“The Postcard Killings,” a gripping crime thriller that explores the dark underbelly of international crime, has left audiences intrigued and questioning the origins of its narrative. With its intense storyline and intricate plot twists, viewers are often left wondering whether the events depicted in the movie are based on true events or purely the product of creative fiction.
Is the Postcard Killings Based on a True Story?
The Postcard Killings isn't a true story. Despite the intense and realistic portrayal of crime scenes and police investigations, it's important to clarify that “The Postcard Killings” is a work of fiction and is based on a book co-authored by James Patterson and Liza Marklund.
The movie stars Famke Janssen and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Morgan plays a cop who is looking for the person who killed his daughter. The killer in The Postcard Killings takes the victims' blood and then puts their bodies in poses that look like famous works of art.
The killer also sends postcards to reporters in a certain city to let them know that more killings are coming.
The plot may sound like it's based on something real, but it's based on a crime book written by famous American author James Patterson and Swedish journalist and author Liza Marklund, who is best known for her crime novels.
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There was a serial killer named J. Frank Hickey was known as “The Postcard Killer,” but neither Patterson nor Marklund have said that they based their book on this real-life person. Hickey was one of the first known serial killers in the United States.
He kidnapped and killed a boy named Joey Joseph in New York and then started writing postcards to the police and Joey's parents telling them about his crimes. The purpose of these cards was to tease his pursuers, but they instead helped police catch him. He was later given a life term in prison (via The Buffalo News).