Trailed

"An account of the unsolved murder of two women in Shenandoah National Park, by a journalist with unprecedented access to all key elements of the case, and a story that reveals the challenges of wilderness forensics and the failures of our justice system"--

About the author

Kathryn Miles is the author of five books. Her essays and articles have appeared in publications including Audubon, Best American Essays, Best American Sports Writing, the Boston Globe, the New York Times, Outside, Politico, and Time. A contributing editor at Down East magazine, Miles also serves as a scholar-in-residence for the Maine Humanities Council and as a faculty member in several MFA programs. Her website is https://www.kathrynmiles.net.

 

Summary

A riveting, "beautifully written" deep dive into the unsolved murder of two free-spirited young women in the wilderness (John Grisham, #1 New York Times bestselling author), a journalist's obsession—and a new theory of who might have done it.​

Winner of the 2023 CrimeCon True Crime Book of the Year​ Award  

They must have been followed. That’s the thought I return to after all these years . . .
 
In May 1996, two skilled backcountry leaders, Lollie Winans and Julie Williams, entered Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park for a week-long backcountry camping trip. The free-spirited and remarkable young couple had met and fallen in love the previous summer while working at a world-renowned outdoor program for women. During their final days in the park, they descended the narrow remnants of a trail and pitched their tent in a hidden spot. After the pair didn’t return home as planned, park rangers found a scene of horror at their campsite, their tent slashed open, their beloved dog missing, and both women dead in their sleeping bags. The unsolved murders of Winans and Williams continue to haunt all who had encountered them or knew their story.

When award-winning journalist and outdoors expert Kathryn Miles begins looking into the case, she discovers conflicting evidence, mismatched timelines, and details that just don’t add up. With unprecedented access to crucial crime-scene forensics and key witnesses—and with a growing sense of both mission and obsession—she begins to uncover the truth. An innocent man, Miles is convinced, has been under suspicion for decades, while the true culprit is a known serial killer, if only authorities would take a closer look.

Intimate, page-turning, and brilliantly reported, Trailed is a love story and a call to justice—and a searching and urgent plea to make wilderness a safe space for women—destined to become a true crime classic.

 

Foreword

A riveting account of the infamous unsolved murder of two remarkable women in Shenandoah National Park, by a journalist with unprecedented access to all key elements of the case, and a story that reveals the challenges of wilderness forensics, the failures of our justice system, and offers an important examination of the lack of safety for women in our wild places.

Additional text

“In an outdoor atmosphere where women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ individuals are working hard for equal footing, Trailed explores the root of sexism and bigotry in the outdoor community and becomes a rallying cry for moving forward together.” 
—Jennifer Pharr Davis, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and author of The Pursuit of Endurance

“Beyond an illumination of the murders of two young queer women, this book is a deeply empathetic inquiry into who has the right to venture into the woods and to do so safely. Miles' book is nothing less than a parsing of the forces that have long stood between women and queer people and their physical freedom.” 
—Emma Copley Eisenberg, author of The Third Rainbow Girl

"Trailed is a beautiful story about a female journalist seeking clarity and life for two women she never knew, and looking to restore the wilderness as a place of healing and safety for all women in the process. An established backcountry hiker herself, Miles follows a serpentine trail of misogyny and the resilience and joy of women in spite of it. Trailed is also a love story. You will turn pages as fast as you can."
—Lacy Crawford, author of Notes on a Silencing

“A tragic story of young lovers, gone too soon. A #metoo reckoning, long overdue. A study of trauma’s ripple effects, extending for decades. Trailed is meticulously investigated, achingly intimate, and doggedly persistent in the pursuit of justice.” 
—Robert Kolker, bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road

“This is a sleepless night of a book, a toss-and-turn story about a double homicide near America's legendary footpath that wrestles with intimacy, anger, and our ideas of safety. We get the fascinating, uncomfortable opportunity to join an increasingly-obsessed journalist on her quest to puzzle out what happens when a wild and peaceful place is shattered by violence.” 
—Ben Montgomery, author of A Shot in the Moonlight and the New York Times bestselling Grandma Gatewood’s Walk

 

Product details

• Authors: Kathryn Miles, Miles Kathryn
• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.05.2022
• EAN: 9781616209094
• ISBN: 978-1-61620-909-4
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; True Crime, TRUE CRIME / General, TRUE CRIME / Sexual Assault, Sexual abuse & harassment, Sexual abuse and harassment, Active outdoor pursuits and activities