American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century

Maureen Callahan

Jul 2019 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

An Amazon “Best Book of 2019”
A Washington Post “10 Books To Read in July”
A Los Angeles Times “Seven Highly Anticipated Books for Summer Reading”
A USA Today “20 of the Season’s Hottest New Books”
A New York Post “25 Best Beach Reads of 2019 You Need to Pre-Order Now”
A Bustle “The Best New True Crime Books You Can Read Right Now”

“Maureen Callahan’s deft reporting and stylish writing have created one of the all-time-great serial-killer books: sensitive, chilling, and completely impossible to put down.” —Ada Calhoun, author of St. Marks Is Dead

Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. Jeffrey Dahmer. The names of notorious serial killers are usually well-known; they echo in the news and in public consciousness. But most people have never heard of Israel Keyes, one of the most ambitious and terrifying serial killers in modern history. The FBI considered his behavior unprecedented. Described by a prosecutor as "a force of pure evil," Keyes was a predator who struck all over the United States. He buried "kill kits"--cash, weapons, and body-disposal tools--in remote locations across the country. Over the course of fourteen years, Keyes would fly to a city, rent a car, and drive thousands of miles in order to use his kits. He would break into a stranger's house, abduct his victims in broad daylight, and kill and dispose of them in mere hours. And then he would return home to Alaska, resuming life as a quiet, reliable construction worker devoted to his only daughter.

When journalist Maureen Callahan first heard about Israel Keyes in 2012, she was captivated by how a killer of this magnitude could go undetected by law enforcement for over a decade. And so began a project that consumed her for the next several years--uncovering the true story behind how the FBI ultimately caught Israel Keyes, and trying to understand what it means for a killer like Keyes to exist. A killer who left a path of monstrous, randomly committed crimes in his wake--many of which remain unsolved to this day.

American Predator is the ambitious culmination of years of interviews with key figures in law enforcement and in Keyes's life, and research uncovered from classified FBI files. Callahan takes us on a journey into the chilling, nightmarish mind of a relentless killer, and to the limitations of traditional law enforcement.

Ratings and reviews

Good read. So many unanswered questions about this monster. However, the author makes a effort to try to paint a picture of Keyes by detailing his ubringing by his unusual and emotionally abusive nomadic parents that led their rather large family from one religious cult to another throughout the country. The book further explains how what a intelligent, motivated, psychotic human predator can do if willing to put in the time, travel and skills that a ordinary person would use to make life better for themselves and others. Let's hope humanity has seen the last of his kind.

Hmmm? I have read True Crime for well over 35-years and I have decided to write this review as I read. I have just finished chapter 3. There is a reason that I felt the need to already start writing this review. However, I also feel guilty because my review is not one of flying colors yet and I know this could change. But, I reasoned with myself that a review is supposed to come from a place of brutally honesty from the writer and why not start composing it as I read? Why not be a little different with my composition. From the very beginning I have felt that this author doesn't care too much for Samantha and her loved ones lifestyles. Or to be more precise the Koenigs "RUMORED" lifestyle. The only bad vibe I ever recieved from Duane Koenig was that he was at the lowest place that his life has ever went. Severe emotional despair. He wanted his child back, preferably alive but he would take her any way he could get her by this point, after two weeks of her missing. And if I am picking up on this I know many others have too. I feel it is extremely distasteful to attack a victim and her family even in the smallest of ways. Especially without proof. I also feel she is doing this attacking hiding behind the fact that most of the proof they led distatful lives come from rumors. And this author knows good and well that there will be all kinds of crazy rumors about cases of missing young women At the end of Chapter 3 this author felt it was necessary to write the sentences "Why would James take his time now?" " He was still begging for money on FaceBook." Why in the hell did she feel the need to word this the way she did? I hardly call it begging when Samantha's loved ones are desperate to get her back. They were doing the one thing that motivates human beings to get involved in an ugly situation like this one. The only way that working class people could even come up with a substanial amount of cash that would be needed to get people to act is to raise it. I am sure this author would never attack a family who was trying to raise enough money for a life saving surgery for their child. It made me believe it was a direct attack on Samanthas loved ones. From the very beginning of this book I was reading snippets of the distatse this authors holds for Samantha and her family. For instance, she starts out attacking Samantha herself, slowly. She wrote that it was rumoured Samantha was involved with drugs. And this sentence slowly evolved into she was using drugs. She was slick about this and that was the reason for the progression.

Even for "True Crime" fans like myself, this is one scary book. The killer who is the subject of this book is meticulous, dangerous, and banal. This makes for a terrifying serial killer. Callahan tells the story from end to beginning, the same way the killer framed his confessions. I found it to be a page turner, well written. The killer uses a combination of meticulous planning but random abductions. He confesses to his crimes in a very, matter-of-fact , way. He has the air of being a master craftsmen. I was impressed with the way Ms. Callahan was able to shape her story to her material. I believe that even those not normally readers of true crime, would enjoy this book. I recommend this book to anyone interested in taking a glimpse into the mind of pure evil.

About the author

Maureen Callahan is an award-winning investigative journalist, author, columnist, and commentator. She has covered everything from pop culture to politics. Her writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, New York, Spin, and the New York Post, where she is critic at large. She lives in New York.