Mayhem

In her book The Brothers, journalist Masha Gessen says questions still remaining about the Boston Marathon bombing case are: "Where were the bombs made? And what had been Tamerlan's relationship to the FBI?" Investigative reporter McPhee goes a long way toward answering these questions with revelations that will cast a spotlight on the US Government's relationship with the older brother, Tamerlan, as his younger brother, Dzhokar, returns to court this year in an effort to have his death sentence commuted.

The federal government may be forced to confirm a longstanding relationship with Tamerlan and its decision to shield him from investigation for the Sept. 11, 2011 ISIS-style triple murder of three friends with whom he trained and dealt drugs. As they infamously did with Whitey Bulger, federal agents appear to have protected Tamerlan because of his value to them as a paid informant against fellow Muslims. McPhee covered the bombing and the manhunt that followed for ABC-TV and has attended every hearing involving the case. MAYHEM is a DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED and SIGNIFICANTLY REVISED AND UPDATED first paperback version of her earlier book, Maximum Harm. A university press released released that book after being shut down, and so the book received minimal attention and support. Since then, McPhee's reporting has proven out again and again. This page-turning narrative will renew interest in and add an important chapter to an American tragedy.