Phelps is the author of 39 fact-based nonfiction (true crime) books, 2 thrillers, and four history books, including co-authoring Failures of the Presidents with Thomas J. Craughwell.[1] Phelps has written for The Providence Journal, the Hartford Courant and the New London Day, and consulted on the first season of the Showtime cable television series Dexter.[2]
Beginning in January 2012, he produced and hosted with criminal profiler John Kelly the Investigation Discovery series Dark Minds, which airs on the Investigation Discovery channel.[4][5][6] The series features unsolved serial murders.[7] When Phelps' book The Killing Kind was released in June 2014, Publishers Weekly wrote, "Fans of the author's Discovery TV series, 'Dark Minds,' will be rewarded."[8]
He was featured in Writers Digest with his debut true-crime book Perfect Poison in 2003 and again with the release of his eighth book, I'll be Watching You, in 2009.[9]
The New York Post in a February 2012 review called Phelps' book Never See Them Again, about Texas killer Christine Paolilla, a "riveting new book" that "examines one of the most horrific murders in recent American history."[10]Kirkus Reviews called it a "thorough account of a quadruple murder in a Houston suburb in 2003."[11]
Phelps' book Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy was listed as number 14 on The New York Times bestseller list in e-book nonfiction the week of May 11, 2014.[12]Twilight actor Peter Facinelli in June 2014 acquired movie rights for his Nathan Hale book.[13]
Personal life
Phelps is divorced and a father. Phelps' sister-in-law was murdered in 1996, and the killer was never found.[2] He now resides in Tolland County, Connecticut.[14][15]
