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The Idaho four : an American tragedy
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2025
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Author Notes
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women's Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson . He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Vicky Ward is a New York Times bestselling author, a magazine columnist, and an investigative reporter. She is the author of the bestselling books The Liar's Ball, The Devil's Casino, and Kushner, Inc. The Idaho Four is her first book with James Patterson. Read her Substack newsletter, "Vicky Ward Investigates," at vickywardinvestigates.com.

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Kirkus 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.
Summary
Instant #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



"A mesmerizing read and a great detective story, yet sadly all true...With their book The Idaho Four , James Patterson and Vicky Ward have written perhaps the definitive account of the murders--a disturbing, necessary portrait of a killer and his victims." -- Guardian



"New revelations...James Patterson and Vicky Ward reveal new details and attempt to lift the veil of secrecy that has shrouded the Idaho college murders case for more than two years." -- Good Morning America



"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



"A lot of brand-new reporting. Clears up a number of mysteries." -- Morning Joe



The murders of four innocent college students attending the University of Idaho left us all with so many questions. Now, after more than 300 interviews, James Patterson and prize-winning journalist Vicky Ward finally have the answers.



We know what it was like to live in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022, the day of the cold-blooded killings. We know what the local police and FBI did right. And what they did wrong. We've learned so much about the four heartbroken families--the Mogens, Goncalveses, Kernodles, and Chapins. And we have the backstory for Bryan Kohberger, brilliant grad student, loner, apparent incel.



Now you are the jury. The evidence is in.



You've watched the Prime documentary, One Night in Idaho , now read the "clearest profile yet of the twisted quadruple killer and his motives" ( New York Post ).
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