For fans of True Detective and Making A Murderer, The Killing Season is a true crime saga, the story of a double murder that went unsolved for more than 35 years, and a chilling portrait of a small town upended by unimaginable violence.
In the summer of 1975, the sprawling valley town of Grand Junction, Colorado, is stunned by the grisly double murders of 24-year-old Linda Benson and her baby daughter Kelley. For Jim Fromm and Doug Rushing, the two young detectives assigned to the case, the investigation is a chance to earn their stripes and prove their mettle. At first, Fromm and Rushing peg the woman’s mercurial husband, a pipe-fitter who works outside of town, as the primary suspect. But as their case against Steve Benson unravels, the detectives find themselves short on leads – and running out of time. With the city on edge and anxious for answers, a notorious serial killer goes on the lam, and yet another young woman and her children turn up dead.
In The Killing Season, acclaimed journalist Alex French traces the story of the Benson murders from the night Linda and Kelley’s bodies are found strewn across their second floor apartment, to an improbable discovery, made more than 30 years later, that enabled a new breed of detectives to crack the case and bring closure to those who’d watched justice slip away. Writing in taut, atmospheric prose, French has crafted a heart-pounding tale of tragedy, resilience, and redemption – set against the burning-red vistas of the American Southwest.
Alex French is a freelance journalist. His reportage and oral histories have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, BuzzReads, GQ, New York Magazine, Grantland, This American Life, and a variety of other venues. He lives in Monmouth County, New Jersey, with his wife and two children.
Gripping and tense and very profound Loved this portrait of a small town upended amidst the rich context and water colors of ’70s Colorado. Eerie and compelling.
A great testimonial to justice being served! I began reading this police story late in the day, and finished it in one sitting! A long sitting to be sure, however after reading of the murders and the clues and the suspects, one could hardly leave this young woman and her three year old unattended while detectives rigorously combed the clues for the perpetrator of this heinous crime. I stayed in attendance until 35 years later, when the culprit was found. Although the clues seemed plentiful in today’s police procedurals, DNA was not yet…
Captivating True Crime Read Engrossing, detail-rich and eminently readable, The Killing Season has the style and near-swagger of detective fiction and the factual precision and discipline of long form journalism. French takes care to present each player as a real and complex individual, not merely an archetype. A gripping true-crime read, revealing up until the end and reverberating beyond.