When the Night Comes Falling by Howard Blum

When the Night Comes Falling

A Requiem for the Idaho Student Murders

Howard Blum

HarperCollins · Print & ebook · July 1, 2025

Instant New York Times Bestseller “Compelling. . . .

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Who it’s for
A grim, focused true-crime read with a classroom-ready angle and sustained narrative momentum.
Themes
true crime, murder investigation, college tragedy
Pacing
Steady

Nearest books

Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved. Most of these share its genre: Murder & Homicide.

  1. While Idaho SleptJ. Reuben Appelman, Gary Bennett78% matchAlso shares Mass Murder Cases
  2. The Idaho FourJames Patterson, Vicky Ward79% match
  3. Above SuspicionJoe Sharkey61% match
  4. American PredatorMaureen Callahan, Amy Landon60% match
  5. A Serial Killer's DaughterKerri Rawson, Devon O'day56% match
  6. If You TellGregg Olsen54% match
  7. Black DahliaWilliam J Mann60% match
  8. Presumed InnocentScott Turow58% match

For younger readers: Girl on Trial, She's Gone, All These Bodies

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About this book

Instant New York Times Bestseller “Compelling. . . . Blum capably maintains the suspense and thoughtfully probes into the motives of key players in this intriguing yet profoundly unsettling story.”—Kirkus Reviews From the bestselling author of The Spy Who Knew Too Much and American Lightning comes the definitive account of the Idaho student murders—an updated paperback edition in time for the long-anticipated trial.

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Timed for a trial that will capture national attention, When the Night Comes Falling examines the mysterious murders of the four University of Idaho students. Having covered this case from its start, Edgar award winning investigative reporter Howard Blum takes readers behind the scenes of the police manhunt that eventually led to suspected killer, Bryan Christopher Kohberger, and uncovered larger, lurid questions within this unthinkable tragedy. Reminiscent of the panoramic portraiture of In Cold Blood and The Executioner’s Song, When the Night Comes Falling offers a suspenseful, richly detailed narrative that will have readers transfixed.

Dark Case Notes

A grim, focused true-crime read with a classroom-ready angle and sustained narrative momentum.

Come here for

  • true-crime severity, college-campus unease
  • Howard Blum’s tightly paced crime framing

Expect

  • mass-murder case context
  • serial-killer-adjacent dread, handled straight

Where it sits

Murder & Homicide59%
Mass Murder Cases18%
Forensics17%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Criminals & Outlaws
  • 21st-Century America
  • Western U.S. History
  • Criminal Law
Show all 8 publisher categories
  • Criminology
  • Violence in Society
  • Murder & Homicide
  • Forensics
Authors
Howard Blum
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
July 1, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
true crime · murder investigation · college tragedy
Reading lane
Criminals & Outlaws