Bringing Adam Home - by Les Standiford & Joe Matthews (Paperback)

About the Book

"Bringing Adam Home" is the definitive account of the horrifying abduction and murder of Adam Walsh--which, like the Lindbergh kidnapping 50 years earlier, captured public attention--and its aftermath, a true story of tragedy, love, faith, and dedication.

Book Synopsis

"Les Standiford's account of the decades-long attempt to solve the murder of Adam Walsh is chilling, heartbreaking, hopeful, and as relentlessly suspenseful as anything I've ever read. A triumph in every way."
--Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River

"The most significant missing child case since the Lindbergh's....A taut, compelling and often touching book about a long march to justice."
--Scott Turow, author of Presumed Innocent

The abduction that changed America forever, the 1981 kidnapping and murder of six-year-old Adam Walsh--son of John Walsh, host of the Fox TV series America's Most Wanted--in Hollywood, Florida, was a crime that went unsolved for a quarter of a century. Bringing Adam Home by author Les Standiford is a harrowing account of the terrible crime and its dramatic consequences, the emotional story of a father and mother's efforts to seek justice and resolve the loss of their child, and a compelling portrait of Miami Beach Homicide Detective Joe Matthews, whose unwavering dedication brought the Adam Walsh case to its resolution.

From the Back Cover

Before Adam Walsh there were no faces on milk cartons, no Amber Alerts, no federal databases of crimes against children. His abduction and murder--unsolved for more than a quarter of a century--forever changed America.

Shocked by Adam's murder and the inability of the police and FBI to find his killer, Adam's parents, Revé and John Walsh--who would go on to create America's Most Wanted--became advocates for the transformation of law enforcement's response to and handling of such cases.

Bringing Adam Home is the definitive account of this horrifying crime and its aftermath, a true story of tragedy, love, faith, and dedication. It reveals the pain and tenacity of a family determined to find justice, the failed police work that allowed a killer to remain uncharged, and the relentless efforts of one cop who accomplished what an entire legal system could not. As harrowing as In Cold Blood, yet ultimately uplifting, Bringing Adam Home is the riveting story of a triumph of justice and the enduring power of love.

Review Quotes

"Novelist Les Standiford and former Miami Beach police detective Joe Matthews combine forces to provide the definitive account of Adam's death...[a] well-written and well-told book...Readers willing to confront the horrifying nature of this crime will come away...with a solid understanding of why it took so long to solve and where the investigation went terribly astray." - Washington Post
"[A] heartbreaking story of incompetent police and determined parents... Novelist and nonfiction author Les Standiford does a masterful job of re-creation, reporting and research... readers will be haunted by the maladroit investigation and the added anguish this caused the Walshes." - Los Angeles Times
"Standiford and Matthews relate Matthews' quest skillfully... Hoffman and some of his police colleagues are portrayed as so venal and incompetent that deep breaths might be in order among some readers who implicitly trust detectives. Another warning: Much of the text is gruesome and so, so sad. Reading the book near bedtime could be inimical to sound sleep." - Dallas Morning News
"Standiford and Matthews relate Matthews' quest skillfully." - Dallas Morning News
"[M]ystery writer Les Standiford, in collaboration with Detective Sgt. Joe Matthews, has written a riveting and page-turning account of this heart-wrenching story." - BookReporter.com
"[A] page turner...hopeful and heartbreaking, Bringing Adam Home is tough to forget." - People
"Bringing Adam Home is compelling. It is a measure both of Standiford's skill and his humanity that a reader who picks up the book will be unable to set it aside before turning the final page. Standiford skips no fact, avoids no avenue of inquiry, fears no wrong-headed and officious law enforcement officer. The Adam Walsh case was sensational if ever a case was. Yet, Standiford never stoops to sensationalism: He writes with a restraint that will leave readers -- and other writers -- marveling, wondering how he did it. Even a person of tender sensibilities will find this book not only palatable, but impossible to put down." - Daily Jeffersonian (OH)
"Compelling, bittersweet... ably fleshes out the difficult yet familiar story with style, pathos and relevant historical detail." - Miami Herald
"A riveting, harrowing, tautly suspenseful book that reads like a crime novel...but is all the more chilling for being fact, not fiction." - St. Petersburg Times
"Intertwined with this true-crime chronicle is the important story of how Adam's abduction turned his parents into powerful advocates for crime victims and how law enforcement agencies across the country changed their response to missing children cases." - Orlando Home and Leisure
"Standiford does not bend facts for the sake of art, and his writing is not self-consciously literary. He spills out the narrative in a precise, matter-of-fact style - a wise choice for a story laced with so much heartbreak, gore and perversion...Bringing Adam Home is one of the finest true-crime books since Thomas Thompson's Blood and Money...This remarkable story will bring readers to tears of grief - and rage." - Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers
"Bringing Adam Home is one of the finest true-crime books since Thomas Thompson's Blood and Money...This remarkable story will bring readers to tears of grief - and rage." - Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers
"[A] heartbreaking story of incompetent police and determined parents... Novelist and nonfiction author Les Standiford does a masterful job of re-creation, reporting and research... This is not an easy book to read... The author spares no gruesome detail, and readers will be haunted by the maladroit investigation and the added anguish this caused the Walshes." - Los Angeles Times