Since the death of Elvis Presley on music journalist Alanna Nash’s birthday in 1977, her life has been intertwined with the spirit of the King of Rock ’n’ Roll.

Nash, the author of five other books, has been covering the story of Elvis and his notorious manager, Colonel Tom Parker, since Presley’s funeral. She was the first journalist to view Presley’s body. But it was the sight of Parker at the funeral in a Hawaiian shirt and ball cap that particularly intrigued Nash and led her to interview the mysterious, complex King-maker several times.

In her latest page-turner, Nash once again enters the shadowy, clandestine life of Presley.

Nash plays part biographer, part detective, and part psychoanalyst as she expertly reveals the curious stranglehold Colonel Parker had on Presley. Nash lays out compelling evidence about Parker’s dark, dangerous secret, the mystery that drove every bad decision Parker made about Presley’s career.

The Colonel is a riveting book jam-packed with astonishing evidence about “the greatest carny con man of them all.” One doesn’t have to be an Elvis fan to love this story.