Journal of the Dead - by Jason Kersten (Paperback)

From the Back Cover

I killed and buried my best friend today ...

When authorities found Raffi Kodikian -- barely alive -- four days after he and his friend David Coughlin became lost in Rattlesnake Canyon, they made a grim and shocking discovery. Kodikian freely admitted that he had stabbed Coughlin twice in the heart. Had there been a darker motive than mercy? And how could anyone, under any circumstances, kill his best friend?

Armed with the journal Kodikian and Coughlin carried into Rattle- snake Canyon, Jason Kersten re-creates in riveting detail those fateful days that led to the killing in an infamously unforgiving wilderness.

Review Quotes

Kersten's well-crafted narrative is light and briskly paced, replete with local desert color - Booklist
"A riveting story, a page turner, a book that I couldn't put down." - Lawrence Schiller, author of Perfect Murder, Perfect Town
"A true American tragedy, beautifully written." - Tony Hillerman, author of The Sinister Pig
"A brilliantly crafted exploration of a profoundly human mystery." - Victoria Bruce, author of No Apparent Danger
"A story that is inherently interesting." - Rocky Mountain News
"Deftly penned by Jason Kersten, a rising star in the journalism world ... resounding [and] unforgettable." - Denver Westword
"A taut, expertly researched true-crime narrative." - Boston Herald
"This book is so addictive, I advise not cracking it until you have enough time to read it straight through...Kersten...has a keen, almost noirish sense of suspense." - Time Out New York
"Addictive." - Time Out New York
"Fascinating" - Oregonian
"One of those rare books that the reader will be compelled to read in a single sitting...It's that good." - Tulsa World
"A powerful story ... one hell of a fascinating ride." - National Geographic Adventure
"A brilliant new book...in the great nonfiction tradition of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild." - Advertising Age
"Five stars. As tough to put down as Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild." - Maxim
"A gripping, readable tale" - Austin American-Statesman
"Wholly absorbing...Tells the story of Coughlin and Kodikian with quiet authority, lending unexpected dignity to the whole affair." - New York Times Book Review
"A fascinating case, a fascinating book." - Anderson Cooper, CNN