Mothers & Murderers

“[Weaves] together her own story and a stranger-than-fiction true-crime tale…gripping prose that by turns is tragic and hilarious.”—Stephen Hinshaw, author of Another Kind of Madness

This remarkable memoir by a Pulitzer Prize- and Polk Award-winning journalist takes readers on a wild, tragicomic ride from the criminal courtrooms of California’s Silicon Valley to the Himalayan mountains of Pakistan to the deserts of Ethiopia. In delightful, insightful prose, Katherine Ellison reflects on her mistakes and her triumphs as she reveals the stories of how her career almost ended before it began, how she nearly missed marrying the love of her life, and how she unwittingly got drawn into a bizarre murder case.

Rich in drama and self-reflection, replete with unique characters—including two bumbling hitmen, a rodeo-riding prosecutor, a flamboyant Beverly Hills defense attorney, and a charismatic stay-at-home mother-of-three who is keeping outrageous secrets—Mothers & Murderers is like a mashup of Fargo and Eat, Pray, Love—a memoir to make you laugh, cry, and think.
 
“In what she’s authentically dubbed a ‘true-crime memoir, Katherine Ellison brings to bear the demons of her own past, her considerable chops as a reporter, and her willingness to plunge into the psychological depths. What she created is a dark jewel. The reader cannot look away.”—Jacquelyn Mitchard, New YorkTimes-bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean
 
“Mothers and Murderers is like nothing else I’ve ever read, and I mean that in the best possible way…Katherine Ellison captivatingly describes a young woman's path from blind impulse to wisdom…she makes an ultra-strong case for the examined life, shedding light on the lies we tell ourselves and others—and the hard work involved in taking responsibility for yourself.”—Stephen Hinshaw, author of Another Kind of Madness