Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Unmasked: Crime Scenes, Cold Cases and My Hunt for the Golden State Killer by Paul Holes

40 reviews

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative mysterious fast-paced

4.5

Having read Michelle McNamara's perspective on the investigation, it was interesting to read about the search for the Golden State killer from the perspective of another working on the case in a more traditional investigative capacity. Paul Holes is a characteristic writer, and every loss faced by him and the others who's stories he tells are deeply impactful. His work on cold cases gives me hope that others who have suffered without knowing the fate of their loved ones will find closure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Murder, Stalking, Confinement, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Physical abuse

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative slow-paced

3.0

 This book is about Paul Holes' career as a forensic investigator. and how he helped catch the Golden State Killer. As well as his life, mostly the adult part during his career, and how it affected his life. 

The topic was interesting but the author's writing was a bit repetitive and I zoned out a lot while reading it. Part of that was my messed up sleep and part of it was the writing. It just seemed to drone on a lot. The author was a great narrator. He has a podcast I listen to, but I prefer his co-host's books to his. 

​I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts and at least one true crime book a month, so it's not a new type of content for me. Though I don't read many memoirs, so maybe that's what I didn't like about it. ​ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Violence, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Child death, Stalking, Sexual violence, and Trafficking

Moderate: Pedophilia

Minor: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse

elisabethshelby's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

This book is the perfect read for anyone who loves Dateline or solving cold cases.  Paul takes the reader behind the scenes to really understand what goes on when law enforcement reviews old cold cases.  The details are specific, and sometimes even reading what goes on can be a bit jarring to realize.  Hey, let's look at this face covered in maggots to try to determine a time of death.  Oh....ok.

Paul's book mostly looks at his career-long hunt for the Golden State Killer, and his work towards finally tracking down the correct person.  Between his hunt, he looks at other memorable cases he helped with, including Jaycee Duggard, Laci and Connor Petersen, and more.  The stories are well told, and only in a handful of places does the narrative seem to slow down a little too much.  For the most part, this is a well written story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Child death

gimmiiie's review against another edition

dark informative sad fast-paced

5.0

"Healing is subjective, but the scars never fade, and the pain is always a breath away" P.3

This is a heavy, real, and informative book. Paul Holes is honest, real, and personable. I have been a fan of Paul Holes and his work to bring justice to victims. Reading his experiences and struggles with mental illness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Body horror, Grief, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Medical content, Torture, Suicide, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

sky_maris's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Kidnapping, Child death, Violence, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Stalking

thereadingraccoon's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

4.0

Unmasked is a true crime memoir by investigator Paul Holes. It details his personal life and his involvement in high profile murder cases. 

In Unmasked Paul Holes gives us a peek behind the curtain on what it is really like working with law enforcement on tough cases. He details the stress it caused in his marriages and the politics of working alongside other agencies. He also remembers fondly his work with the late writer Michelle McNamara and her efforts to find the Golden State Killer. He also explains how DNA is used to close cold cases and tighten the net around the perpetrator. While a good portion of this book is spent on The Golden State Killer and his crimes it also touches on Mr. Holes‘ involvement on other high profile cases such as Laci Peterson Jaycee Lee Duggard. 

I highly recommend this to readers interested in true crime, criminology or law enforcement so they can read first hand what people in the profession sacrifice to catch a killer and the challenges unique to cold cases. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Child death, Violence, and Murder

katiekneeland's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Rape, Child death, and Death

ame_lepage's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

 I picked this book up on a whim. I really had no expectations, so I really didn't know what I was getting into.
I would like to say first that this book has many trigger warnings: very graphic rape and murder scenes, portrayal of depression and PTSD, and just mental health issues in general. I sometimes had a hard time getting through some parts.
This memoir was eye-opening in many ways. I've always been a fan of true crime and getting a behind-the-scenes perspective was interesting. Paul Holes' story is fascinating and I'm glad that I discovered his story.
The end really allowed us to see the deep connexion between Paul and the victims. You could see how emotionally involved he was in the different cases and I honestly teared up a little.
However, I do think that the book ended up being a little bit repetitive. He talks a lot about different cases that he delt with throughout his career, but at the end, they were pretty similar.
The ending was filled with scientific terms that kept me from fully understanding the Golden State Killer case's conclusion. The writer did overall a good job at making the science palatable. But she kind of dropped the ball at the end.
Overall, I'm glad I read this. It's not the best memoir that I have ever read, but it certainly was interesting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Gore, Rape, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

kaileeh28's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

5.0

Amazing read. If you are into true crime and a dark read, this is the book. Holes gives such a deep insight to his life as an investigator. Would definitely recommend this book!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Gore, Sexual content, Stalking, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

taymar23's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.0

The book was good and I enjoyed learning more about Paul Holes, his life, and his work in law enforcement. It was a little more to do with his personal life than I expected it to be, in comparison - Chase Darkness with Me by Billy Jensen focuses a lot more on the crime aspect of Billy’s life. I’m not sure if it was me, but the descriptions of the crimes really made me uncomfortable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Murder, Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse and Child death

Minor: Eating disorder