Cops Writing For Cops
When I started work on what would become Butcher, Baker — way back in 1984 — my co-author, Major Walter Gilmour, AST, set an extremely personal goal. He wanted the book to serve as a guidepost for other law enforcement agencies, especially those working seemingly intractable cases. It was, of course, a lofty ambition, one that I initially resisted. Too narrow, I thought.
But the truth of the matter was that Robert Hansen’s murders had gone unsolved for more than a decade. It was a dismal record, with failure stacked on failure. As one high-placed publishing executive put it — in rejecting an early version of Butcher, Baker — “These cops are like the Keystone Cops. They couldn’t solve this case if the solution was staring them in the face.” It was, however, a book just like Butcher, Baker that helped solve the case.
Welcome Librarians
The Open Road Editorial Team welcomes Overdrive — and all the librarians who subscribe. Who knows, maybe adding the Butcher, Baker ebook to your collection can help solve another perplexing homicide. Or more…
| ISBN13 | Title | Author | Promo Type | Ctry | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9781504041645 | Butcher, Baker | Gilmour/ Hale | Overdrive | US | 2026-11-18 | 2026-12-31 |
That police eventually solved the case of “The Missing Dancers” was, in part, because Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Glenn Flothe found a true-crime book that led him to crucial insights — insights that helped him crack the case. And, if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to quote a 1985 interview I conducted with Sgt. Flothe as he shared those revelations. He makes the point far better than I ever could:
Glenn Flothe: So I'm given the time to sit down and look at the case and I read the [Cindy] Paulson story. And after I read her statement – just from reading her statement – I’m thoroughly convinced that Hansen’s our guy...
In the meantime I started reading this book about a serial murderer in… Washington State, with [Ted Bundy]. And the book I read was The Only Living Witness. That was ironic because at the point that I found Paulson, the reason I picked up this book, was because I wanted to see what other investigators were doing in those books.
Glenn Flothe: And I'm at the point in that book where [Bundy's] in Colorado and he had dropped this gal from the shopping center and he's driving a Volkswagen... He's got her handcuffed in there and she escapes. And she's the one that fingers him for the Attempted Kidnapping that ultimately gets him in the slammer... Same time I get to that, I read the Paulson case, what happens to her? She's in handcuffs, escapes, attempted kidnapping and this time a rape on top of that. And I think, that could be the key that puts him in jail, so we can start collecting evidence against him on the murders.
Are there other parallels? I think so. I’m reminded of the Gilgo Beach murders. Did investigators read Butcher, Baker and spot excruciating similarities? The bodies buried along the beach? The sex workers prominent among them? The killer a seemingly upstanding member of the community? That profile eerily maps to serial killer Robert C. Hansen. Sure. Different state. Different era. But some things never change. And, no, there isn’t any evidence I’m aware of that says Butcher, Baker played a role. But…
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Copyright Leland E. Hale, 2026. All rights reserved.