Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Unmasked: Crime Scenes, Cold Cases and My Hunt for the Golden State Killer

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

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

19 reviews

brookey8888's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was good, but hard to read at times. The different cases he talked about were very interesting and it was interesting to see the behind the scenes and how investigations work. I also liked learning more about the golden state killer and his friendship with Michelle. The only thing I didn’t like was hearing about his horrible marriages. I get why he talked about them because the job took over his life, but I didn’t care.

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mahmabaer's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

This was the longest audiobook I have listened to up to date, and it was also the most challenging. Paul Holes knows his job and he does it well, and he doesn't shy away from some of the more graphic aspects of his work. There were several times I almost stopped listening because I didn't know if I could stomach the information. Hearing about

rapes, abuse, dead bodies, murdered children and brutal crime scenes

is not for the faint of heart or the middle of the night. I found that most times, if I stopped, put on a funny video and gave myself a break, I could get back to the story and make it through the darkness and onto the next chapter. Though the thing that has been the most unsettling was a brief, passing comment that had no merit in the story, and it hasn't left me since I heard it (

when the marriage councilor told him that most people's spouses dont want to hear about a baby being put in boiling water

), which I assume is a crime scene he had to attend that I hope to God never ever ever happened, and yet, I know it did.

While, surprisingly, I found the scientific and legalistic aspects of Paul's story fascinating and compelling, I struggled a bit with the personal aspects of Paul's story. I haven't decided if I find Paul to be a man who recognizes his faults and accepts them, specifically when it comes to his family and marriages, or whether I am turned off by the bravado and arrogance that comes through at times in respect to his job and the satisfaction he gets from being so good at it. I have never met the man, but I suspect the truth falls somewhere in the middle -- that he's just a guy who is another imperfect human, like the rest of us, trying to make up for those imperfections the best way he knows how. He makes mistakes and tries to fix them, and in doing so, he either fixes things or makes more mistakes. In short, he puts his pants on one leg at a time like any other man -- his pants just happen to be plastic coveralls, to protect him from the crime scene evidence he has to handle.

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danimacuk's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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laurs_lit_ledger's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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amisk23's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

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socialpsysteph's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.0

I was just scrolling through audiobooks on Libby and came across this one and knew I wanted to listen to it. I'm always interested in true crime and I knew Paul Holes had a huge role in the GSK case so I was interested to hear his story. This is a mix of true crime and memoir and I was fascinated by the inside look into the life of someone who works in this area where I once thought I would be working.

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