“Impeccably researched and terrifically engaging, Sarah Cailean has unearthed the female hidden figures of true crime who would be all but forgotten without her.”

~Kyra Sedgwick, Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actress and director

“Sarah Cailean is that unusual writer who can move between a Gilded Age courtroom and a 2019 cold case file without a hitch. Warrior Sleuths is popular history written with a working investigator's eye—curious, skeptical, and consistently surprising.”

~Barak Goodman, Academy Award nominee, Emmy winner, documentary filmmaker

“Warrior Sleuths is a compelling historical romp through the lives of eight badass women who would put any of their fictional television counterparts to shame. Sarah Cailean has a knack for making history fun and relatable while also informative. From unsung hero Kate Warne to Prohibition’s Mabel Walker Willebrandt to current-day Barbara Rae-Venter, Cailean guides us as we experience history through a different perspective. The lives of these women deserve to be expounded and there is no better person to do so than Sarah Cailean.”

~Mari Forth, Crime Seen podcast

“In her fascinating book, Warrior Sleuths, Sarah Cailean brings forgotten female detectives and modern sleuths to the forefront, highlighting the brave women who influenced the early days of law enforcement and those who continue to transform the field today.”

~Kathleen Brunelle, author of She's Gone: Five Mysterious Twentieth-Century Cold Cases

“A formidable crime-fighting force in her own right, author Sarah Cailean takes readers on a masterfully crafted, fascinating journey through the lives of eight brilliant, passionate women who overcame immense personal and professional obstacles to shape modern crime fighting. They—and many women like them—were long-overlooked pillars of investigation, law enforcement, forensics, and related fields. In this groundbreaking new book, Cailean finally brings their stories to the forefront. A must-read for true crime fans!”

~Troy A. Hillman, author of Chasing Down the Zombie Hunter

“Sarah Cailean’s warm, clean prose invites the reader into the fascinating worlds of these eight remarkable women. Cailean notes each one is deserving of a book of their own, but she imbues each vignette with such marvelous curiosity and a strong fellow feeling—she is not only a meticulous researcher but also shares her subjects’ careers and expertise—that they materialise vigorous and fully realised. With lovely attention to detail, Cailean’s vivid prose leads us on eight enthralling journeys as we find out: ‘Who was she?’”

~Sarah Carradine, Crime Seen podcast

Positioning Statement

The first-ever anthology spotlighting the women who built modern crime solving—written by a nationally recognized homicide investigator, award-winning podcast host, and television personality. Warrior Sleuths arrives at the intersection of two of publishing's hottest trends: the booming true crime genre (84% of Americans 13+ consume true crime in some form) and the surging demand for women-centered historical narratives. With over 75% of true crime consumers being women aged 18–44—and with the genre still overwhelmingly created by men—this is the book readers have been waiting for. Sarah Cailean's professional expertise as a cold case investigator, combined with her massive proven audience across podcasting, television, and live events, makes Warrior Sleuths a must-read for fans of true crime, narrative nonfiction, and social history alike.

Market

Market Opportunity & Audience

Warrior Sleuths sits at the crossroads of three powerful, overlapping consumer trends:

Explosive True Crime Market: 84% of Americans age 13+—roughly 230 million people—consume true crime content in some form (books, podcasts, documentaries, or TV). The genre generates over $900 million annually in the U.S. book market alone and continues to outperform nearly every other nonfiction category. Sales of true crime titles rose approximately 35% between 2017 and 2023 according to NPD BookScan data.

Female Audience Dominance: Women ages 18–44 make up over 75% of true crime consumers, yet the vast majority of content is still created by and centered on men. A 2022 YouGov survey found that 73% of women 18–34 said they regularly consumed true crime content—higher than any other nonfiction genre. Warrior Sleuths is a direct, long-overdue answer to this gap.

Women's History Surging: Women's history surging: Women's and gender history titles have consistently outperformed broader history categories on both trade and academic lists; according to NPD BookScan data, women's history and biography has grown ~18% over the past five years, outpacing the general history category

Comp Titles: Perfect for readers of Minette Walters, Ann Rule, and Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark; fans of Netflix's MO: Murder in Ohio; listeners of Crime Junkie, My Favorite Murder, and Casefile; and watchers of How to Fix a Drug Scandal, The Staircase, and Making a Murderer.

History Buffs & Crossover Readers: The eight women profiled span from the Civil War era (Kate Warne, 1850s) to the present (Barbara Rae-Venter's DNA genealogy breakthroughs in the 2010s–2020s), ensuring appeal to readers of American history, social history, and feminist revisionist history—a category that has grown over 40% on Goodreads since 2018.

Podcast-to-Book Pipeline: Sarah Cailean's combined podcast audience of millions demonstrates proven, bankable demand. Podcast listeners convert to book buyers at dramatically higher rates than average consumers; a 2023 Pew Research study found that 62% of regular podcast listeners bought at least four books in the past year.

Author Credentials

Nationally Recognized Expert: Sarah Cailean is a former police officer with a decade of service in federal and municipal law enforcement, current special investigator with the Mobile County Sheriff's Office leading cold case homicide investigations, and a member of the elite Vidocq Society—an invitation-only organization of the world's foremost forensic scientists and criminologists.

Award-Winning Podcast with Massive Reach: Sarah's podcast Why Can't We Talk About Amanda's Mom? has over 3,000 reviews with an average rating of 4.8 stars on Apple Podcasts, ranked in the Top 5 of all crime podcasts, Top 10 of all podcasts in the U.S. on Apple Podcasts, and Top 5 of all podcasts on Spotify. Her most recent release, What Happened to Misty Copsey, reached #3 in Overall Podcasts on Spotify in Summer 2025 (and it just won a WEBBY Award).

Television Presence: Executive producer and host of the four-part HLN docu-series Hell in the Heartland: What Happened to Ashley and Lauria. Regular guest contributor for HLN, CNN, and NewsNation. Creator of podcasts on Investigation Discovery (ID) Network.

Live Event Powerhouse: Creator and host of Speaking of Crime with Sarah Cailean, an interactive true crime live show. Sarah performed approximately 60 live events in 2023, attracting between 5,000 and 6,000 audience members across 20 cities and 10 states. A sought-after speaker at true crime conventions, law enforcement conferences, and podcasting summits.

Hollywood Development: Working with Big Swing Productions—executive producer Kyra Sedgwick's company—to develop a scripted series based on her life and investigations, signaling both mainstream cultural reach and future cross-promotional opportunities.

Specialist Credibility: Area of expertise includes serial predation (serial rape and serial homicide) and domestic violence. Provides regular commentary and consulting on breaking cases. Her rare combination of active law enforcement work, media presence, and academic grounding makes her the ideal author for a book that demands both authenticity and accessibility.

Publicity

Print, Broadcast & Major Media

Trade Reviews (priority): Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, and Booklist (among others) — target reviews given the subject matter's broad appeal and author's existing media profile

National Print & Digital Outlets: The New York Times (book review, Sunday Review op-ed), USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian (US edition), The Wall Street Journal (Weekend), People, Entertainment Weekly — true crime/celebrity-adjacent coverage

Women's Interest & Feminist Media: Ms. Magazine, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Bustle, Refinery29, Jezebel, The Cut — the book's central thesis that women have been erased from the crime-solving narrative is tailor-made for these outlets

True Crime & Crime-Adjacent Media: CrimeReads (Lit Hub), Crime Watch Daily, Investigation Discovery online, Oxygen, A&E's True Crime blog, Vulture (TV/entertainment with strong true crime coverage)

History & Culture: Smithsonian Magazine, History.com, American Heritage, Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, Lapham's Quarterly

Law Enforcement & Forensics: Police Chief Magazine, Law Enforcement Today, Forensic Magazine, Journal of Forensic Sciences (review/profile piece), ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners) publications

Black Media (for Eunice Hunton Carter chapter): The Root, Essence, Ebony, The Grio, Black Enterprise — Eunice Hunton Carter as one of the first Black women in major prosecutions is a major standalone story for these outlets

Broadcast Television: CBS Mornings, NBC Today Show, Good Morning America (ABC) — mainstream morning show appeal with a combination of historical revelation and contemporary crime expertise

CNN, HLN, NewsNation — existing relationships; strong angle as expert commentator who has written the definitive book on women in crime solving

PBS NewsHour, MSNOW's Morning Joe — serious nonfiction/history treatment

C-SPAN Book TV — author event/interview

Op-Ed Strategy: Bylined pieces by Sarah Cailean in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and/or The Atlantic on: why women's contributions to crime solving have been systematically erased; the gender gap in true crime storytelling; what forensic genealogy means for the future of cold cases (Barbara Rae-Venter angle with current news hooks)

Podcasts

True Crime & Investigative (highest priority — Sarah's home turf): Crime Junkie, My Favorite Murder, Casefile, Morbid, Serial, Your Own Backyard, Dr. Death, Over My Dead Body, Swindled, True Crime Obsessed, Scam Goddess, Once Upon a Crime

Women's Stories & Feminist History: Stuff You Missed in History Class, American Scandal, Unladylike, The Broad Experience, Bad With Money, She Explores, How to Be a Girl, Normal Gossip, No Stupid Questions

History & Narrative Nonfiction: American History Tellers, Revisionist History (Malcolm Gladwell), You're Wrong About, Backstory, American Scandal, Throughline (NPR), 99% Invisible, Hardcore History, Now It's History (with Richard Galant)

Psychology, Forensics & Social Science: Hidden Brain, Freakonomics Radio, Radiolab, Stuff You Should Know, Science Vs., Huberman Lab (forensic psychology angle), This Is Actually Happening

Book & Reading Culture: Book Riot, Literati, Get Booked, All the Books!, What Should I Read Next?, The Book Review (NYT Podcast), Overdue, Print Run Podcast, Speaking of Writers

General High-Profile Interview Shows: Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, SmartLess, We Can Do Hard Things (Brené Brown), Unlocking Us, The Tim Ferriss Show, Glennon Doyle

Social Media & Digital Marketing

Author Platform & Built-In Demand

Podcast Audience: Sarah's combined podcast listenership across Why Can't We Talk About Amanda's Mom?, Who Killed Jennifer Judd?, Who Took Misty Copsey?, and future releases represents a direct, highly engaged audience of hundreds of thousands of listeners who have demonstrated they will follow Sarah's recommendations. Her Misty Copsey podcast reached #3 Overall on Spotify in Summer 2025 at launch.

Live Event Footprint: 60 live events in 2023 across 20 cities and 10 states, with 5,000–6,000 attendees, means Sarah has a physically engaged, book-buying audience in markets across the country. On-sale events at local bookstores in tour cities are natural opportunities.

Social Media Strategy: Leverage Sarah's social presence (Instagram, TikTok, X/Twitter, Facebook) for reveal content, chapter previews, behind-the-scenes content on the research process, and interviews or posts about each of the eight women profiled.

BookTok & Bookstagram

True crime is one of the most active communities on both TikTok (#TrueCrime has over 50 billion views) and Instagram. Targets are:

True Crime BookTok: Accounts such as @crimejunkieofficial, @truecrimejunkie, @thecrimeshelf, and mid-tier accounts (50K–500K followers) with engaged true crime reader audiences.

Women's History Bookstagram: Historical women's stories perform extremely well on Bookstagram. Reach out to accounts focused on feminist history, historical nonfiction, and "dark academia" aesthetics—the aesthetic of Warrior Sleuths is well-suited to these communities.

Sarah's Podcast Newsletters: Newsletters tied to Sarah's podcast networks reach directly into her most dedicated audience. Push book news, behind-the-scenes content, and pre-order links through these channels starting at least 3 months before publication.

CrimeReads (Lit Hub) Newsletter: CrimeReads has one of the largest dedicated true crime reading communities online, with over 200,000 newsletter subscribers and high engagement rates. Pitch excerpt, author Q&A, or "essential reading" list feature.

Book Riot & Epic Reads (newsletters): Book Riot reaches over 2 million readers monthly across email, social, and podcast. "Essential true crime" and "women's history" roundups are natural fits.

Investigation Discovery / Oxygen (digital):: Sarah's existing relationship with ID Network provides potential access to their email lists and digital platforms, which reach millions of true crime fans. Coordinate with ID's digital team for promotional content tied to publication.

Author-Generated Special Events & Outreach

Live Events & Speaking

Speaking of Crime Tour Tie-In: Integrate Warrior Sleuths launch into Sarah's existing Speaking of Crime live show schedule. On-sale events at major independent bookstores in tour cities (signed copies, in-conversation format) will be natural sellouts given Sarah's demonstrated ability to draw 5,000–6,000 attendees annually.

True Crime Conventions: CrimeCon (the largest true crime convention in the world, drawing 3,000–5,000 attendees), TrueCrime Fan Fest, and Podcast Movement are key targets. Sarah is already a sought-after speaker at these events; book launches tied to convention appearances maximize visibility.

Law Enforcement / Forensics Conferences: American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Annual Meeting, International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference, and National Domestic Violence Conference — Sarah's law enforcement credentials make her a credible keynote speaker, and these audiences are natural buyers of a book about pioneering women in law enforcement and forensics.

Library/Bookstore Events: Coordinate with author on events programming at the national and/or regional level (focused initially on cities where Sarah already has speaking relationships.)

Organizational & Community Partnerships

The VIDOCQ Society: Sarah's membership in this elite organization provides access to a community of the world's foremost forensic professionals — ideal for endorsements, event hosting, and word-of-mouth to the professional criminology community.

National Organization for Women (NOW) & Feminist Press Outlets: The book's core argument — that women's contributions to justice have been systematically erased — is a natural fit for feminist organizations and women's advocacy groups. Coordinate with NOW, the Ms. Foundation, the Feminist Press, and similar organizations for community reads, endorsements, and co-promotion.

Historical Societies: The women profiled span from the 1850s to the present. Author may opt to partner potentially with the Chicago History Museum (Frances Glessner Lee connection), the New York City Police Museum (Isabella Goodwin), and the Smithsonian (multiple connections) for ancillary programming and institutional promotion.

Forensic Genealogy Community: Barbara Rae-Venter's work in forensic genealogy has a passionate, growing community of practitioners and enthusiasts. Reach out to the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) and genealogy conventions (RootsTech, which draws 30,000+ attendees) for cross-promotional opportunities.

Law School & Criminonology Program Outreach: Grace Humiston's use of ballistics evidence, Ann Wolbert Burgess's FBI profiling work, and Mabel Walker Willebrandt's prosecution record are all case studies used in legal and criminological education. Direct outreach to law school libraries and criminology department reading lists.

Key Statistics at a Glance

Americans who consume true crime (age 13+)    230 million / 84%

True crime consumers who are women (ages 18–44)    Over 75%

Women 18–34 who regularly consume true crime (YouGov, 2022)    73%

U.S. true crime book market annual revenue (est.)    $900 million+

True crime title sales growth, 2017–2023 (NPD BookScan)    ~35%

Misty Copsey podcast peak rank on Spotify (Summer 2025)    #3 Overall

Amanda's Mom podcast avg. rating (3,000+ reviews)    4.8 / 5.0

Amanda's Mom podcast peak rank, Apple Podcasts US    Top 10 All Podcasts

Speaking of Crime live events in 2023    ~60 events / 20 cities / 10 states

Speaking of Crime total audience (2023)    5,000–6,000 attendees

Podcast listeners who bought 4+ books in past year (Pew, 2023)    62%

#TrueCrime views on TikTok    50 billion+