Edward Jay Epstein’s book on the Kennedy assassination Inquest: The Warren Commission and the Establishment of Truth was the first book on the case and an instant bestseller. After speaking to every member of the Warren Commission, Epstein concluded that enough remained uninvestigated that conspiracy theories would persist for years.

Ever since, Epstein has remained a skeptic --- and a dogged investigator. Writing for the New Yorker and Vanity Fair, he has reported on dozens of famous crimes. His books include a dissection of Lee Harvey Oswald’s ties to Soviet intelligence (Legend: The Secret World of Lee Harvey Oswald), an account of Nixon-era crimes (Agency of Fear), a widely-respected study of the CIA (Deception: The Invisible War Between the KGB & the CIA), and a study of surveillance tapes of Dominique Strauss-Kahn (Three Days in May).

His method is simple: outline what is known and unknown, and show the plausible theories of the case. Where more than one theory exists, he shows the evidence for and against each. And when something remains to be proved, he says as much. In The Annals of Unsolved Crime, Epstein collects his investigations and adds dozens of new cases. From the Lindbergh Kidnapping to the JonBenet Ramsey case, from the Lincoln assassination and the death of Simon Bolivar to the demise of Marilyn Monroe, Epstein considers more than two dozen high-profile crimes and  their tangled histories to prove himself one of the most penetrating journalist in America.