As the co-author of a major new true crime book, Caught in the Act, A Courageous Family’s Fight to Save their Daughter from a Serial Killer, set for a March 1, 2011 release from Berkley Books, I wanted to tell you briefly about the details behind this amazing story. If you are impressed enough with what happened to this family and think your listeners would be interested to hear from my co-author who experienced this herself, please feel free to let us know.

On July 30, 2007, the parents of a Chelmsford, Massachusetts 15-year old Shea McDonough were awakened at 4 a.m. by strange noises coming from the teen’s bedroom. When Jeannie and Kevin went to check on their daughter they discovered a hulking figure dressed in black and holding a knife to Shea’s throat. Kevin McDonough immediately charged the stranger and wrestled him to ground while Jeannie bloodied her hand wresting the knife from the intruder’s grasp. The couple managed to hold the masked man at bay until the police arrived, and when authorities learned that the man who had invaded the McDonough home was also responsible for the recent deaths of at least two women and the slashing attack on another, the McDonough story became even more remarkable.

The murderous M.O. of Adam Leroy Lane, an interstate truck driver from North Carolina, included parking his rig at highway rest areas in the middle of the night and then walking through the woods into neighboring communities wearing black clothing, a mask and carrying an arsenal of knives. The media dubbed him “The Ninja Killer” because of his attire and weaponry. He would search for homes with unlocked doors, looking for women to slash to death as they slept.

Incredibly, the McDonough’s had stopped a multi-state serial killer.

Although blessed that they and their daughter had been spared the physical harm that Adam Lane had visited upon his other victims, this extraordinary family thought their troubles were over, but they were just beginning. They struggled to come to terms with the reason they had survived while others had not been nearly as fortunate. They were instantly hailed as heroes, but the survivor guilt that plagued Jeannie McDonough as a result led her on a personal quest to ensure that the memories of Adam Leroy Lane’s victims were not forgotten. She closely followed the court cases involving the other victims, attending all the trials and befriending and supporting the families of the women Lane had killed.

The March 2011 Berkely Book, Caught in the Act, A Courageous Family’s Fight to Save their Daughter From a Serial Killer, is the complete true account of how a mother and her family survived not only an attack in the middle of the night by a knife-wielding intruder, but the aftermath of capturing a serial killer.

I co-authored the book with Jeannie McDonough, the mother of this Chelmsford, MA family who caught Adam Leroy Lane, truck driver and serial killer, in their home. If there is any interest in the McDonough story or if you would like to contact Jeannie directly, she can be reached at jeannie.mcdonough@gmail.com

Caught In The Act was edited at Berkley Books / Penguin by Shannon Jamieson Vazquez
The Berkley Publishing Group
375 Hudson Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10014
Tel: 212-366-2041
Fax: 212-366-2645

Email: Shannon.JamiesonVazquez@us.penguingroup.com

We look forward to hearing back from you.

Regards,

Paul Lonardo