The Case of the Vanishing Blonde : And Other True Crime Stories

**From Mark Bowden, a "master of narrative journalism" (__New York Times__), comes a true-crime collection both deeply chilling and impossible to put down.**Six captivating true-crime stories, spanning Mark Bowden's long and illustrious career, cover a variety of crimes complicated by extraordinary circumstances. Winner of a lifetime achievement award from International Thriller Writers, Bowden revisits insome of his most riveting stories and examines the effects of modern technology on the journalistic process.From a story of a campus rape at the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 that unleashed a moral debate over the nature of consent when drinking and drugs are involved to three cold cases featuring the inimitable Long Island private detective Ken Brennan and a startling investigation that reveals a murderer within the LAPD's ranks, shielded for twenty six years by officers keen to protect one of their own, these stories are the work of a masterful narrative journalist at work. Gripping true crime from a writer thecalls "an old pro." The #1 New York Times bestselling "master of narrative journalism" and author of Black Hawk Down presents a compelling collection of true crime stories ( New York Times ). Acclaimed investigative reporter Mark Bowden has ferreted out unbelievable-yet-true stories of wrongdoing, murder and mayhem for decades. His illustrious body of work has won him a lifetime achievement award from the International Thriller Writers organization, and a reputation as "a Woodward that outdoes even Woodward" (Malcom Gladwell, New Yorker ). The Case of the Vanishing Blonde collects six of Bowden's most riveting stories—accounts spanning four decades of fascinating characters and unsettling tales to illustrate all manner of crimes and the ways technology has progressively altered criminal investigation. From a 1983 story of a University of Pennsylvania campus rape that sparked a national debate over the nature of consent, to three cold cases featuring the inimitable Long Island private detective Ken Brennan and a startling investigation into a murderer deep within the LAPD's ranks—shielded for twenty six years by officers keen to protect one of their own—these stories are the work of a masterful narrative journalist. The #1 New York Times–bestselling “master of narrative journalism” and author of Black Hawk Down presents a compelling collection of true crime stories (The New York Times). Acclaimed investigative reporter Mark Bowden has ferreted out unbelievable-yet-true stories of wrongdoing, murder and mayhem for decades. His illustrious body of work has won him a lifetime achievement award from the International Thriller Writers organization, and a reputation as “a Woodward that outdoes even Woodward” (Malcom Gladwell, The New Yorker). The Case of the Vanishing Blonde collects six of Bowden's most riveting stories—accounts spanning four decades of fascinating characters and unsettling tales to illustrate all manner of crimes and the ways technology has progressively altered criminal investigation. From a 1983 story of a University of Pennsylvania campus rape that sparked a national debate over the nature of consent, to three cold cases featuring the inimitable Long Island private detective Ken Brennan and a startling investigation into a murderer deep within the LAPD's ranks—shielded for twenty six years by officers keen to protect one of their own—these stories are the work of a masterful narrative journalist. From Mark Bowden, a "master of narrative journalism" ( New York Times ), comes a true-crime collection both deeply chilling and impossible to put down. Six captivating true-crime stories, spanning Mark Bowden's long and illustrious career, cover a variety of crimes complicated by extraordinary circumstances. Winner of a lifetime achievement award from International Thriller Writers, Bowden revisits in The Case of the Vanishing Blonde some of his most riveting stories and examines the effects of modern technology on the journalistic process. From a story of a campus rape at the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 that unleashed a moral debate over the nature of consent when drinking and drugs are involved to three cold cases featuring the inimitable Long Island private detective Ken Brennan and a startling investigation that reveals a murderer within the LAPD's ranks, shielded for twenty six years by officers keen to protect one of their own, these stories are the work of a masterful narrative journalist at work. Gripping true crime from a writer the Washington Post calls "an old pro." "Throughout his long and illustrious career, Mark Bowden has written about crime and was recognized in 2010 with a lifetime achievement award by the International Thriller Writers organization. The Case of the Vanishing Blonde collects six of his most riveting pieces-accounts spanning four decades of searing characters and unsettling tales to illustrate all manner of crimes and the ways technology has progressively altered criminal investigation. From a 1983 story of a campus rape at the University of Pennsylvania that unleashed a debate over the nature of consent when drinking and drugs are involved, to three cold cases featuring the inimitable Long Island private detective Ken Brennan and a startling investigation into a murderer deep within the LAPD's ranks, shielded for twenty-six years by officers keen to protect one of their own, these stories are the work of a masterful narrative journalist at work-gripping true crime from a writer the Washington Post calls "an old pro.""-- Provided by publisher