A review by imyourmausoleum
Trails of Death: The True Story of National Forest Serial Killer Gary Hilton by Fred Rosen

informative medium-paced

3.0

 Gary Michael Hilton was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1946. Hilton claimed to have a rough, traumatic childhood; however details are scare and hard to prove. He served in the Army as a paratrooper but faced an honorable discharge in 1967 following a schizophrenic episode. He had some minor offenses on his criminal record before being captured for multiple murders: drug offenses and drunk driving. Hilton worked a series of odd jobs, before finding employment with John Tabor. That relationship came to an end after repeated threats, acts of violence, laziness, and asking for money beyond what he earned. Hilton began targeting hikers in attempts to gain access to their ATM cards. He killed John and Irene Bryant, Cheryl Dunlap, and Meredith Emerson. He is also suspected in the murders of Patrice Endres, Jason Knapp, Michael Louis, Rossana Milani, and Judy Smith-all found in National Parks. Eventually, Hilton's former employer, John Tabor, was able to identify him for police.

This case was featured on a Dateline episode, which prompted me to get this book. It was also featured on Wild Crime: Blood Mountain on Hulu. This book was full on information about this person and this case. I have only read one other book by this author, so I wasn't sure if this would be equally well done as some of the other crime writers I have read. It was well researched and factually written-without the sensationalism of some other true crime books. Decent read.