“As an archaeologist, historian, and now murder investigator, the intellectual curiosity of Richard Carrico has no limits. Well researched and written, his new work, as with all good mysteries, takes us into unknown territories and keeps us reading well into the dark night.” —GEORGE H. HARWOOD, Author and Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado

In 1931, San Diego’s idyllic image as a beach town with peaceful suburbs concealed a harrowing reality: a series of unsolved crimes targeting women, fueling fear and vulnerability. MONSTERS ON THE LOOSE tells the tragic and true stories of three women murdered early that year: Virginia Brooks, Louise Teuber, and Hazel Bradshaw.

Local law enforcement, out-of-town criminologists, and investigators from what would become the FBI pursued hundreds of leads. Statewide, newspapers covered every angle and clue and sometimes played a role in the investigations. Yet, the killer(s) were never identified and brought to justice.

In MONSTERS ON THE LOOSE, award-winning author and historian Richard L. Carrico pieces fragments of evidence together for three cold cases, shedding light on a dark chapter in San Diego’s history.

More than ninety years after the murders, Carrico emerges as an advocate for the victims, meticulously reconstructing their stories. Immersed in dusty files, long-forgotten oral histories, and newly discovered investigation records, his primary objective remains unwavering: to seek justice for the three young women. With no witnesses to the crimes, the significance of circumstantial evidence and speculation, both then and now, became paramount.

And he may have even solved one of the murders.