The Windowman

When a notorious LA serial killer disappears after being released on appeal, triggering a nationwide manhunt that will thrill fans of Elmore Leonard and James Ellroy.

The media attention surrounding “the Windowman” Carlos Carlos’ use of black magic in a series of bloody home invasions draws true crime fanatics in droves. He was supposed to be off the streets forever. But when overzealous prosecutors bungle his case and he vanishes, three unreliable narratives intertwine.

Plucky schoolteacher Annabelle Picolini has spent years building a rapport with Carlos over visitations at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. Ambitious prosecutor Harlan Crumb is haunted by the belief that he owes his success to a spell from one of Carlos’s books. Struggling method actor Blaire Belmont moves into a seedy downtown hotel to study Carlos for a role. All three spiral to the edge of sanity when their fascination with the infamous murderer takes hold. 

The Windowman, a propulsive mystery, plumbs the depths of obsession and examines the culture of true crime. | Christopher Goffard is a journalist, novelist, screenwriter and podcaster. A Los Angeles native, he graduated from Cornell University. His 2007 novel Snitch Jacket was a finalist for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel. At the Los Angeles Times, where he is a staff writer, he was part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize in Public Service in 2011 for a series exposing corruption in the city of Bell. He has twice been a Pulitzer finalist for feature writing, as well as the winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Award. His work appeared in the Best American Newspaper Narratives anthology five years in a row.