The Most Dangerous Animal of All

An explosive and historic book of true crime and an emotionally powerful and revelatory memoir of a man whose ten-year search for his biological father leads to a chilling discovery: His father is one of the most notorious-and still at large-serial killers. Soon after his birthmother contacted him for the first time at the age of thirty-nine, adoptee Gary L. Stewart decided to search for his biological father. It was a quest that would lead him to a horrifying truth and force him to reconsider everything he thought he knew about himself and his world. Written with award-winning author and journalist Susan D. Mustafa, The Most Dangerous Animal of All tells the story of Stewart’s decade-long hunt for his father following a complex trail of startling twists and connections. Combing through government records and news reports and through conversations with his father’s relatives and friends, Stewart turns up a host of clues, including forensic evidence, identifying his father as one of the most infamous and still-wanted serial killers in history. Mustafa and Stewart construct a chilling psychological profile of Stewart’s father, raise disturbing questions about law enforcement-what they know and what they’ve suppressed-and present overwhelming evidence that should force relevant authorities to review the status of the case. Throughout, Stewart’s pressing need to know the truth about his parents and himself drives the narrative to its climactic discovery.