American Predator by Maureen Callahan

The police and FBI had never seen a killer like Israel Keyes.  Most of their tried and true procedures just didn't work when tracking someone like him.  Keyes killed indiscriminately across the United States and possibly Canada.  He killed young, old, male, female.  He didn't kill anyone he knew; he just randomly found someone when he decided it was time to hunt.  Keyes had been serious about killing for years.  He traveled extensively and buried kill caches across many states, and then might not return for years.  The caches held things like guns, restraints, money, etc.  Those who knew him in Anchorage, Alaska, where he lived the longest, had no idea of his hidden side.  He was a contractor who did meticulous work to perfecting standards.  Even more strange, he had a young daughter who was the most important person in the world to him.

Keyes was raised in various extremist religious cults and many suspected abuse of the ten children in his family although none was ever proved.  He joined the military to perfect his killing ability and was well regarded there.  He lived on an Indian reservation for several years then moved to Alaska.  He was caught after one of his only sloppy kills.  He abducted and killed a young woman in Anchorage, Samantha Koenig.  He was caught when he started using her debit card while traveling in Texas.

Although he confessed the first interview to Koenig's murder, the FBI and police personnel interviewing him knew he had many more stories to tell.  Keyes wanted to be in control of the interviews and his main requirement was that those in charge help him get an early death penalty; he did not want to stay in jail the rest of his life and expose his daughter to the publicity his crimes  would create.  He eventually confessed to killing a couple in New Hampshire and hinted at many other kills before he decided those in charge weren't taking his requirements seriously.  He killed himself before telling everything that police had hoped to get.  Police have tied him to at least eleven murders and expect that there are many more they don't know about and now never will.  He is unique in his skill and coldblooded approach to killing.  This book is recommended for readers of true crime.