The auhtor details the horrific murder of two young women in 1996 while on a week long backpackiing trip in a Virginia national park. She interviews many friends and family of the two and also many of the investigators involved at the time. Also researched the many other solved an unsolved crimes over the years in the area. ( )

Fieldnotes:
Shenandoah National Park, 1996

2 Experienced Outdoorswomen
1 Golden Retriever Mix
1 Backcountry Camping Site
Unsolved Double Murder

1 Unlikely Suspect
1 Potential Other Suspect
Inadequate DNA Testing
Understaffing
Hate Crime Legislation

The Short Version:
I generally find myself unsatisfied by True Crime, especially those around unsolved cases. Generally, these are unsettling and if a potential suspect is flagged, I can't help but be concerned about libel and consequences of armchair detectives ruining peoples' lives based on their own pet theories. Miles does present an alternative suspect in the case, and her reasoning is fairly convincing - but, of course, we only have the information she chooses to present on those points.

I found this story overall less frustrating because of its wider and also more personal focus - it is about Julie Williams and Lollie Winans as a couple and outdoorswomen - as real people, but it also is a memoir of how the author approached and reacted to the case, how she linked it to her own experiences with assault and the outdoors and the emotional toll the reporting took on her and her relationships. It is the story of understaffed and inadequately policed national parks, politically influenced prosecutions, public relations, overlooked evidence, and the fear women and marginalized communities feel that keeps them from embracing "The Great Outdoors". An interesting discussion - and seems somewhat less ghoulish than many true crime works. ( )

As a woman who spends a LOT of time on public lands, both state and federal, I found this book extremely interesting and somewhat frightening at times. It should be required reading for all individuals working for the Department of the Interior, especially rangers--both interpretive and law enforcement. ( )

Trailed: One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles is a 2022 Algonquin Books publication.

This is very good examination, not only of the double murder of Julie Williams and Lollie Winans, but of other murders in our National Parks and the implications of crimes against women, possible hate crimes, and the process of the investigations, which led to what is most likely an erroneous suspect, and resulted in an unsolved double murder case.

This is a different approach to true crime, as the author doesn’t just outline the case, investigations, etc., in the traditional manner we normally find in true crime books. This book also doubles as a commentary about how women are often the targets of crimes in a wilderness environment. The study includes the possibility that some of these crimes might be motivated by hate, especially considering that Julie and Lollie were a lesbian couple.

Based on the evidence presented here, the one and only suspect for the investigators, is most likely not the doer. There is, though, some strong evidence that the real murderer was a known sexual deviant, but has since died by suicide.

Miles's findings weren’t welcomed by those who worked the case, as it would indicate they got it wrong or didn’t to a very good job with the investigation.

It would appear that women- from all walks of life- are at risk when in a wilderness environment- not from wildlife or the forces of nature, but from human predators.

Sadly, some women will forego or give up entirely on enjoying the full, invigorating pleasures of our National Parks because they don’t feel safe.

This is a recurring theme in the book, but at times, the author tended to spend more time on this topic than was absolutely necessary and I would have preferred to have more balance with the criminal elements, which I feel are required for any true crime book.

While backpacking and ‘roughing it’ in the wilderness is a place one might feel they could let their guard down and be more aware of the natural surroundings, such as wildlife, and survival measures, sadly, there is no place women, no matter their sexuality or race, can fully relax against the possibility of an attack, sexual or otherwise, especially considering that men are usually the predominant population in this specific landscape.

Overall, this book has been yet another example of shoddy, tunnel vision like investigations, and is also a study of crimes against women, while examining the challenges of solving crimes committed in National Parks or wilderness areas.

True crime readers will want to check this out. It is not only a riveting crime saga- it is as thought provoking as it is disturbing.

4 stars ( )

I vaguely remember the killing of two young women on the Appalachian Trail in 1996. Julie Williams and Lollie Winans were brutally murdered while backpacking in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. It got a lot of news headlines in the beginning of the investigation but it disappeared from the headlines when it wasn't quickly solved and became a cold case. Kathryn Miles went on a quest to learn more about the murders and to try to solve the case. Along the way, she found some shoddy work done by the FBI and local police that ended up accusing the wrong person of the crime. He was arrested but they never had formal charges and they let him out of prison. He was only considered a person of interest.

Both women were skilled backpackers who had met - and fallen in love at an outdoor program for women. As the FBI case followed leads, the case became a cold case. In 2002, the federal government decided to prosecute this case as a hate crime due to the women's sexuality. They decide to try Darrell David Rice and planned to use the death penalty on this crime. Two years later, the case was suspended due to lack of information that supported Rice as the killer.

The author got deeply involved in the case and talked to the FBI and the local authorities and followed up on many of their leads and met with the two women's family and friends. The further she got into the case, the more aware she became of cover-ups, incompetence, and crime-scene sloppiness. The information she gathered did not point to Rice as the murderer and she named the person that her research pointed to.

I don't read a lot of non-fiction because it's usually boring to me. This book was not boring. In fact, it was difficult to put down. It read more like a CSI program than an accumulation of data and the author did a fantastic job of letting us see Julie and Lollie and what their lives could have been had they not been murdered.

Thanks to the publisher Algonquin Book for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. ( )