When the Night Comes Falling

July 15, 2024
Journalist Blum (The Spy Who Knew Too Much) expands on his Air Mail coverage of the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students in this mesmerizing true-crime account. Drawing on court documents and interviews, Blum reconstructs the early morning of November 13, when Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodel, Ethan Chapin, and Kaylee Goncalves were stabbed to death by a masked intruder in their off-campus apartment. Detectives arrested criminology student Bryan Kohberger after discovering security camera footage of his car at the scene, and Blum mounts a rigorous study of Kohberger’s troubled teenage years, pulling from lengthy conversations with his father. Blum also digs into the case’s many unanswered questions, including Kohberger’s motive, and why the victims’ neighbor refrained from calling 911 after seeing the assailant leave the apartment. The rigorous reporting is elevated by evocative prose (Goncalves’s grieving father “had become another victim, another innocent sucked down into the swirling vortex of the hostile, destructive force that had been set loose in the aftermath of that terrible November night”), though Kohberger’s upcoming trial means the narrative is necessarily incomplete. For now, however, Blum’s thorough account stands as the definitive chronicle of a shocking crime. Agent: Lynn Nesbit, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (June)Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly stated that the author covered the University of Idaho killings for the New York Times.

December 6, 2024

University of Idaho criminology student Bryan Kohberger stands accused of brutally stabbing four Idaho college students to death. Journalist Blum (The Spy Who Knew Too Much) presents an in-depth look at the life of this alleged killer, from his troubled teen years to the present. He also explores several other crimes connected by geography, circumstance, or the precedent they set for this case. Narrator Zac Aleman gives a somber performance of this chilling true crime tale. His presentation of the information, from forensics to family history, is approachable and easy to understand. Though Blum's website touts the book as "timed for a trial that will capture national attention," unexpected delays have the trial set for the summer of 2025. Because of the accompanying gag order and several other hurdles, Blum admittedly faced challenges in getting firsthand information about the case and those involved. These factors leave the narrative unresolved and, to an extent, unreliable. VERDICT This audio will appeal to listeners seeking a tense true crime about the Idaho student killings and several related cases. Recommended for fans of Shawn Cohen's College Girl, Missing and other contemporary crime nonfiction.--Lauren Hackert

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