The terrifying true story of a woman at war with a violent stalker who eluded the police for years—until they found the truth in the last place anyone would have dared to look.

From 1977 to 1981, Ruth Finley, an ordinary wife and mother from Kansas, was tormented by an elusive maniac known as The Poet. The police, already on edge from BTK’s reign of terror, spent years searching for the stalker. Meanwhile, his cryptic letters in rhymed verse grew more disturbing and violent, spilling into deeds like stabbing and kidnapping.

In this propulsive nonfiction account, as Ruth is surveilled from all sides, her nightmare takes a chilling turn: the stalker is no stranger at all. It’s someone the police have been close to for years, someone nearer to home than Ruth dared to admit. The revelation recasts what seemed like a cruel twist of fate as something far more disturbing.

The Pursued is not just a gripping true-crime story. It’s also a darkly textured portrait of the deceptions that drive us and the explosive reckonings that occur when they finally tumble down.

Corey Mead is an associate professor of English at Baruch College, City University of New York. He is the author of four books, including The Hidden History of the White House and Angelic Music: The Story of Benjamin Franklin’s Glass Armonica. His work has appeared in Time, Salon, The Daily Beast, and numerous literary journals.