Julie Kramer is one of the best investigative producers I have ever known. She has won many awards for I-TEAM reports she did for WCCO, including ones on the abduction of Iowa anchorwoman Jodi Huisentruit, violence on metro-area buses and too little milk in school milk cartons. In all of the stories, reporters like me, Kevyn Burger and others received most of the public recognition, while it was Julie who did much of the legwork and writing.
Julie is incredibly tenacious when she's pursuing a story, passionate about journalism and skillful as a storyteller. It was a huge loss for WCCO when she decided to be a stay-at-home mom with her two sons a few years ago and limit her schedule to network freelance assignments.
One story we worked on she never forgot: a cold case report on two women named Susan, murdered on the same day two years apart in St. Paul. Sadly, the cases are still unsolved. But they also served as the inspiration for Julie's first crime novel. "Stalking Susan" will be released by Doubleday on July 15th. It is set in a downtown Minneapolis newsroom (sound familiar?) and features a reporter investigating a serial killer who targets women named Susan. The book is already getting rave reviews, including a recommendation as a summer pick in the current issue of People magazine.
I read a couple of the drafts on the Susans novel and felt right away Julie had a hit on her hands. It was such a thrill, but not a big surprise, when Julie called me last summer to say Doubleday agreed to publish the book and also wanted her to write a sequel.
The thriller was meticulously researched, just like her I-Team reports. When Julie wanted to ask a journalism question, she was on the phone to one of us who had been newsroom colleagues. When she wanted to see what it was like to shoot a handgun, Julie tagged along to a firing range. If she had an autopsy or police investigative question, Julie called Vernon Geberth, a nationally recognized homicide expert who has written several books used by law enforcement. (He has also served as an unpaid consultant for us when we worked on a lead in the Huisentruit investigation).
The Twin Cities has a roster of well-known mystery writers, including John Sandford, Vince Flynn and Steve Thayer. I predict Julie will soon be stepping out from behind the scenes and into that high-profile arena with the debut of "Stalking Susan."
If you'd like to meet Julie or find out more about her transition from journalism to fiction, go to her Web site at www.juliekramerbooks.com. To see her book trailer, click here.
If you'd like to watch the cold case story we did on the real Susan murders or the Jodi Huisentruit investigation, go to wcco.com/coldcase
