Welcome! I’m Duke Southard, an author, retired educator, and lecturer.
I have published seven novels, a commissioned history, and an anthology of
award-winning short stories and essays.
Please check out my blog where I write about true crime and a wide ranging variety of literary and everyday subjects.
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My Books
View a list of my published books, including Tainted Justice.
Recent Posts
On “Murder for HIre”
In the world of speculation, rumor, and innuendo about the murder of Stacey Burns (reminder: now five years and three months ago), one of the oft-mentioned theories about the crime is that Stacey was the victim of a "murder for hire" scheme. These theories include the...
No Conspiracies?
What if there were no conspiracies in the death of Stacey Burns? What if it was just a single, psychotic person who was incredibly lucky to not get caught? No one has been arrested for this crime. If he or she acted alone, wouldn't it be logical that either the killer...
Agent for Justice-Book Review
“Agent for Justice” By Duke Southard 418 pages Wheatmark Publishing This compelling suspense novel by a local author revolves around a young, gifted and idealistic educator who collides with the real world of imperfection and inequity. Brad and his wife, Josie, met...
Conspiracies (BIG ONES!)
My file on the research I've done into the Stacey Burns case contains a number of correspondences from people who theorize that there is much more to this case than a single murder. Since we've been addressing the conspiracy and coincidence aspects as this case,...
Conspiracies before the murder
A caveat- any theories put forth in this blog are based on information and opinions I've received over the last four years. As I've stated previously, the murder of Stacey Burns is officially considered an open and active case by the authorities; therefore, official...
Nine Weeks vs Five Years!
Once again, I return to one of my favorite literary heroines for inspiration. Sue Grafton's matchless Kinsey Millhone, a perceptive private investigator of limitless talent in the "alphabet series" begins a search for a missing person just nine weeks after he...
On Conspiracies and Coincidences
It is less than twenty four hours since our return to Arizona. I feel a need to explain my last post. In the space of three hours of interviews in New Hampshire in the last week, I heard two conspiracy theories regarding the death of Stacey Burns, each with its own...
An Informative Trip!
My travels to New Hampshire this past weekend revealed a few small but new tidbits of information about the Stacey Burns case. First, my apologies for my blog postings being absent since I left on the long trip to the East Coast. Many times the internet has not been...
Agent for Justice, Second Edition
I am currently on a trip to the East Coast and am not keeping up with my posts on this blog but appreciate everyone's patience with me. First of all, my offer remains on the table: Would ANYONE care to tell me his/her story about the Stacey Burns murder? My contact...
Murder convictions revisited
Just guessing but I assume that the Stacey Burns murder will join those statistics that say that a large percentage of murderers walk free. What a disgrace and an inestimable crime in itself. As people seem fond of saying these days, "nuff said!" Duke
Dare You #2
A brief post as we are traveling to the East Coast from Arizona . . . One person suggested a contact after my blog with the "dare you" challenge. Just to remind everyone, one week from next Friday, July 25, I will be in New Hampshire. In the last post, I suggested...
Dare You!
This message is for anyone in the Wolfeboro/Tuftonboro area on Friday, July 25, 2014. If you have ANYTHING you'd like to share about the Stacey Burns murder case, I will be in the area for the entire day and would love to speak with you. This includes anyone who has...