Annette McGivney

There are three stories to the braid of this tale. The first is of the Japanese woman who was killed; her life in Japan; her travels to the American iconic southwestern national parks such as Arches, Bryce and the Grand Canyon, and her growing love for all things Native American.

The second thread is that of the murderer, Billy Wescogame, a Havasupai youth growing up in a broken family on a tiny reservation where drugs and alcohol were the chief forms of recreation. It's a fascinating look show more at the Havasupai tribe, living on their tiny reservation on the bottom of the Grand Canyon and the not-so-surprising wrongs inflicted on them and their culture. Author McGivney touches on how historical wrongs to a group of people can create a culture of disrespect and abuse, handed down through generations.

The third thread is that of the author, Annette McGivney.

As an editor of Outside magazine, McGivney clearly identifies with Tomoni's love of hiking and the west. Unfortunately, investigating the murderer's childhood, brought up McGivney's own buried memories of childhood abuse. Her breakdown as she investigates incidents that fall a bit too close for her psyche's comfort is intriguing, but is it a part of the story she sets out to tell? Many readers prefer than an author not insert herself into an investigative tale. Since I enjoy psychology, I found it interesting. Other readers may feel that the author's story takes away from the investigation of Tomoni and her murderer. show less

As the author is researching the murder of a Japanese tourist in Grand Canyon, she suffers a mental breakdown due to recovered memory of her childhood abuse. Struggling to make sense of her own suffering, the author pursues the story of the innocent woman murder in a foreign country by an abused young boy. Somehow, she finds a kinship with these two disparate people.

This is an intensely detailed, emotionally fraught combination of true crime and memoir. The sensitive topics are handled show more tenderly by a woman who has experienced great pain. A beautiful and very intimate book unlike any I've read before. show less

Too often the story of homocide victims go untold. In this book the journalist uses three viewpoints in an attempt to unwrap the cause of the murder of a Japanese tourist. The result is a combinaton murder mystery, social commentary, and memoir. The detail she includes is fascinating. The conclusions are not totally satisfactory, but such is life. McGivney reported a long piece on the homicide for Backpacker while working as the magazine’s Southwest editor and as a journalism professor at show more Northern Arizona University. show less