Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder: The True Story

by Steve Hodel

A New York Times Bestseller! For viewers of the hit Series I Am the Night and fans of the Root of Evil Podcast, the book that finally revealed the shocking identity of the Black Dahlia Killer—and the Police Corruption That Concealed It for So Long

In 1947, the brutal, sadistic murder of a beautiful young woman named Elizabeth Short led to the largest manhunt in LA history. The killer teased and taunted the police and public for weeks, but his identity stayed a mystery, and the murder remained the most tantalizing unsolved case of the last century, until this book revealed the bizarre solution.

Steve Hodel, a retired LAPD detective, took up the case, reviewing the original evidence and records as well as those of a separate grand jury investigation into a series of murders of single women in LA at the time. The prime suspect had in fact been identified, but never indicted. Why? And who was he?

In an account that will remind movie lovers of both LA Confidential and Zodiac, for the corruption it exposes and the insight it offers into a serial killer's mind, Hodel demonstrates that there was a massive police cover-up. Even more shocking, he proves that the murderer, a true-life Jekyll and Hyde who was a highly respected member of society by day and a psychopathic killer by night, was his own father.

This edition of the book includes new findings and photographs added after the original publication, together with a new postscript by the author.