I would definitely recommend Art Harris’ series, even though he and I disagree about some of his major conclusions, and despite my feeling that his final entry about meeting the alive-and-well Adam Walsh is simply wacky. I wrote the following review of Art Harris’ book in 2013, and still mostly agree with it today, except for the part about leaning in favor of Toole as the killer. As it stands, there are too many question marks to favor any suspect:
“I recently had the opportunity to talk to Art Harris at some length about his outstanding work covering the Adam Walsh case -- work that goes back over 15 years and includes his two books as well as articles in the Miami Herald and other newspapers. Art is very gracious with his time, intensely knowledgeable, and eager to talk about and hear various ideas on the subject from knowledgeable and perceptive readers.
I conveyed to Art a few main points: first, as a former newspaper reporter myself, the quality and breadth of his research and reporting on this subject is just about jaw-dropping; second, in spite of his fine efforts, I don't think Jeffrey Dahmer killed Adam Walsh, though the reporting about Dahmer's presence in South Florida at the time of Adam Walsh's disappearance which he has done on his own as well as with David Smiley in The Herald has been extremely provocative, merits an award for journalism, and should have been followed up by the authorities; and lastly, the holes he has punched in the case against Ottis Toole as Adam's killer are grave and substantial. I make this last point as someone who still leans slightly in favor of Toole as the prime suspect in this case.
A couple of reader-related points: one of the compelling aspects of the Adam Walsh case is its extraordinary complexity. Art's work deals with that complexity as it exists. His books on the case are in-depth, detailed and about as exhaustive as is possible with a case as enigmatic and elusive as this one. If you want a glib, grand-standing, pseudo-literary treatment of the Adam Walsh case that glides over the case's innumerable inconsistencies in order to neatly nail the official perp to the wall, buy "Bringing Adam Home" instead. Art's books should be taken as a corrective to that authorized account.
That doesn't mean you have to agree with all of Art's conclusions or accept that all of the evidence he offers necessarily means what he argues it means. I don't. But I do appreciate and respect the integrity and quality of the work presented here.”