January 1994. Seven bodies. No clues. Three men in a room. A maverick cop, a criminal psychiatrist, an American anthropologist. Where to go from here?This is the extraordinary story of how fate conspired against seven young backpackers on the threshold of their lives; of a dysfunctional family and how it raised a serial killer; and of the rough and tumble world of the NSW police - the good, the bad and the downright incompetent - and how they finally pieced the puzzle together. Veteran television reporter and journalist, Neil Mercer, has researched the tragic and horrifying backpacker case for the past three years, interviewing hundreds of people and reconstructing a sequence of events still largely unknown to the Australian public. This is a compelling and revealing story written with insight and care.THE AUTHOR:Neil Mercer is currently working as a reporter on Channel 7's WITNESS. Previously he has hosted Today Tonight, and produced Four Corners and Sixty Minutes. He made a documentary about the backpacker murders for Channel 7 which outrated Sixty Minutes on the night it went to air. It has since been nominated for various awards. Neil lives in Sydney with his wife, journalist Rebecca La Tourneau.SALES POINTS:* Neil Mercer will receive coverage by virtue of the fact he is well connected within the media* The first serious account of these major crimes* Far more than a typical true crime book. * Extremely newsworthy material in book which will cause controversy* Press already asking for extracts* Neil is a brilliant front person and spokesman for the book