The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy

This book was pretty good!! I enjoyed reading it , especially for the short chapters, it made it easier to read. I also learned a lot of new information and insight from the victims friends & family and others who were directly impacted by this case that I had not heard / known before. I know like 300 interviews were done to write this book so I believe strongly that it’s the truth. There is , however , a bunch of information that I believe could’ve been left out and isn’t related to the case at all… just things about the city/ people that were unnecessary and boring. Also, the wording used throughout this book was a little odd and hard to understand but overall I liked it! I couldn’t put it down really

Sad but good book that was true to what happened

I wish James had waited a while to print the book. So much more was gleaned in the following year.

Really good

Patterson did a wonderful job of weaving facts and quotations into a story that honored the families and the process.Read this one in a day.Law enforcement is not perfect.The legal system is not perfect.Higher education administration does not receive training in how to respond to tragedies of this magnitude.Parents are perfect.These are underlying the narrative of this horrific event. This style should be used for more stories!

I could not put the book down. It was so sobering reading of such an infinite loss for the families and friends.

Well written great background an easy read a lot I didn’t know about this case Patterson had a nice way of writing

In depth overview of the tragic event.

Very well written. My true crime obsessed brain loved this inside take on the Idaho Four murders. It made me upset/angry how delayed the trial was, and I’ll be following along

The world watched and waited and wondered if Brush Kohberger would be convicted of taking the lives of four beautiful young people! James Patterson presented this horrific crime with such grace and dignity. I couldn't stop reading until the very end. And we all know what the end result is. If you followed this news story back in 2023/2024 you need to read this book to fill in the blanks!

I will start by saying that I am a huge huge James Patterson fan and generally love everything that he writes. I had seen the documentary on one of the main programs. I think maybe it was prime about the story and I was hoping to learn more in the book And more detail details. You didn’t really learn anything new in this book then you’ve been able to see all over the news or on every documentary. I wish that it had been written after the gag order was lifted so that you could’ve gotten more insight, more about the crime itself, and more in depth about all that had been hidden during The gag order timeframe. I also found there to be some odd random things in this book that it just didn’t need like the people who were running one of the Facebook groups and how they had a Tiff with each other I didn’t find that it added anything to the story whatsoever They weren’t really what the story was about. The one thing that did strike me is throughout the story I really really did not like the Goncalves family. I felt that they did more harm than good, I felt that they made it about themselves instead of the victims, and I just found no really good qualities that endeared me to them. On the flipside, I found Ethan‘s parents to be really amazing and I could only imagine what they continue to go through. in short, I just felt like a lot of this book was regurgitated from everything you could get by doing a search on the Internet, so it was a super letdown.

great author.. but wished he had waited until the trial was over and they released more information... gave a few thing I didn't know.. but for the most part.. with living in Idaho.. I already knew what was released at that time they wrote the book.. came in a timely manner

I had high hopes since I am a James Patterson fan. However, this book was somewhat disappointing. It may be that having already seen a lot in the news and the trial being pretty well closed with a plea deal that I knew too much already.

I don’t think it’s a must have if you have already followed the case from day 1 like I have. It is well written but I struggled to finish it. Nothing spectacular here but if ur not familiar with the case at all & love true crime I would recommend it but otherwise I could have skipped this one

This book was written by an established journalist with decent credentialsIt was fairly well sourced, especially the law enforcement portions of the book. It looks like the author did have good contacts, both with the FBI and the local police department that was in charge of the investigation.He was transparent in how he got his information and how he presented it on the written page, including those people he did not speak with, and how he was able to infer their thoughts and commentsThe book flowed very well and was easy to read and digestThere are two reasons I didn't give this a 4 star rating: 1) There were some blatant inaccuracies, particularly about what transpired, per the investigations documents, within the house on the night of the murders. One caveat to that is the investigatory documents from the Moscow police came out after his book was written (although there were reputable reportings at the time he apparently wrote it that ended up being very close to the police's conclusions). One example is the step by step timeline and details of what went down within the house itself (location of Ethan, etc). 2) The event itself was not very detailed at all. It was also not very long.If you are looking for more detail on what happened in the house itself, you can find that in the newly released (Aug. 2025) Moscow police documents and pictures.Overall, if you are not very versed in what happened, this would be a good book to pick up, as long as you are OK with little detail on the event itself.

I enjoyed reading this book. Simple writing style and easy to read language. Thus is where it lost a star. If chapters were arrange to tell about the Police action and their interface with other agencies in more depth and followed a pattern that followed the families in the same timeline would of helped the readers to comprehend the actions of all parties far better.It would have benefited if they had waited until the trial was completed. As it is, the book comes across as an attempt to "beat the others", for greater profit. Maybe, I'm just suspicious or just wanted greater depth of information.

This book went over so much of the case of the Idaho murders. A case that will be talked about and studied for many years to come.I am not sure how I feel about the author capitalizing on the tragedy of these families. I did find it very interesting to read more about the case and how they found. BG and arrested him. He was pretty smart but not smart enough.I feel like I got to know the 4 kids who died in such a tragic way and I liked how reading it was similar to a podcast.If you want to deep dive into this case, then give it a go.

This is the story of the murders of the four collegians which shook our country and the world. It took place recently in the tiny town of Moscow, Idaho. These young people were murdered together in one place, 1122 King’s Road, on one cold November night, by a faceless stranger. The stranger was eventually caught. His name is Bryan Kohberger.Essentially,he messed up while trying to commit his version of a perfect crime, and was arrested. It took many people days and days of hard work to effect his capture.I found this book very hard to read because it is so sad. I have lost a young son around Ethan’s age myself. It is the most painful thing that can happen to a parent. As I read the descriptions of the mothers and fathers who were affected by the sad events, I truly empathized. No matter who you are, I expect you will too.James Patterson and his co-author Vicky Ward did a great job describing the happenings moment by moment. You get to understand each student: Ethan, Xena, Maddie and Kaylee.After that comes the explanation of the murderer, Bryan Kohberger. He is filled with rage, according to the authors, and they explain why.If you wish to read about this tragedy, I recommend this specific book. A massive amount of research was done and it’s very well documented.

I read the book in a day. The flow is erratic but surprisingly logical and easy to follow, which is quite an achievement by the authors.If you're familiar with the case through other media, you won't find anything new in this book. However, it does provide insights from individuals directly connected to both the victims and the suspect, which is a new perspective for all of us.Overall, it's a well-crafted book that clearly required thousands of hours of interviews to compile. However, it occasionally reads more like an opinion piece at best and, at worst, a work of fiction. That’s not a great feeling to be left with, especially when you consider the sheer horror endured by the victims and their families.

Book Review: The Idaho Fourby James Patterson & Vicky WardGenre: True Crime | ⭐ 4/5A heartbreaking and respectful look at the real-life tragedy that shook the nation in 2022. Patterson steps into nonfiction to tell the story of Kaylee, Maddie, Xana, and Ethan—four college students whose lives were taken far too soon.This isn’t a sensationalist retelling. It’s a careful, compassionate tribute to the victims, their families, and the community of Moscow, Idaho. A true crime read that honors lives over headlines.📖 If you followed the case or love true crime that centers humanity, this one’s worth your time.