American Predator

Archival Summary & Scope

American Predator, the instant New York Times Bestseller, delves into the chilling true story of Israel Keyes—a serial killer so cunning he remained largely unknown, even as the FBI described him as "unprecedented" and a "force of pure evil." For fourteen years, Keyes systematically buried "kill kits" (cash, weapons, and disposal tools) across the United States. He would then fly to a random city, rent a car, and drive thousands of miles to use his cached tools, abducting and murdering victims in mere hours before returning to his quiet life as an Alaskan construction worker.

Journalist Maureen Callahan spent years investigating how Keyes evaded capture for over a decade. Drawing on classified FBI files and extensive interviews, this gripping account uncovers the full scope of Keyes's monstrous, random crimes, the painstaking hunt to catch him, and what his terrifying existence reveals about the limitations of law enforcement and the lasting mystery of his many unsolved cases.