Killer Story: The Truth Behind True Crime Television - Hardcover

by Claire St Amant (Author)

Follow a journalist and TV producer from 48 Hours and 60 Minutes as she carves out a career in the ruthless, knives-out world of true crime television . . . one killer story at a time.

Serial killers. Homicidal spouses. Sociopathic criminals. Claire St. Amant has met them all.

She spent nearly a decade in network television chasing the biggest true crime stories in the country, including the murder of Chris Kyle, plastic-surgeon-turned-murder-for-hire suspect Thomas Michael Dixon, the Parkland high school mass shooting, the disappearance of Christina Morris, and serial killer Samuel Little.

Bringing a true crime story to network television requires quick thinking and tenacious stamina, and in her debut memoir, Claire offers true crime fans a rare in-depth look from the other side of the yellow tape.

In Killer Story, readers will learn what it really takes to get these gripping cases on the air with insights such as:

How it feels to share space with a dead-eyed murderer Which TV show has a reputation for "eating their young" How reporters win over skeptical cops and reluctant lawyers Why TV journalists are always racing against the clock--and competitor sabotage What happens when a district attorney decides journalists have committed a felony The unresolved crimes that still haunt Claire to this day

This eye-opening look behind the scenes of true crime television offers an unforgettable read--and a window into the daily reality of investigative journalism.

Author Biography

Investigative journalist Claire St. Amant developed and produced crime stories for CBS News for nearly a decade. She is credited on over 20 episodes of 48 Hours, including murder-for-hire stings, cold case kidnappings, and an assassination attempt. In 2019, St. Amant began contributing to 60 Minutes with "The Ranger and the Serial Killer." She built her unconventional career one story at a time, rising up through local media to national television and her own network podcast, Final Days on Earth with Claire St. Amant. A returned Peace Corps volunteer with eclectic tastes, she is always on the hunt for her next adventure.