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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
This book provided an oft unseen glimpse into the investigative side of these cases that we often hear about. I may have enjoyed the book more if he had omitted the bits about his personal life. I found them a little distracting; they made his family seem like an afterthought and made Holes come off as self-centered.
I wanted to love this but I wanted more about his cases and less about his personal life.
Part Memoir part true crime novel, Paul Holes takes the reader on a deeper dive into some of his most famous cases such as The Golden State Killer and Laci Peterson as well as some of the cold cases that still haunt him. Holes starts off with a very noir style where we get a sense of him drinking whiskey in a smokey office recounting his past but then the book quickly turns into a true crime junkie’s dream. We hear first-hand accounts of the cases we’ve read about , listened to, or watched unfold. For fans of Michelle McNamara’s I’ll Be Gone in the Dark or podcast My Favorite Murder, you will love this in-depth look at the man behind America’s true crime expert.
I love Paul Holes and this book just makes me love him more. He's so passionate about his work and helping all the victims of violent crimes, it's inspiring. I was surprised at how personal his book gets, but it's very brave of him to reveal so much of himself. I enjoyed this so much, I read it two days.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Really good read if you have read Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone In the Dark. Will say he does give explicit descriptions of crimes, so trigger warning for that.
This book is so freaking good. It's very compelling. Holes is a true crime superhero; a gift. But with a mind like his and a passion for solving cold cases-there is a great cost.
Holes is extremely transparent about his personal life. You don't dive headlong into a case and spend countless hours locked in your office without some kind of damage to the relationships around you-he spends whole chapters detailing the way his "work/life balance" was basically non-existent.
But thank goodness for this man. His dedication to solving cold cases is unmatched. Anyone who has spent any time listening to true crime podcasts or reading about cases knows that sometimes, cases go unsolved because of lazy police work or piss-poor investigative resources; clerical errors, missing evidence, focusing on the wrong suspect-all kinds of things prevent justice from being served.
Paul Holes rescues these cases.
As a California girl, born and raised in a small town nestled in the Sierra foothills, I knew about all the cases Holes mentions in this book. The kidnapping of Polly Klaas was especially memorable. And the case Holes spent most of his career on, EAR (East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer) was right in my backyard.
Anyhoodles,
I highly recommend this book. He goes into graphic details about cases-so triggers for rape, murder, and crime scenes-the usual. But it's comforting to know there are people out there like Paul Holes who are this committed to justice. Highly recommend.
Holes is extremely transparent about his personal life. You don't dive headlong into a case and spend countless hours locked in your office without some kind of damage to the relationships around you-he spends whole chapters detailing the way his "work/life balance" was basically non-existent.
But thank goodness for this man. His dedication to solving cold cases is unmatched. Anyone who has spent any time listening to true crime podcasts or reading about cases knows that sometimes, cases go unsolved because of lazy police work or piss-poor investigative resources; clerical errors, missing evidence, focusing on the wrong suspect-all kinds of things prevent justice from being served.
Paul Holes rescues these cases.
As a California girl, born and raised in a small town nestled in the Sierra foothills, I knew about all the cases Holes mentions in this book. The kidnapping of Polly Klaas was especially memorable. And the case Holes spent most of his career on, EAR (East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer) was right in my backyard.
Anyhoodles,
I highly recommend this book. He goes into graphic details about cases-so triggers for rape, murder, and crime scenes-the usual. But it's comforting to know there are people out there like Paul Holes who are this committed to justice. Highly recommend.
dark
slow-paced
Paul Holes tells the story about the search for the Golden State Killer, as well as other cold cases he worked during his career. The science and police work descriptions were interesting, and the stories of the crimes were horrifying. Holes is obviously a talented and dogged investigator, but as a husband and father, he is sorely lacking.
Meh. Some of the cases were interesting but the writing jumped around a lot and wasn't great. There were more personal details about the author's life, especially about how much of an absent father he was, than I was interested in reading.