Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Annelie Geissler
Categories
True crime

IN LIGHT OF ALL DARKNESS

Kim Cross

Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America's Child

The shocking abduction of Polly Klaas from her own home almost 30 years ago struck fear in the heart of every family in America - and millions who followed the story around the world. A pivotal case, as significant to the FBI as the Unabomber, Oklahoma City Bombing, and attack on the World Trade Center, the investigation changed the Bureau - and the nation - forever.

Now, New York Times bestselling author Kim Cross immerses readers in a gripping, behind-the-scenes narrative, IN LIGHT OF ALL DARKNESS. With abundant new information, and a new cast of characters that will enthrall true crime, forensic science, and CSI fans, Cross has exclusive access to the compelling stories of principal agents making forensic history who have declined all other requests to contribute to a book. Here are details known only to deep insiders: the color of the new powder that picked up the abductor's palm print... the way the kidnapper wiped his mouth every time he lied. Cross herself has unique access to the murderer's confession tape, never publicly released, revealed here for the first time. Cross recreates the kidnapping, investigation, and consequences as no other account, TV show, or popular podcast could do. Polly Klaas's case "changed the course of history," said Greg Jacobs, the district attorney who prosecuted her kidnapper and murderer, Richard Allen Davis. It was the training ground for the people, methods, and procedures used to solve crimes today - not only kidnapping cases, but also sex trafficking, serial murders, and terrorist bombings. Speaking only to Cross, insiders discuss what they did right, and what went wrong, and how tragically close they came to rescuing Polly. Polly's legacy includes The Polly Klaas Foundation, a nonprofit founded by search volunteers, which supports the book and continues to work an average of 300 missing-child cases each year, helping families and law enforcement teams act quickly to respond to kidnappings. It has searched for nearly 10,000 missing kids with a 97 percent recovery rate. Polly's abduction led to the Three-Strikes law and informed the Amber Alert system now used in forty-eight states, responsible for saving 800 abducted children. Kim Cross is a New York Times best-selling author and journalist known for meticulously reported narrative nonfiction. A full-time freelance writer, she has bylines in Nieman Storyboard, Outside, Bicycling, Garden & Gun, CNN.com, ESPN.com, and USA Today. Her work has been recognized in "Best of" lists by the the New York Times, the Columbia Journalism Review, Best American Sports Writing, and others. What Stands in a Storm won the Fitzgerald Museum Literary Prize for Excellence in Writing and the American Society of Journalists and Authors nonfiction book award.

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Book Published 2023-10-03 by Grand Central

Comments

Although this is not a novel, the facts in this meticulous true crime report are as enthralling as they were in Capote's In Cold Blood, carrying the reader along and showing the emotional effects of the kidnapping and the investigation on everyone involved: family, friends, police.

In Light of All Darkness reveals the inner working of one of the most notorious - and consequential - kidnappings to have ever taken place. Writing with extraordinary care and compassion, in this classic account Kim Cross shows not only the crime and its impact on the victims, but how the Polly Klaas case forever changed the way such crimes are investigated by law enforcement and viewed by the American people and mass media. In Light of all Darkness is not just another 'true crime' title, but real and essential American history.

IN LIGHT OF ALL DARKNESS by Kim Cross is this year's winner of the Truman Capote Prize for Distinguished Work in Literary Non-Fiction or the Short Story.

Kim Cross has taken a story we thought we knew and shown so much more, a life beyond the headlines. I cut myself on parts of it, as the author put a human face - and spirit - on this great sadness, and the mystery that haunted us. It is written without adornment, but still rich in details. That is a hard thing to do.

...she effectively humanizes the victim and others involved in the case... A riveting tale that demonstrates the investigation's effect on solving cases even three decades later.

Cross' coverage is polished and respectful, with a clear expression of ideas and heartfelt but dispassionate reporting... Thoroughly informative and incredibly moving.

IN LIGHT OF ALL DARKNESS by Kim Cross is Nominated for the 2024 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime

One of the best true crime books out there. It shows the anguish and toll on the investigators and witnesses to a heinous crime. True-crime and public-affairs readers will devour this well-researched book. It's as good as the outstanding Unmasked by Paul Holes with Robin Gaby Fisher.

A terrifying story told with compassion, empathy, and insight. Meticulously researched, In Light of All Darkness illuminates a murder that stunned the nation and the complex forensic science used to solve the case. Try as I might, I couldn't turn these heart-thumping pages fast enough - and neither, I suspect, will you.