Welcome! I’m Duke Southard, an author, retired educator, and lecturer.
I have published seven novels, a commissioned history, and an anthology of
award-winning short stories and essays.
Please check out my blog where I write about true crime and a wide ranging variety of literary and everyday subjects.
My Programs
My programs are offered free of charge to any schools, public libraries, and educational/community groups.
Free Book
Grab a free copy of my book, The Week from Heaven and Hell
My Books
View a list of my published books, including Tainted Justice.
Recent Posts
“I will not give up on this case!”
Homicide investigators often talk about their murder book which is, in effect, a compilation of all documentation relating to a specific case. Well, I have my own murder book relating to the Stacey Burns murder case. It contains hundreds of pages of letters, notes,...
New Hampshire Cold Cases
No, the murder of Stacey Burns is not among the over 100 murder cases mentioned in a post from WMUR-TV in Manchester. I guess that should make everyone feel much better, although the list they have has not been updated since mid-2012. Perhaps in the last year and an...
“…no issues with resources . . .”
In the Granite State News article of February 17, 2011, prosecutor Jeff Strelzin is quoted as saying that " (he) has no issues with resources in this case. If something needs to get done, it gets done." During that discussion with the Wolfeboro Police Commission, he...
Ten years? Fifteen? Twenty? Never?
Will Stacey Burns' murderer ever be caught? I'm not usually a pessimist but the reality of this situation can drive the optimism out of even the strongest believer in the "glass half full" philosophy of life. Four years and eight months is more than enough time for...
Why No Arrest? You Figure It Out
Stacey Burns was killed in brutal, bordering on sadistic, fashion in a small town where there supposedly are no secrets. So why hasn't this killer been put away four years and eight months after he/she committed this crime? In my one-side "investigation" into this...
50 Officers and Detectives!
In yesterday's blog, I said I'd be reviewing past questions raised on this blog over the last year and a half and today was going to examine one of those questions. There has been change of plans and I hope readers will understand why the question will wait until...
Stacey Burns-Repeating Some Questions
Since changing the appearance, distribution, and format of my website and blogs, I have written one hundred and thirty six posts. They are roughly divided into two thirds regarding the Stacey Burns murder and one third regarding other writing projects. With a new...
Murder Scenario # 1-An Update
I extend my apologies for the passage of time between blogs-life sometimes gets in the way, especially around this busy season! In previous postings, I've mentioned that, barring any stunning new developments such as an arrest of the murderer of Stacey Burns, I will...
Perspectives on a Murder
Here is a snippet of a late chapter in my book, Murder in a Small Town: The Tragic Death of Stacey Burns. (By the way, this title remains tentative with a final decision on a title yet to be made.) The chapter is entitled "Perspectives on a Murder" and contains the...
Close but no cigar! Tucson Festival of Books
Here's a quote from an e-mail I received from the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards. "Congratulations on being chosen as a semi-finalist in the Tucson Festival of Books Literary Awards competition. We received over 550 submissions, and the competition was...
Four with motive, means and opportunity!
Perhaps it is the busyness of the season but I was certain that when I mentioned in a blog (which I boosted to a wider readership) that I could write four scenarios, each one containing a different suspect in the murder of Stacey Burns and each with motive, means and...
Merry Christmas!
Just a brief blog with a very simple and very traditional message this morning--- I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year! May all of my writer friends have an enthusiastic muse sitting on their shoulders! May my dear friends have good...