Fire in the Desert: The True Story of the Craig Titus-Kelly Ryan Murder Mystery

by Glenn Puit

On the morning of 14 December 2005, Las Vegas police and firefighters were called to the desert outside of Las Vegas. A 2003 Jaguar was in flames, and inside the trunk of the vehicle was the badly... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1932173749
• ISBN13: 9781932173741
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Stephens Pr Llc
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

author (Puit) truly is "the King of True Crime books"

what makes this and several other Puit books resonate so strongly (for me) is that they are set in Las Vegas, where he mastered his craft as a newspaper journalist covering the local crime stories. And Las Vegas has a way of drawing out the "larger than life" aspects of all human behaviour, both good and bad. In this book "Fire in the Desert", the aspirations and character flaws of the victim & the perps are laid out by Puit in close adherence to the facts supporting each side of the story, yet it "reads well" & flows smoothly....He lets the reader "be the judge", as you gather up the relevant evidence in your mind & reconstruct the crime in an inductive (not deductive) process. Puit knows Las Vegas & its effects on people, and he puts into books the driving forces and motivations that are changing the directions and magnitudes of his characters' lives. So, by the time you're done reading, you can analyze their motives and choices, much like an engineer does a vector summation analysis on a bridge construction. Buy the book !

Wrote this book prior to a jury verdict

Mr. Puit is a very thorough journalist and a great writer, however many attorneys in Las Vegas felt that his book was premature because a jury had not yet decided the case. However, the information provided in the book gives the reader the sense that a guilty verdict is inevitable. As in Mr. Puit's other book "Witch" he leaves some questions open for the reader to decide. In this book, we are left to ponder whether both the Husband and the Wife are responsible for the murder or whether the Husband is more culpable and the wife merely a pawn of her Husband's will.

Fire in the Desert

Very, very well written book. My son grew up with and hung out with Craig. My kids claimed that Craig was cocky and arrogant but I never saw any of this. He was a good kid. However, after reading this book, I became firmly convinced that success brings out the worst in some people. His downfall can be roughly compared to the careers of Denny McLain and Mike Tyson. As a Born Again Christian, I pray for Craig and Kelly often. I feel like one of my own kids has, "bit the dust".

Unbiased, Straight Facts

Fire in the Desert is a great pre-trial book of the events that caught the medias attention with two professional body-builders. Glenn Puit does not fill the readers head with his bias or his spin on things, but rather gives a straight up account of all known events that led to the death of Mellisa James. It is a great guide for all true crime lovers especially those interested in watching the trial on court tv.

A FANTASTIC pre-trial book

I bought and read this book because I think Glenn Puit's first book (Witch) was fantastic and because he's a talented reporter for a major Las Vegas newspaper. While other true crime pre-trial books are presented in a way that gives the reader an idea where the author stands, and many true crime pre-trial books read like a post-trial / conviction book, Fire in the Desert is just the facts with portions of actual transcripts and other factual information gathered so that the reader can form his own conclusion. Readers get a glimpse into what the jury is in for. It truly is a handbook for the trial. It's also presented in a way that allows the reader to ponder how he or she might present the case in the role of prosecutor or defense attorney. It's a real page turner too. One of those books that was hard for me to put down because I wanted to know what comes next. The binding and the actual pages are very nice quality. There are fantastic color pictures inside too. Can't wait for the post-trial book by Glenn Puit.