NPC Headliners Book Event: Mark Bowden - "The Last Stone"

Mark Bowden, the author of 13 books including the bestselling “Black Hawk Down,” will discuss his newest book, “The Last Stone,” at a Headliners Book rap at 6:30 p.m. on June 24.

In “The Last Stone,” Bowden, who reported at the Philadelphia Inquirer for 20 years, returns to a 44-year-old crime that first captured his attention as a cub reporter at the now-defunct Baltimore News-American.

The Lyon sisters, ages 10 and 12, disappeared on March 25, 1975, from the Wheaton Plaza shopping mall. A massive police investigation found nothing and the case languished until 2013 when a cold case squad detective found a clue that other investigators had missed. The detective then turned his attention to Lloyd Welch, who was then in a prison for a child molestation conviction.

Bowden, in his signature narrative style, takes readers inside the interrogation of Welch, which lasted for 21 months, and explores Welch’s peculiar Appalachian clan. The New York Times called the book “a cat-and-mouse tale, told beautifully.”

This event will take place in the Club's conference rooms, and will feature a moderated discussion with the author, an audience question-and-answer session, and a book signing.

Tickets cost $5 for members of the National Press Club and $10 for non-members. When purchasing your tickets online, you will also have the option of buying a book. Books will be available for pick up and signing at the event. You may also purchase a copy of the book at the event. Proceeds from the book sales will benefit the National Press Club Journalism Institute, the non-profit affiliate of the Club, so the Institute asks that you leave all outside books at home.