Henry K. Lee’s Penguin paperback on Hans Reiser, “Presumed Dead: A True Life Murder Mystery,” will hit the bookstores on Tuesday, July 6.

He’s having a launch party at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 7, at a Great Good Place for Books, 6120 La Salle Ave. in Oakland’s Montclair district.

The 450-page book, complete with photos, details the bizarre case of the East Bay computer programmer who was charged with killing his beautiful Russian gynecologist wife, Nina Reiser, even though her body wasn’t found.

Lee, a veteran Chronicle reporter, covered the trial in print and online (his blog is at www.sfgate.com/ZBLS).

He says his book goes well beyond his coverage and gives readers an in-depth look at the fractured relationship between Hans and Nina Reiser, her mysterious disappearance, the anguish of her family and loved ones as they wondered where she was, the cat-and-mouse game between Hans and the Oakland police, his strange behavior (he spent the night in his car throughout the Bay Area and as far as Reno); his arrest, the six-month Alameda County Superior Court trial that took place even without Nina’s body, his first-degree murder conviction and, eventually, the stunning development when Hans led cops to Nina’s body in the Oakland hills — in exchange for a reduced sentence for second-degree murder. The book includes never-before-revealed details and an intimate look at all the players in this case.

Lee is also available for interviews about the book. His e-mail is hlee@sfchronicle.com and his Facebook page is www.facebook.com/henrykleefan.