Tag Archives: Court of Queen’s Bench

A ‘Dexter Killer’ (Devil’s Cinema) Down Under

MELBOURNE — I’m thrilled to see The Devil’s Cinema, my narrative on the “Dexter Killer” Mark Twitchell case, will be published in Australia.

The good people at Penguin Australia have snapped up the rights to release my book in both Australia and New Zealand.

While I was born and raised in Canada, I’ve been living in Australia for the past few years, so this is fabulous news to see this story now shared in my two homes.

There are a few changes to the Aussie release: the cover and subhead have both been altered slightly.

(Apparently Australians are more familiar with the case being called the “Dexter Killer” than by the man behind the notorious moniker, Mark Twitchell.)

In any event, any good Aussie bookstore will have a copy by the August 22 release day. It will be available locally as an eBook too.

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Devil’s tour is on, Twitchell drops appeal

CALGARY — A whirlwind Alberta trip has taken me to Edmonton, Calgary and seen a few dozen media appearances across the province as the tour of The Devil’s Cinema, my true crime account of the Mark Twitchell case, continues.

One of the big reveals during on the tour so far has been discussing my year-long contact with the convicted murderer as I researched this book — and also my reveal at the official book launch that Twitchell has now abandoned his appeal of his first-degree murder conviction.

This means that Twitchell, responsible for one of the most bizarre crimes in recent memory, will have to serve his full term of 25 years to life in prison.

So why did he decide to drop the appeal?

Well, as he explained in one of his prison letters to me during my research, he knew he had no hope of winning:

“Ultimately, any appeal I were to pursue would prove futile,” Twitchell wrote.

“Part of me wants to pursue it to simply get all of this out on the official record, if for no other reason. But without a realistic expectation of a favourable outcome, it’s not worth dragging this all up again.”

I’ll post more about the book tour later.

But there’s been a great response from the public, readers, and keen interest on how I was able to piece together a narrative of detectives, a killer, and his many victims:

The Devil’s Cinema is now available in hardcover and as an eBook at most bookstores and online retailers.

devilscinema.com

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Mark Twitchell Book: Advanced Praise

EDMONTON — The Devil’s Cinema, my forthcoming non-fiction book detailing the Mark Twitchell case and trial, has received its first review.

Journalist and author Robert Remington read an early draft of the manuscript and has come back with the following critique:

“A detailed, well-constructed account of a diabolical real-life Dexter. Lillebuen has written a riveting, true crime page-turner about aspiring filmmaker Mark Twitchell, who turned his obsession with fantasy into horrible reality.”

Remington is a senior writer and columnist at the Calgary Herald, and his long career in journalism has taken him across Europe, Pakistan, and East Africa.

But he’s probably better-known as the co-author of Runaway Devil.

His book, a national best-seller, is a true crime examination of another major criminal case and trial from Alberta — the story of a 12-year-old girl who was convicted of murdering her entire family.

It means a lot to have such early praise from a fellow non-fiction author. Hopefully there will be more to come.

The Devil’s Cinema is still slated for a February release across Canada and the USA, though pre-orders are available.

[Update Jan. 15/2012]: The release date has been moved to March 27. Book tour to follow.

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