The Idaho four : an American tragedy / James Patterson and Vicky Ward.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

#1 New York Times bestseller!



"A vivid portrait ... a sensitive tribute ... a paean to youth, community, and the tenacity of local law enforcement." -- New York Times



"This is much more than a true crime book. It's a vivid exploration of the range of human response when faceless terror strikes. It's a portrait of America in this polarized moment." -- Town & Country



The Idaho Four, an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, chronicles the story that began on November 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. In the dark early hours, the lives of four friends and college students were cut short by unspeakable violence. The book--now featuring a newly reported conclusion--is an exploration of a complex criminal investigation and its devastating aftermath. It is a timeless portrait of the worst and best in us.



"Clearest profile yet of the twisted quadruple killer and his motives." -- New York Post



"Perhaps the definitive account of the murders--a disturbing, necessary portrait of a killer and his victims." -- Guardian

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Kirkus Book Review

Account of the notorious murder of four University of Idaho students in 2022. Patterson, that industrial-strength writer, adopts a sort of semi-noir tone in this true-life procedural, opening when news of the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin reaches the chief of police of Moscow, Idaho: "And again he presses harder on the gas. One good thing about being the police chief is that no one is likely to arrest him for speeding." The murders, committed with a military-grade fixed-blade knife, were grisly enough, but the clues were relatively few. There was a reason for that: Bryan Kohberger, who admitted to the killings in July 2025, had been a graduate student in criminology at nearby Washington State University; as an undergraduate, he had learned the art of criminal profiling, how murders are investigated, and what weapons are usually employed ("Typically…white men choose knives"). Kohberger, by all accounts, was a psychological mess with an inflated sense of self-worth and the certainty that women "must spot his looks, his intelligence, and they must want him." Writes Patterson, "They don't." This occasions a discussion of "incels"--involuntary celibates--and their purported place "at the heart of rising gender-based violence." Kohberger was one such incel, well known in school for insulting female students and making them feel threatened, so much so that he was removed from his teaching assistantship, likely a step toward expulsion. The best part of this meandering book is Patterson's description of the courtroom maneuvering of Kohberger's defense attorney, a skilled litigator whose client, as part of a plea deal, will be spared the death penalty. An assembly-line book that doesn't add much to what can easily be found online. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.