She draws on his letters to her to great effect in providing not just a page-turning account of the hunt for Rudolph, but, more important, a look into the 'remarkable and frightening mind' of a man who, after finally pleading guilty to avoid the death penalty, remained proud of his murderous actions.
Vollers, a National Book Award finalist for Ghosts of Mississippi, was for reasons Rudolph never made clear the only journalist he consented to communicate with (in writing only) while he was awaiting trial. Eric Rudolph, who in 19 set off deadly bombs in Atlanta and Birmingham at two abortion clinics, a gay bar and at Olympic Centennial Park was both reviled as a terrorist and celebrated as a folk hero when he evaded the largest manhunt in FBI history for five years.
