James Patterson is teaming with journalist and author Vicky Ward to write a true crime book about the slayings of four University of Idaho students last November, Deadline reports.
The book is a relatively rare foray into nonfiction for Patterson, best known as an hyperprolific novelist and the creator of the detective character Alex Cross.
The book will recount the brutal stabbing deaths of the students in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022. The killings shocked the nation, with police failing to identify a suspect or motive in the case for several weeks.
Last December, police arrested a 28-year-old graduate student, Bryan Christopher Kohberger, in connection with the killings. He was indicted last week on four counts of first-degree murder, which in Idaho is punishable by life in prison or the death penalty.
Ward, an investigative reporter, is the author of three previous books, The Devil’s Casino, The Liar’s Ball, and Kushner, Inc.
Publisher Little, Brown, which has not yet announced a title or release date, said the authors will attend Kohberger’s trial and make use of exclusive interviews in the book.
“They will go beyond the headlines to tell the highly detailed story of this complex and horrific crime, while honoring the victims in a compassionate portrait of the lives the four lived before being tragically cut short,” the publisher told Deadline.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
