My friend John Philpin, who, when he’s not helping police catch murderers, writes books about murderers, has a new book out.

Actually, the book’s official pub date is January 2012 (you can pre-order at Amazon), but, rumor has it, you can obtain an early, discounted copy by ordering directly from the publisher, GenPop Books.

I was lucky enough to see Bad Dog in manuscript form and as an advance review copy. It’s a crime novel (Philpin’s sixth): 220 pages of alleged “fiction” that just so happens to read an awful lot like the truth. By which I mean, reads a lot like the awful truth. The truth of murder both domestic and foreign, familial and national, as Bad Dog moves between a “homey” Vermont double homicide and Vietnam, and moves through decades, to the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. As the jacket copy explains, Bad Dog is fiction, but it’s also “Philpin’s most autobiographical [fiction] to date.” Highly recommended for mystery genre fans, and for anyone looking for a blazing critique of domestic and foreign policy affairs shaped by the military industrial complex from the 1960s to the present.

Also, for readers who are new to Philpin’s work, I recommend supplementing Bad Dog with some nonfiction as well.

Stalemate (Bantam Books, 1997), regarding a series of child abductions and murders in California, is one of the more disturbing books I’ve ever read, particularly because so much of the book takes the form of the suspected perpetrator’s conversations with John. It was an unlikely event, given that John was consulting on the case for California law enforcement, but, John being John, he also has a way of getting people to “open up.” Even when they’re being investigated for multiple homicides. A must-read.

Also recommended is Shattered Justice (Harper Collins, 2006), which examines the tragic 1998 murder of 12-year-old Stephanie Crowe, in San Diego County, CA; the botched investigation that followed, in which her poor teenage brother and his friends were railroaded, even made to confess; and the eventual conviction of the actual killer, a psychotic “drifter” (who looks frighteningly like myself), Richard Tuite, thanks to the hard work of San Diego County detective Victor Caloca.

Who’s the bad dawg behind Bad Dog?

John Philpin is an independent criminal profiler and a retired psychologist with an international reputation as an expert on violent behavior. He has appeared on Unsolved Mysteries, America’s Most Wanted, 20/20 Downtown, Inside Edition, and CBC’s As It Happens, and has served as a guest commentator on Court TV’s Prime Time Justice. His published nonfiction works include Shattered Justice (Harper Collins), about the murder of 12-year old Stephanie Crowe; Stalemate (Bantam), about a series of child abductions and murders in the San Francisco Bay area; and Beyond Murder (Onyx/Penguin Books), investigating the Gainesville student murders. He has also written five novels including The Murder Channel and Dreams in the Key of Blue. A recipient of numerous awards for contributions in murder investigations, Philpin’s forensic work was featured in Philip E. Ginsburg’s Shadow of Death, the investigation of a series of murders along interstate highway corridors of Vermont and New Hampshire in the 1980s. Philpin holds degrees in English, clinical psychology, and forensic psychology from Harvard and Goddard College.