In 2023, while in London for the filming of an adaptation of his book 'Say Nothing', journalist Patrick Radden Keefe was approached with a story about an unsolved 1995 murder. The case involved the death of 19-year-old Suzanne Bombardier in Antioch, California.
Keefe's subsequent investigation, detailed in his 2024 book 'The Snakehead', explores a complex web involving a gangster, a fraudulent inheritance claim, and the long-standing mystery. The central figure is Sister Ping, a notorious human smuggler, whose criminal network is tied to the events.
The book examines how Bombardier's death remained unsolved for decades, highlighting failures in the initial investigation and the tangled motives of those involved. Keefe's work reconstructs the case through court documents, interviews, and police records.
Published by Doubleday, 'The Snakehead' continues Keefe's focus on intricate true crime and investigative journalism, following his acclaimed works on the Troubles and the Sackler family.
