Tag Archives: Murder

Episode 75 – How Many Threads of Logic Lead Us to Revelations – Adam Sykes and Henry Hemming



How many threads of logic lead us to revelations? On this episode of The Artful Periscope, Larry sits down with Adam Sykes, author of the thriller novel The Underhanded. In addition to being an author, Adam also had a long career in the U.S. Marine Corps, received a Silver Star and was a former CIA Paramilitary Officer. Larry and Adam discuss the origin of character names and how Adam’s military experience has informed his writing, Larry posits what it was like to make the shift from being an active participant in major world events such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq vs the author’s role as a witness and commentator, adjusting from a military team life to a solitary writing life, and the role of physical exercise in his writing process.

After the break, Larry welcomes Henry Hemming, author of Four Shots in the Night: A True Story of Spies, Murder, and Justice in Northern Ireland, which recounts the true story of 1980s murder of a British spy by, potentially, another British spy. While exploring the facts of the case, Henry also explores the relationship between spies and their targets, the complicated history of Northern Ireland and it’s relationship with Great Britain.  Henry shares about the ISU (aka The Nutting Squad) and their hunting of spies for the IRA (Provisional Irish Republican Army),the courage of victim Frank Haggerty’s mother to speak out publicly against her son’s murderer, and the investigation of Jon Boutcher, a modern detective tasked with researching this case and similar cases originating in Northern Ireland.


Episode 29 – How Many Threads Lead Us to the Conviction of an Innocent Man? Charlies Bosworth Jr. & Joel Schwartz



How many threads lead us to the conviction of an innocent man? This week Larry Davidson sits down with author Charles Bosworth Jr. and defense attorney Joel Schwartz to talk about their collaborative book Bone Deep: Untangling the Betsy Faria Murder Case. Bone Deep recounts the unjust conviction of Russell Faria and Joel’s fight to prove his innocence. Larry, Charles and Joel discuss the facts of the case, the danger of small-town politics and how media attention can affect a trial.  They also explore how confirmation bias can override logic in a court case and how you fight for justice when the police are more focused on being right than finding the truth. They also discuss the NBC mini-series The Thing About Pam, which is an adaptation of the case. In a society fascinated with true crime and murderers, Charles and Joel hope to bring more attention to Betsy Faria and other victims. Larry wraps up the episode with the question “what did I get wrong?”-a question that is more pertinent than ever in a world where facts need to be protected and truthful self-assessment is more important than ever.

Charles Bosworth, Jr.

Joel Schwartz, Esq.