The Idaho Four, by James Patterson and Vicky Ward

The Book

James Patterson teamed up with true crime writer Vicky Ward to write the story of the investigation of the murders of The Idaho Four, the young people killed in November of 2022. The search for the killer, the conclusion and how it was derived that Bryan Kohberger was the main suspect. The book went to press, but not released before Kohberger allocuted to the crime. Kohberger is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. 

Patterson and Ward have written a character driven story, told in close third person, about the events surround and some the media and social media coverage of this story. To be fair, The Idaho Four has been the biggest true crime story of this decade so far. Partly because the crimes were so gruesome, partly because it was a quadruple homicide in the middle of a college campus. It seemed to be the type of crime, while sensational, would be more expected in the middle of a big city. Certainly it looked like there might be more work than the tiny police department of Moscow, Idaho could handle. 

Through exhaustive interviews with someone who is a main player, or who has been in close contact with a main player in the murder, investigation, media, prosecution, defense, and aftermath of the events, this book walks through the timeline from discovery of the murder through the indictment of Kohberger. A lot of work has been done to see if the movements of victims can be traced. There is a pretty good timeline of events the night before, and fairly good representation of what happened when they were discovered, and a really good representation of how everyone felt afterwards. 

My Thoughts

I'm a sometimes fan, some frustrated, James Patterson reader. I have never before read anything by Vicky Ward. This book, is thick, some 429 pages. It takes a very logical approach. 

I am not certain what Vicky Ward may have gained from teaming up with James Patterson, unless, it was his name which opened doors for her. Although I find that hard to believe. It may be, that she had so much information, she had problems organizing it. Patterson is famous for his ability to outline, and she is established enough that she would have no problems getting his attention. 

I know from having taken James Patterson's Master Class on fiction writing, that Patterson is a very logical and layered thinker. He does not solve all of his problems at once. He prefers to solve book problems at the outline stage, where at all possible. And I do know, that the outline is the place where he most frequently and thoroughly collaborates. He works hard to make sure his coauthor's voice is represented, he works hard to make them feel valued. The coauthor who was interviewed for the Master Class expressed her deep admiration for his outlines, saying they made her books easy to write. 

It's clear then, from what little might be gleaned from this process, that Patterson and his coauthor have 50-50 input into the outline. With Patterson's genius for story telling and layers adding depth and clarity to the story at this stage. Once done, Patterson allows the prose of his coauthor to pen the piece, and then he comes in and help fix any problems after the early drafts. 

This book then, is most likely to be the most thorough examination of this crime possible. It is deeply sympathetic to the victims, the investigators, and those in Kohberger's family who believe him innocent. It does go into how creepy people felt Kohberger's actions were. It does go into Kohberger's background, giving what might be expect to be the most deeply investigated account of Kohberger's personality. If we are to believe Kohberger is our killer, this book then provides us with most tantalizing clues as to what makes him tick. 

Worth every single page, if you're a true crime nerd for the personalities. A skip, if you want details of the crime scene, as not much detail is given in this book. 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

This book came to me from Evanston Public Library. This book arrived to me in like new condition. I am not certain how long it took for the backlog of readers to get through this book, as it was published July 14, 2025. (Ironically, this was the day I finished reading it.) But I was able to get it quickly. This is a first edition hard cover that should have many reads in front of it. The inside cover says the hard cover originally retailed for $32.50. That is the the number I will use. 

Library Books

This Book                                                          $32.50

Library Items Reviewed This Year                 $417.32

Private Books

This Book                                                          $0.00

Total of Private Books                                     $55.75

Total of All Items Reviewed This Year          $497.07

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