Author Diane Fanning to sign ‘Scandal in the Secret City’ books at AMSE

Author Diane Fanning will sign copies of her latest novel “Scandal in the Secret City” on Saturday at the American Museum of Science and Energy.

Fanning will be the museum, located at 300 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, December 6.

Here is more information from an AMSE press release:

Eastern Tennessee is an area filled with the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains, clear creeks, and vibrant cities like Knoxville and Chattanooga. In 1942, the U.S. government selected a rural area between the ridges to create the “Secret City” (what is now Oak Ridge). The location was quickly built to develop materials for the Manhattan Project and the purification of uranium for use in the bomb that eventually fell on Hiroshima.

The population rose from around 3,000 to 75,000 by 1945 as workers were recruited for employment not knowing what the specifics of their jobs would be, and not knowing where they were going. Known as the “Secret City,” Oak Ridge never appeared on any maps, hidden in plain view from the rest of the world.

Libby Clark, the main character in Fanning’s “Scandal in the Secret City,” is one of the government-hired chemists for the secret operations at Oak Ridge. Clark embarks on a mission to do her part to end the war and avenge the death of her cousin at Pearl Harbor. Clark is an idealistic, yet strong character, the only female chemist in the secret operation.

In true Fanning style, Clark is caught up in solving a murder mystery when authorities refuse to properly investigate the dead body of her roommate’s sister. Searching for truth and justice is Clark’s underlying mission as she also struggles with the hardships of a woman living and working within the confines of World War II-era issues. Strong-willed and highly educated, Clark feels like a stranger in a strange world of secrets, but courageously grapples with doing the right thing.

Diane Fanning, best-selling author

Diane Fanning is one of America’s premier crime novelists and true crime authors. At the top of a genre that often gets a rap in the literary world, Fanning brings esteem, doing due diligence when presenting a criminal case in book format.

• Nominated for an Edgar Award by Mystery Writers of America
• Received the Defenders of the Innocent award from the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project for her part in exonerating a woman wrongfully convicted of murdering her son. (Written about in Diane’s book, “Through the Window”)
• Appeared on The Today Show, 48 Hours, 20/20, The BBC, The Biography Channel, E!, Justice with Judge Jeanine, Forensic Files, Deadly Women, Behind Mansion Walls, Crime Stories, Snapped, Joy Behar Show, Nancy Grace, Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell and other programs
• Recently participated in the 100th episode of “Deadly Women,” the Lizzie Borden special

To learn more about Fanning and a complete list of her books, please visit her website.