THE LOBBY

Case files are built on what can be recorded — dates, times, locations, statements that hold their shape. But real moments don’t always cooperate. There’s a space between what gets written down and what actually happens in a room. Pauses. Avoided answers. Shifts in tone after the recorder stops. Those moments aren’t evidence. They don’t belong in reports. And yet, they’re often the ones that stay with you long after a case is considered closed.

The folder was thin, warped at the edges, but heavy with ghosts. Murder Doesn’t Clock Out: Before Quinlan. Back then Loretta and David thought they were invincible—Texas Violent Crimes Task Force rookies chasing shadows. What they found instead was a wax museum of the dead, a blaze that erased more than evidence, and the first mistake that would haunt every case to come.

Before the cabin. Before the quiet. Before East Texas started calling us back. David and I were detectives chasing murder through backroads, burned-out buildings, and lies that didn’t crack easy. Murder Doesn’t Clock Out: Before Quinlan is the prequel — seven cases that built our grit, tested our instincts, and taught us the hard way that justice doesn’t come clean. You want the truth? Start here. — Loretta

Harold Finch was found slumped over his garage workbench, throat slashed clean. A six-inch wooden doll, dressed in miniature overalls, mirrored the wound exactly. The next day, Albert Keyes was discovered in his study, wrist lacerated, with another doll—cardigan and glasses—standing upright on the desk. Each scene was staged with obsessive precision. The killer didn’t just leave evidence. They left a performance.

Join authors Loretta & David Allseitz for Whispers & Witnesses, a thriller book signing and vendor haunt on October 18th, 5–7 PM at The Venue at 84 WEST in Denison, TX. Discover chilling reads like Teardrops of Lake Tawakoni and The Dollmaker of Point, shop eerie vendor goods, and experience a night of suspense. Limited books available—bring cash or VENMO. Dare to attend. Witness the whispers. Embrace the haunt.

Get an exclusive 10-minute sneak peek of Teardrops of Lake Tawakoni, a chilling Southern noir audiobook available only to Patreon members. Dive into forensic suspense, eerie lake secrets, and the first whispers of a murder that won’t stay buried. Join Loretta Allseitz’s Patreon for early access and immersive crime fiction content.

The Dollmaker of Point is a chilling psychological thriller and Book Two in A Texas Thriller of Murder and Betrayal series. When a brutal Texas murder mystery shocks the town of Point, married detectives Loretta and David Smitty face a serial killer who leaves dolls mirroring each victim’s wounds. Dark, twisted, and unforgettable, this crime thriller delivers edge-of-your-seat suspense for fans of murder mystery and suspense novels.

Get a free taste of the mystery that started it all. In the opening chapters of Teardrops of Lake Tawakoni, David & Loretta Smitty step into a case soaked in silence, grief, and something colder than water. The lake doesn’t just hold secrets—it protects them. Read the sample now and feel the first ripple.