Arts & Entertainment

Book Signing: "Dead Reckoning" by Caitlin Rother

Meet true-crime writer and novelist Caitlin Rother, author of "Dead Reckoning," the chilling story behind the murder of Tom and Jackie Hawks.

In 2004, Tom Hawks, a former Carlsbad firefighter and graduate of San Dieguito High School, and his wife, Jackie, were tied to the anchor of their own yacht and thrown overboard by Skylar Deleon, a one-time child actor turned con man who stole their boat and then tried to empty their bank accounts. Jim Hawks, Tom's brother, is a retired Carlsbad police chief who helped the Newport Beach Police Department with the murder investigation.

Rother, a former San Diego Union-Tribune reporter, has been dubbed the "San Diego crime queen." She is the author of five books, including "Poisoned Love," about "American Beauty" killer Kristin Rossum, and "Naked Addiction," a thriller with a San Diego backdrop.

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