A big thank you to narfna for this book in the book exchange!
I am a big wimp when it comes to horror movies, and can’t handle the idea of re-visiting my previous favorite Stephen King books- but I have a real penchant for true crime. I don’t know why I listen to true crime podcasts without an issue but have to sleep with my head under the covers for a week after thinking too long about Cujo or the garbage-disposal scene in Firestarter. It would make more sense if my fears were reversed and I could handle the fantasy-type stuff and was averse to the ACTUAL MURDERS THAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED, but here we are.
American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century is a doozy of a title and a doozy of a book. The author begins with the disappearance of Samantha Koenig, a teenager in Anchorage, Alaska. The story unfolds as Samantha’s family insists on more of an investigation that the police don’t seem interested in pursuing. When her disappearance stretches out and her bank account is being drained from the lower 48 states, a man is arrested in Texas and is found with her belongings. The man, Israel Keyes, is brought back to Anchorage (where he lives) for questioning.
Callahan documents the investigation of Keyes pretty extensively, based on interviews with FBI agents and contemporaneous reports. She documents the flaws in the interrogation and incarcation. Some of the people involved were unwilling to speak with her, and they come off poorly in her reporting. Keyes admitted to several murders and is suspected of a number more but was so careful with his methods that it is unlikely that the bodies will be recovered or traceable to Keyes.
This book is an interesting look in to the processes of interrogation of a maniac and to the mind of this awful man.