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Hellbound on His Trail is a true crime book that I had very little knowledge about regarding the hunt for the assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I listened to Hellbound on His Trail on audiobook and it is narrated superbly by the author, Hampton Sides.

Incredibly rich in detail about Dr. King, Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, Lyndon Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover, and many other leaders during the Civil Rights Movement. The primary focus of the book is the investigation and search for the person(s) who killed Dr. King while he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. While listening to the audiobook, I kept visualizing the famous photograph where Black leaders were pointing to where the shots were fired.

I had no idea that James Earl Ray went by many different aliases, and that he was able to travel to several states and countries before being captured. Technology has made a huge difference over the past 40+ years, and it's easier to share information across states, countries, and agencies.

One aspect of the story that stood out for me was that the American public was told that the potential suspect drove a white Mustang with Alabama license plates and was believed to be heading to Mexico. In Atlanta, a woman became concerned because a white Mustang with Alabama license plates had been parked in front of her home for five days without any activity. Her grandson noticed a Turista decal from Mexico was on the vehicle.

The woman called the Atlanta FBI, and they discounted her phone call. Some of this was due to the 3,000 active FBI agents chasing down many leads across the US and being frustrated that most leads were not valid. The FBI directed her to call the stolen vehicle department of the Atlanta police. She called them and gave the license plate number. The police indicated the car was not stolen and did not appear interested in the car. Later, the car became highly critical in the investigation.

Hampton Sides has hit it out of the park with his masterful writing style and deeply researched book.

Highly recommend!