American Predator is about the investigation surrounding Israel Keyes, an Anchorage resident who had killed a local teenager and disposed of her body. While in custody, Anchorage police officers and FBI agents make the horrifying discovery that Keyes is a serial murderer who has killed from one coast of the US to the other, and who kills not simply a "type" of person, but anyone he fancies, be it man, woman or child. If Keyes had not committed suicide while in custody, goodness knows how many crimes he would have admitted to.

The book isn't just about crime, it's about the criminal himself. This recounting brings me closer to the mind of a serial killer than I am comfortable being. Keyes talked about his motives, his victim selection, the pleasure he took and the rush he felt while harming others. The author used tapes of Keyes' interrogations to build up a profile of Keyes - intelligent, sociopathic, meticulous, evil. He was intelligent enough to know how to rape and murder without leaving a trace of DNA or any other physical clues.

There were a few points in this book that crossed the line for me, and I have suffered revulsion and a loss of appetite because of it. I wanted details, but not that many, and not that grisly. That is not the fault of the author - she discloses what she knows fully and with a man like Keyes her knowledge is going to make deeply uncomfortable listening at times. My biggest mistake was looking for a particular photo online - it was easy to Google it, and I found what I was looking for. I've spent days having nightmares because of that photo. I can't unsee it. This book is not for the weak.

I didn't like the narrator, and really never got used to her voice. She was robotic, except when she was attempting to speak in Keyes' voice, which was appallingly done. I would have given this audio book five stars were it not for the poor narration.

Bottom line: very well-researched, very full story, insightful, interesting, horrifying. Listeners require a strong stomach, a brain that doesn't imagine all the scenarios in the book, and no curiosity about photos of the cases. Don't Google anything; you don't want to see where that road takes you. ( )

A terrifying look into the life of Israel Keyes, his victims, and the way that he was ultimately captured.

All I know is that I will never go to a coffee kiosk in Anchorage, Alaska ... ever. ( )

I've never heard of this guy? And he killed people all over the country and maybe all over the world? This should have been a really chilling, terrible story, but it was told very drily and all after the capture of the killer. It's still very readable because of the slow unraveling of details during the investigation. I wish the incompetence and corruption of the Anchorage police and prison were covered more, that seemed like a really important detail tacked on in the last pages. So while this is no I'll Be Gone in the Dark, it's still a great true crime chronicling. ( )

American Predator (2019) by Maureen Callahan. This is a true life telling of “The hunt for the most meticulous serial killer of the 21st century.” Author describes Israel Keyes and law enforcement's bungling of his case and she tells it in a most neutral way. The story was horrifying and one wonders what or when it could happen to someone we know. ( )

For as much as I was anticipating this book I was not impressed with it. Israel Keyes was certainly a very disturbed individual but he played law enforcement the whole way through. He made a lot of demands to protect his identity for the "sake of his daughter" but in return law enforcement essentially got nothing. The prosecutor played the case extremely poorly and careless but no one could stop him. Considering this took place in the 21st century one would think this kind of carelessness would not have been allowed to continue. I'm glad I read it (I guess) but I would not recommend it to anyone. ( )