From the New York Times bestselling author of Zodiac, Auto Focus, and Black Fire.

Not since the infamous Zodiac Killer had the Bay Area lived under such a shadow.

THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA WAS ONCE AGAIN ON HIGH ALERT. - In 1979, the tranquility of Mt. Tamalpais was shattered by the grim discovery of the first recorded homicide in the history of its beautiful green slopes. Witnesses glimpsed a dark-haired figure with a hawklike profile stabbing a woman hiker to death. This mysterious figure, later dubbed the Trailside Killer, vanished as completely as if he had never been.

The many joggers, hikers, and nature lovers that usually frequented the popular mountainside . . . now stayed away in fear. Those that returned, did so with hesitation. Among them, a troubled, stuttering, ex-convict, strode the trails with a confidence that eluded him in daily life. Oddest of all, the stammering man was still listed on state computers as being in federal prison.

The search spanned the mountain, the sprawling nine surrounding counties, and ninety cities and towns of the Bay Area. The Trailside case would become one of the largest manhunts of the twentieth century, eventually involving the FBI, and the law enforcement agencies of Marin County, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Jose, and Daly City. The massive investigation made and smashed careers as lawmen pursued the killer in their long, frustrating search for justice that would include a pair of bloodstained glasses, an elusive .38-caliber revolver, a "mystery".44- caliber gun, a discarded knife, and a gold-yellow jacket-that all became pieces in an intricate puzzle.

Includes over 40+ images and Illustrations!