Weber to visit NYM Library on Thursday 

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

The New York Mills Public Library will be hosting a thrilling presentation by author Frank F. Weber, who will be speaking about his newest book, “Scandal of Vandals.” 

The book is based on a true crime case in the Twin Cities centered around an attorney accused of hiring a hitman to kill his wife.

Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide, sexual assault and domestic abuse cases. He uses his knowledge of criminal cases, victim trauma and how predators think to craft his true crime novels. He was the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from MN Psychological Association and received the President’s Award from the Minnesota Correctional Association for his forensic work.

Alongside the presentation, Weber will be demonstrating a lie detector test and answer questions about his forensic work including what Hollywood gets right and wrong about his career field.

“Our patrons love his books,” said Library Director Julie Adams. “His presentations are very engaging. Stories from his work as a Forensic Psychologist are fascinating.”

This will be Weber’s second time presenting at the NY Mills Library, which is another outlet for his work, one which he enjoys returning to.

“In general, I love presenting,” said Weber. “This is the best part of my work. I interview people who have committed homicide, sexual assault and domestic assault. I testify as an expert witness on highly contested cases. Getting to relax and explain forensic work is the fun part.”

Weber said that the modern-day lie detector test (or polygraph examination) is run on a laptop computer, no longer with ink running across paper like the TV shows like to pretend. He will also be bringing in the metal version from 1955, called the “deceptograph” to showcase.

“In the polygraph you establish a baseline of heart rate, breathing and galvanic skin response (sweat),” said Weber. “When people lie, they are forced to create a thought that isn’t reality, and that changes their physiology slightly. This is what we will be looking for—the aberration from normal in the charts.”

Weber’s motivating factor for his work is the process of working through the mysteries of each case. He is driven by the desire to understand the motivation behind behavior—both good and bad—to find the root of the case. He hopes to share this with those who come to watch and learn from his presentation.

“I want people to feel the desire to solve mysteries and understand others,” he said. “I also want to share that writing can be a blast and we all know people who would be good characters for stories. I have an advantage a lot of authors don’t have in that I’ve interviewed killers and rapists, and I’ve counseled victims through their trauma.”

“I know how they think and can write about it,” he continued. “At the same time, I write about the mystery, rather than the gore. I agree with Alfred Hitchcock’s perspective that the tension is the anticipation, not the gore.”

Weber said that his books are based on less popular crimes which makes for a better chance that the reader has not already heard the solution to the crime. This way, the audience is able to work through the clues themselves in anticipation of the final reveal.

The event will take place on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. and the NY Mills Public Library and is free and open to the public with preregistration encouraged at (218) 385-2436. Weber’s books will be available for purchase.