolly realizes she can’t trust anyone in this town.

Inspired by true events, this twist-filled thriller will leave you breathless until the final page.

A good novel reads like a true story, and a good true story reads like a novel.

Inspired by true events and told from multiple points of view, my next novel, a psychological thriller, is based on my short story The Riverfest, included in crime stories anthology DOWN TO THE RIVER (Down & Out Books, 2019). Both works are drawn from my experience living in Wichita, Kansas in the 1990s before the capture and imprisonment of serial killer Dennis Rader, known as “BTK” for Bind, Torture, and Kill. BTK surfaced in the news after the recent arrest of the Long Island serial killer Rex Heuermann, whose murders took place in and around Gilgo Beach.

Authorities have started looking into a cold case of a woman who went missing in Kansas back in 1976, and in my novel, the killer is connected to an unsolved murder previously not attributed to him.

BTK was able to access victims’ homes without being detected, and so does the killer in my novel.

BTK taunted the media with messages and clues about his murders, and so does “my” killer.

BTK went through periods of “laying low” -inactivity-just like mine.

And in my story, city residents don’t talk about the killer. When I lived in Wichita, I never heard a word spoken about BTK even though he was still on the loose.

Sometimes, the truth inspires a very good novel.

Tag: Serial Killers

Book Launch of The Barbie Killer

Beware of a Monster: Unmasking a Serial Murderer in a Small Town