Sidetracked: The Betrayal and Murder of Anna Kithcart

By: Richard T. Cahill Jr.

Narrated by: John N. Gully

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

As the sun rises over the quiet city of Kingston, New York, on July 12, 1988, a local transient discovers the remains of 19-year-old Anna Kithcart. She was strangled and beaten to death, with the letters "KKK" carved into her thighs.

While her heartbroken family mourns, and the police work around the clock to uncover the truth, the investigation is complicated by the entrance of the Reverend Al Sharpton who insists that a racist killer is responsible. As investigators struggle to find evidence, Sharpton and his supporters denounce the entire area as a "Klan den" and make public pronouncements that a "racist cult" is operating throughout the area.

Then, as if things can't get any worse, the transient who found the body confesses to an unspeakable sexual act against the corpse. Almost immediately after the media reports his alleged depravity, he changes his story and accuses the police of making him a patsy and a scapegoat. To add to the expanding circus, he tells the world he is really an undercover agent for the CIA, FBI, and Interpol.

Only solving the crime can quell the chaos that threatens to ignite a powder keg of racial tension and get past the rumors to catch the real killer. But can investigators overcome the outside forces that repeatedly sidetrack their efforts? Find out in this great new true crime from Richard T. Cahill, the author of Hauptmann’s Ladder.

©2017 WildBlue Press (P)2018 WildBlue Press

Chilling True Crime Story!÷

This is a sad, chilling true crime story of a psychologically disturbed man. If you enjoy true crime stories then I’m sure you will be enthralled by this one.

Loved it.

This type of thing I like to see on tv, so I have a visual of the place and the people involved. However, I found this book just as good.

The narrator I believe suited this type of book and I would be happy to listen to his other works.

I thought the author set out the facts in a organised way. He did not give his point of view untill the end.

I would recommend this to those who like to hear about real life murders.

True Crime meets Small Town USA

Interesting true crime story from a Small Town that intrigues you from the beginning to the end.

A horrifying murder

Takes you down a dark sordid path into a grisly murder. Good narration. Lots of details and facts. A few spots were slow but I still found the book interesting and pulled me through to the end.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Great courtroom drama!

Well-written and researched story by Richard T. Cahill Jr. Held my attention throughout!

John N. Gully did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life. Great voice!

I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Keep Anna's Memory Alive

The author walks us down the path of Anna's un-innocent life as well as death and how she was betrayed, as well as the citizens of New York, into thinking it was someone from the KKK that had killed her, when in fact, it was a black on black crime, by an individual with a rap sheet a mile long. What a disgrace! Glad to see that he will not being getting out of prison, this time to commit anymore crimes.

I love the way the author gives a play by play of the investigation and the events that happened in the court room, almost seems as if I was there to witness this trial myself.




I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Blow by Blow of Trial, Not much about Anna

Anna Kithcart was a 19-year-old bi-racial teenager savagely murdered in 1988. Her body was found on a set of railroad tracks with the letters "KKK" carved into her legs. Absolutely tragic!

Anna's death came shortly after the scandal surrounding accusations made by an African American teenager (Ms. Bromley) that she was assaulted in a racially motivated attack. Social and political figures like the Rev. Al Sharpton joined the fight for justice. However, a grand-jury later found that the teenager made up the events of her assault and made false accusations.

There's a line in the book that said the focus of the trial/investigation shifted from the loss of a wonderful young woman to the men accused of murdering her and the political storm carried over from the Bromley scandal. Unfortunately, the author does the same thing.

When I read the description of this book, I thought I'd get to know Anna as an individual. I wanted to read interviews with her family and friends, stories about her life, to get a glimpse of who she was. I thought there would be a thoughtful analysis of how national attention to the Bromley scandal helped or hurt Anna's case. Instead, the author devotes a short section about her last days alive. Then, the book is a blow by blow description of the arrest and trial of her attacker (Mr. Dawson). I know more about Mr. Dawson's lawyer than I do about Anna.

That being said, the book is very well written. The narration really stands out.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Great True Crime Story

Sidetracked: The Betrayal and Murder of Anna Kithcart was a good read by Richard T. Cahill Jr. In 1988 the remains of a 19 year old Anna Kithcart are discovered in Kingston, NY. She was beaten, strangled and had the letters "kkk" carved into her thighs. The local police investigate the murder but things get complicated when Al Sharpton insists that a racist killer is on the loose. I enjoyed reading this true crime story.

A Good True Crime Book

A really good listen if you like true crime. As a fan of the genre I can say this was intriguing and interesting, and having listened to all of it I am not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the man convicted was guilty.
The performance of John N Gully is good and keeps you listening through some of the drier evidence.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.