M. William Phelps is an accomplished American author, television host, and investigative journalist, who is best known for his true crime books. Phelps has been called the "Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers" and is the co-host of the Investigation Discovery series Dark Minds, along with criminal profiler John Kelly.
In addition to his work on Dark Minds, Phelps is a highly sought-after pundit and has made over 100 media-related television appearances on shows such as The Early Show, The Today Show, The View, Fox & Friends, truTV, Discovery Channel, Fox News Channel, Good Morning America, TLC, BIO, History, Oxygen, and OWN. He has also written for numerous publications, including the Providence Journal, Connecticut Magazine, and Hartford Courant.
Phelps is also a member of the Multidisciplinary Collaborative on Sexual Crime and Violence (MCSCV), also known as the Atypical Homicide Research Group (AHRG) at Northeastern University. He is a regular and recurring expert on the long-running series Deadly Women and Snapped, and is known as "the nation’s leading authority on the mind of the female murderer" by Radio America.
Beyond his work in true crime, Phelps has also written several history books, including the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling NATHAN HALE: The Life and Death of America’s First Spy, THE DEVIL’S ROOMING HOUSE, THE DEVIL’S RIGHT HAND, MURDER, NEW ENGLAND, and more. He is also the creator, executive producer, and host of the #1 hit Apple/iHeart podcasts PAPER GHOSTS and CROSSING THE LINE WITH M. WILLIAM PHELPS. Phelps is a highly sought-after expert and speaker for his extensive knowledge regarding historic and contemporary serial killers-and the psychology shaping the mind of the murderer. He grew up in East Hartford, Connecticut, and now lives just north of Hartford, in Tolland County. In July 2017, Phelps published his definitive, 5-year project with Happy Face Killer, DANGEROUS GROUND: My Friendship with a Serial Killer.