In 1971, a skyjacker with a briefcase bomb demanded a $200,000 ransom and a parachute. Then he vanished out the jet’s back door and became an instant legend. Now a determined citizen sleuth has assembled a forty-member cold case team, spearheaded by former FBI agents, to solve the mystery of D. B. Cooper. And after a five-year quest, they believe they have succeeded—with a fugitive at trail’s end. The team’s relentless investigation and final confrontation with the mystery man serve as the bookends in The Last Master Outlaw. The subject’s astonishing life story as a daredevil fills the remaining chapters, the bulk of which comes from the heartwarming, gut-wrenching accounts of six of his women—two former wives; his only sister; a befriended college coed; a “getaway gal” he met up with during two more FBI escapes, both again involving planes; and a Hollywood producer who was also his cocaine-trade partner. Buckle your seatbelts as this Jekyll-and-Hyde ladies’ man travels through five countries, utilizing more than a dozen identities, wigs, and fake mustaches while engaging in a half-dozen careers and raising three families. Then be a witness as the cornered chameleon is forced to face the truth in front of the cameras of a dogged cold case team, which was armed and ready for any eventuality.
Thomas J. Colbert is a former senior media executive with thirty-six years of management and editorial experience in the national news, television entertainment, publishing, and motion-picture fields. He began his career in journalism research at the CBS flagship news station, KCBS, in 1980. From there he was recruited by Paramount Television in 1988 to be a story editor. In 1992, Colbert launched his own true-story research company, Industry R&D (IRD), to serve national networks, studios, and publishing houses. Nineteen of his breaking stories became movies for the big and small screen, with a like number of published books. He sold IRD in 2009 but still pursues the occasional book, movie, and series project through his firm, TJC Consulting, LLC.
Tom Szollosi is a veteran writer for episodic television and movies with over thirty-five years of experience. His television credits include work on shows such as The Incredible Hulk, Quincy, M.E., The A-Team, Hardcastle and McCormick, Hunter, Star Trek:Voyager, The Outer Limits, Amazing Stories, and many more. Feature films include Three O'clock High, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, and Bone Daddy. He has written four novels, The Proving, The Space He Filled, Dead Set on Tuesday, and the forthcoming Treachery. He is a clinical assistant professor of screenwriting at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
