In 1965, I was fifteen years old. My main interests were boys, learning how to drive and school, pretty much in that order. So I paid little attention to the news, never realizing how what was going on then in my city would mirror the novel I would write many years later.
You see, after my first Malone mystery was published, a friend asked me if the book was based on The Cincinnati Strangler. Since I'd never heard of The Cincinnati Strangler, I did some research and what I learned actually gave me chills.
From October 1965 to December 1966, a man attacked, raped and murdered seven Cincinnati women. He strangled them, using either an article of their own clothing or something that was readily available to him. With one exception, the women were attacked in their homes. All of The Cincinnati Strangler's victims lived within a few miles of Westwood. The media dubbed him “The Cincinnati Strangler.”
The Cincinnati Police apprehended Posteal Laskey, a cab driver, after the last attack. He was arrested and convicted of the seventh murder. He never confessed to having committed any of the crimes but the attacks stopped when he was taken into custody. He died in prison in 2007.
The story begins the week of Halloween.If you read Mixed Messages, much about The Cincinnati Strangler will sound familiar to you. Although I didn’t know about the real life case when I wrote my novel, there were a shocking number of similarities between what I wrote and what actually happened.
In Mixed Messages:
The Westwood Strangler attacked women in their homes.
He used whatever was at hand to strangle them.
There were seven victims.
Was all of that a bizarre coincidence? Or, did my subconscious somehow retain memory of the crimes without my conscious mind realizing it? I guess I'll never know.
If I've piqued your interest, you can click on the cover on the right side of this page to read about the book and/or to order your copy.
Excellent book, and it is interesting how items(remembered and not) from our past get in our writing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Madeline. All I can say is my jaw dropped when I read about The Cincinnati Strangler.
DeleteI have to admit the first I'd heard about the Cincinnati Stranger was when I read Mixed Messages, and even then, I thought he was a product of your imagination. Image my surprise when I found out that there really was one.
ReplyDeleteEvelyn, you can imagine how shocked I was to learn that my fictional Westwood Strangler had so much in common with the real Cincinnati Strangler.
DeleteSorry, Pat, I meant to say, Strangler... left out the l, LOL!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post, and chilling when you think about it. This was a terrific book and the coincidences between real life and the book are fascinating. I vote for your subconscious.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Marja. I'm not a big believer in coincidence so I think you're probably right. My subconscious stored it away until I wrote my book.
DeleteMixed Messages was a great book, and the similarities between it and the true events of the 60s are uncanny. Amazing to think your brain may have stored those details from so many years ago.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy! Makes me wonder what else my brain has "in store" for me. :)
DeleteA fine novel! Often true events and fiction interact.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jacquie!
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