Behind The Staircase

The night Kathleen Peterson died. My trial and conviction for murder. Eight years in prison with murderers, thieves, rapists, gangbangers, and pedophiles until the conviction is overturned and I am released. What has happened since--good and bad.

After my trial and conviction for murder, eight years in prison, my release from prison, the Netflix documentary The Staircase, new stories and photographs, and the first four chapters on my new book ATMAN, a novel about evil. Included in this volume is a re-edited version of Behind The Staircase

On December 9, 2001, the bloody body of Kathleen Peterson was found dead at the bottom of the stairs in the North Carolina home she shared with her husband and novelist Michael Peterson. "My wife had an accident," Peterson says on the 911 call. "She's still breathing. She fell down the stairs."However, blood-splattered evidence and a missing fireplace poker suggested it was a cold-blooded murder. Within two years, Michael Peterson was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. During Mike Peterson’s trial, Duane Deaver, blood-spatter expert, gave his testimony in which he explained that the blood present on the staircase wall and on Michael’s clothes, was evident that the accused was guilty of the first-degree murder charge of Kathleen Peterson. His testimony played a crucial role in sending Michael behind bars. His perjury testimony played a decisive role in Peterson being released. The trial that followed was full of interpretations and cockamamie theories; blaming the death on everything from an owl attack to connecting it to a second death similar in nature, that of his once neighbor Elizabeth Ratliff, who also was found dead at the bottom of stairs. Was the 911 call all an act? What about the owl theory? What was the motive? What happened to the murder weapon? Was there an accomplice who got rid of the weapon? What really happened on 'The Staircase'? Based on the very bias Netlfix documentary

Following the success of his latest novel, Travis Glasgow and his wife Jodie buy their first house in the seemingly idyllic western Maryland town of Westlake. At first, everything is picture perfect—from the beautiful lake behind the house to the rebirth of the friendship between Travis and his brother, Adam, who lives nearby. Travis also begins to overcome the darkness of his childhood and the guilt he’s harbored since his younger brother’s death—a tragic drowning veiled in mystery that has plagued Travis since he was 13. Soon, though, the new house begins to lose its allure. Strange noises wake Travis at night, and his dreams are plagued by ghosts. Barely glimpsed shapes flit through the darkened hallways, but strangest of all is the bizarre set of wooden stairs that rises cryptically out of the lake behind the house. Travis becomes drawn to the structure, but the more he investigates, the more he uncovers the house’s violent and tragic past, and the more he learns that some secrets cannot be buried forever.

NAUTILUS BOOK AWARD GOLD MEDALIST — BODY, MIND, SPIRIT PRACTICES “Combining an extraordinary range of scholarship with an accessible and entertaining writing style, The Infinite Staircase . . . provides a coherent and unified platform for a full human life.” —Midwest Book Review In this bold new book, high-tech’s best-known strategist makes a seminal contribution to the search for meaning in a secular era. Two questions fundamental to human existence have always been the metaphysical “where do I fit in the grand scheme of things?” and the ethical “how should I behave?” Religion is no longer a source of answers for many people, and nothing has replaced it. Moore uses his signature framework-based approach to answer these questions, taking us on an intellectual roller coaster ride through physics, chemistry, biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Along the way, he builds a metaphorical ladder that leads from the big bang to the need for ethical action in our daily lives. Combining an extraordinary range of scholarship with an accessible and entertaining writing style, The Infinite Staircase: What the Universe Tells Us About Life, Ethics, and Mortality provides a coherent and unified platform for a full human life.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Jane Hawk—who dazzled readers in The Silent Corner and The Whispering Room—faces the fight of her life, against the threat of a lifetime, in this electrifying thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling suspense master Dean Koontz. “I could be dead tomorrow. Or something worse than dead.” Jane Hawk knows she may be living on borrowed time. But as long as she’s breathing, she’ll never cease her one-woman war against the terrifying conspiracy that threatens the freedom—and free will—of millions. Battling the strange epidemic of murder-suicides that claimed Jane’s husband, and is escalating across the country, has made the rogue FBI agent a wanted fugitive, relentlessly hunted not only by the government but by the secret cabal behind the plot. Deploying every resource their malign nexus of power and technology commands, Jane’s enemies are determined to see her dead . . . or make her wish she was. Jane’s ruthless pursuers can’t stop her from drawing a bead on her prey: a cunning man with connections in high places, a twisted soul of unspeakable depths with an army of professional killers on call. Propelled by her righteous fury and implacable insistence on justice, Jane will make her way from southern Southern California to the snow-swept slopes of Lake Tahoe to confront head-on the lethal forces arrayed against her. But nothing can prepare her for the chilling truth that awaits when she descends the crooked staircase to the dark and dreadful place where her long nightmare was born. Don’t miss any of Dean Koontz’s gripping Jane Hawk thrillers: THE SILENT CORNER • THE WHISPERING ROOM • THE CROOKED STAIRCASE • THE FORBIDDEN DOOR • THE NIGHT WINDOW Praise for The Crooked Staircase “An absorbing thriller full of fresh touches . . . Writing his unusual heroine, Koontz keeps the pages alive with attitude as well as action. . . . For Hawk, who is as fearless as she is beautiful, no obstacle is too great, especially with the well-being of her hidden-away five-year-old son on her mind.”—Kirkus Reviews “Spellbinding . . . Beautifully plotted and written with notable care and flare . . . The Hawk series . . . is among [Koontz’s] best work.”—Booklist (starred review) “Unrelenting . . . [Jane] rivets readers’ attention. . . . Michael Crichton fans and thriller aficionados who appreciate a fierce female protagonist . . . should be urged to meet Jane Hawk.”—Library Journal

A 2006 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Fact Crime. With intimate access to the families, award-winning journalist Diane Fanning's Written in Blood spins a heart-wrenching true crime tale that's been the subject of an acclaimed documentary, "The Staircase", and an HBO TV miniseries starring Colin Firth. An army brat-turned-marine, Michael Peterson saw combat in Vietnam, and returned a decorated soldier. An avid reader, his dreams of being an acclaimed novelist came true. His desire to find love was fulfilled when he married brilliant executive Kathleen Atwater, the first female student accepted at Duke University's School of Engineering. The Petersons seemed the ideal academic couple- well-respected, prosperous, and happy. All that came crashing down in December of 2001, when Kathleen apparently fell to her death in their secluded home in an exclusive area of Durham, North Carolina. But blood-spattered evidence and a missing fireplace poker suggested calculated, cold-blooded murder. Her trusted husband stood accused. Prosecutors introduced evidence at trial that sixteen years earlier, Peterson was one of the last people to see his neighbor alive before she was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her home in Germany. A dramatic trial followed in the explosive final chapter of a life that no novelist could ever have conceived...

From a New York Times–bestselling author: A searing account of cold-blooded murder as told by “one of the chief practitioners of the true crime genre” (The Baltimore Sun). Michael Peterson was a decorated war veteran and bestselling novelist. His wife, Kathleen, was a high-powered executive and devoted mother. To everyone who knew them, they seemed to be the perfect couple living a life most people would kill for. Then came the tragic night Michael found Kathleen at the bottom of the stairs in a pool of blood. He claimed her death was an accident. The prosecution thought different and put him on trial—and behind bars. Then, in a stunning reversal, a judge gave Michael another chance to stand trial as his children steadfastly proclaimed his innocence. But what happened next would stun observers as new evidence and bizarre theories were introduced in a legal battle that would drag on until it became one of the longest trials in state history. Aphrodite Jones draws on exclusive interviews and revelatory facts to deliver “a richly detailed and deeply researched tale of a greedy, sociopathic killer” (Caitlin Rother, New York Times–bestselling author).

During the months right before the Tet Offensive in Viet Nam, Bradley Marshall is sent to Viet Nam to bring back critical information that will allow the President of the United States to overrule his military advisors and pull American troops out of the conflict. Marshall is eventually drawn into even another conflict that will involve a Vietnamese girl, a French colonial, and others.

Legendary wordsmith Raekwon the Chef opens up about his journey from the staircases of Park Hill in Staten Island to sold-out stadiums around the world with the Wu-Tang Clan in this revealing memoir - perfect for fans of The Autobiography of Gucci Mane and Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter. There are rappers that everyone loves and there are rappers that every rapper loves, and Corey Woods, a.k.a. Raekwon the Chef, is one of the few who is both. His versatile flow, natural storytelling and evocative imagery has inspired legions of fans and a new generation of rappers. As one of the founding members of Wu-Tang Clan, Raekwon’s voice and cadence is synonymous with the inimitable sound that has made the group iconic since 1991. Now, for the first time, Raekwon tells his full story, from struggling through poverty to make ends meet to turning a hobby into a legacy. The Wu-Tang story is dense, complex and full of drama, and here nothing is off limits: the group’s underground origins, secrets behind songs like 'C.R.E.A.M.' and 'Protect Ya Neck', and what it took to be one of the first hip-hop groups to break into the mainstream. Raekwon also dives deep into the making of his meticulous solo albums - particularly the classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx - and talks about how spirituality and fatherhood continue to inspire his unstoppable creative process. A celebration of perseverance and the power of music, From Staircase to Stage is a master storyteller’s lifelong journey to stay true to himself and his roots.